City Conference Altered : Fourth League and Several New Teams to Be Added Starting With 1989-90 Season

The San Diego Section Board of Managers Tuesday took the final step in the realignment of the City Conference by approving the addition of a fourth league, the Southern.

The conference, currently comprising the 6-team Western (2-A) and Eastern (3-A) leagues and the 7-team Central League (2-A), will undergo major shifts in its revised format, which begins in the 1989-90 school year (except in football, where it will be in place for 1990-91).

The addition of the Southern League--the conference has the option of changing the name--marks the first time in 6 years that the conference has undergone such a change. In April 1983, the Eastern joined the existing Central and Western leagues in the conference.

According to Wayne DeBate, secondary athletics manager for San Diego City schools, the realignment primarily was for better competitive balance.

“We were looking at something more equitable for more schools and playing in a league where the students had a chance to do well,” DeBate said.

Benefitting most from the changes might be Coronado and Marian high schools, who have been competing and struggling in the 3-A Metro Conference since the 2-A South Bay and 3-A Mesa leagues merged a year ago.

“It’ll be a big advantage under the new league,” Marian Athletic Director George Milke said. “The kids will be more optimistic, knowing they won’t have to go up against the Chulas and the Bonita Vistas of the league.”

Marian and Coronado, 4-year schools with enrollments of 377 and 639, were competing with schools with up to more than five times as many students. Southwest of the Metro Conference has 2,119.

Milke said he thinks no one school will dominate the new league, which will include Christian, Clairemont, Coronado, Marian, St. Augustine (all boys) and Our Lady of Peace (all girls). Clairemont has the biggest enrollment at 1,121.

“I think there will be parity,” he said. “Across the board, it should be a pretty even league.”

Milke was not alone in his view.

“There will be more schools in situations where they can compete,” DeBate said.

Said Hal Krupens, football coach and athletic director of Clairemont: “Competitively speaking, most of the conference will be really strong. There should be some really good competition, which was the overriding concern when the decision was made. It should be fun.”

The Central League was shuffled the most. Our Lady of Peace, St. Augustine and Christian will be plucked out and sent to the new league. Madison will be a new member.

The Western loses Clairemont but picks up Bishop’s of the Southern Conference’s 1-A Coastal League.

It was in November, when Coronado applied for league membership, that DeBate took a serious look at such a realignment. Coronado had been looking for a new league for some time--Athletic Director Robbin Adair had been in contact with DeBate since Coronado was forced into the Metro Conference--and with the enrollment fluctuation at various schools, DeBate knew the market was there.

His primary concerns were getting the proposal past the City Conference principals.

“They had to approve,” DeBate said. “Once I got it past the league’s principals, I knew the rest of it would be fairly easy.”

DeBate then approached Marian Principal Daniel Ramos about joining a new league. “I knew they were unhappy, so I called Ramos,” he said.

In early December, the City Conference voted unanimously to allow Coronado entrance into the league, then on Jan. 5 voted and approved the move to a four 5-team leagues.

“The only negative things I was hearing,” said DeBate, “were things about transportation and the fact that there would be only one city school in the new league.”

Krupens said what concerned him was the breaking up of established rivalries.

“The greatest concern was breaking up the Western League,” he said. “We’ve been a member for so long, breaking up the long rivalries was a concern, but with the preseason games, we can still play them.”

On Jan. 11, the leaguing committee met before the Coordinating Council convened to finalize the new alignment, which they mandated as two 5-team leagues and two 6-team leagues.

The Coordinating Council unanimously approved the City Conference’s recommendation.

The proposal was to have all sports excluding football begin in their new leagues in the 1989-90 season.

“It would have been too disruptive to have switched (football) this year,” DeBate said.

Coronado will again play an independent 2-A schedule, and the remaining teams will play where they played last season.

CITY REALIGNMENT

Current City Conference league structure:

Central (2-A)--Christian, Crawford, Hoover, Lincoln, Our Lady of Peace (girls only), St. Augustine (boys only), San Diego.

Eastern (3-A)--Patrick Henry, Madison, Mira Mesa, Morse, Point Loma, Serra.

Western (2-A)--Clairemont, Kearny, La Jolla, Mission Bay, University City, University.

Realignment (1989-90 except football; 1990-91 for football):

Eastern (3-A)--Patrick Henry, Serra, Mira Mesa, Morse, Point Loma.

Central (2-A)--Crawford, Hoover, Lincoln, Madison, San Diego.

Western (2-A)--La Jolla, Kearny, Mission Bay, University, University City, Bishop’s.

Southern (2-A)--Christian, Clairemont, Coronado, Marian, St. Augustine, Our Lady of Peace.