Southern Section to Decide on New Playoff Structure : Enrollment Could Determine Rank of Basketball Leagues

The Southern Section today will choose between two basketball playoff recommendations, one of which would group leagues in postseason divisions solely on school enrollment.

The General Council, which comprises representatives from the section’s 62 leagues, votes every two years on playoff-grouping recommendations. These revisions would take effect for the 1988-89 school year.

In boys’ basketball, Proposal A calls for a reshuffling of leagues into the existing five 10-league divisions (5-A through 1-A) and a 12-league Small Schools Division. The 5-A Division, which would increase from five to 10 leagues, would be particularly affected. The leagues designated for promotion from 4-A would be the Channel, Marmonte, Pacific, South Coast and Bay.

On the girls’ side, the structure is identical but some divisions would be composed of different leagues.

Proposal A follows current Southern Section form, which groups playoff teams based on competitive strength; schools such as Crespi, with an enrollment of only 600 boys, compete in the section’s strongest division. Proposal B departs from that philosophy, grouping playoff teams solely on enrollment.

Dean Crowley, a Southern Section administrator, supports the latter proposal largely because it would put the section in conformance with the state playoff system. The Southern Section, the largest of the state’s 10 sections, is the only one that does not conduct its playoffs along California Interscholastic Federation guidelines, which group schools by enrollment.

“I favor Proposal B because I like the compatibility with state,” Crowley said. “The ultimate goal is a state championship, so let’s go for it.”

Under Proposal B, teams would compete in existing leagues that would submit their allotted playoff entries to the Southern Section office at the end of the regular season. The section would group those teams according to enrollment, meaning that teams from the same league might play in different playoff divisions.

Division I, which would be divided into 5-AA and 5-A, would include schools with enrollments of 2,400 or more (5-AA) and 2,000 to 2,399 (5-A). Division II would include schools with enrollments of 1,750 to 1,999 (4-AA) and 1,500 to 1,749 (4-A).

Division III would include schools with enrollments of 1,000 to 1,499 (3-A); Division IV, 750 to 999 (2-AA) and 400 to 749 (2-A), and Division V, 150 to 399 (1-A) and 149 and fewer (Small Schools).

The enrollment at all-boys’ and all-girls’ schools automatically would be doubled. In addition, private schools would be given the opportunity to move up and play at a higher division. A January deadline would be imposed on teams intending to switch divisions.

That could create overloading of some divisions, forcing the scheduling of wild-card games or the addition of at-large teams to fill out brackets, Crowley said.

A Times’ survey of the section’s 62 leagues indicates strong support for Proposal B. As of Wednesday, 29 leagues favored the proposal, 16 were opposed and 17 were undecided.

The Del Rey League remained undecided largely because many league members had yet to hear of the proposal. Paul Muff, Crespi’s athletic director and basketball coach, learned of the recommendation when contacted by a reporter Wednesday.

“That’s an interesting concept but I don’t like the part about choosing in January where you’re going to play,” he said. “I see a lot of lobbying. ‘Hey, where are you going, let’s not get matched up.’ . . . You should commit to a two-year deal or at least a year in advance.”

But the idea of playing against schools with equal enrollment appeals to many leagues, including the Marmonte. Member schools Camarillo, Westlake and Newbury Park are suffering declining enrollment and may hit 1,700 next year, at least 700 fewer than many 5-A Division schools.

“If one of our smaller schools makes the playoffs, they’ll get paired with a 5-A school and that usually ends the season,” said Donald Bathgate, Camarillo principal and league representative. “If we play a school our own size we could win the whole thing.”

The council also is expected to ratify minor changes for playoffs in 20 of 24 sports, including boys’ and girls’ soccer, softball and girls’ tennis. Officials expect little opposition to a move that would rename football conferences by number to indicate strength of competition.

Staff writer Steve Lowery contributed to this story.