Notre Dame, Crespi Would Welcome Return of Rivalry

Less than two years after Notre Dame High dropped Crespi from its athletics schedule, Athletic Director Kevin Rooney is eager to resume the rivalry.

Notre Dame had called for a two-year cooling-off period between the schools that took effect last fall, citing intolerable levels of vandalism and “un-Christian behavior” among fans of both schools’ athletics teams. But the 15-year rivalry will resume next fall if a releaguing proposal approved Monday by the Catholic Athletic Assn. is adopted by the Southern Section.

“We certainly haven’t had the vandalism problems we had before, and it did calm things down,” Rooney said. “We’re delighted to have Crespi back on our schedule and we’re looking forward to playing them.”

Paul Muff, the athletic director at Crespi, expressed similar sentiments.

“We’d like to see the rivalry reinstated,” he said. “The rivalry may have brought out the worst in some of our fans, but it brought out the best in our teams.”

At a meeting Monday at the offices of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the CAA devised a sweeping proposal that disbands the Del Rey League, restructures the San Fernando Valley League and creates a new league that includes Alemany, Chaminade, Crespi and Notre Dame. Schools may appeal at a Southern Section releaguing meeting Dec. 5. The proposal will go before the Southern Section Council on Jan. 18.

Despite a few rumblings of dissatisfaction, all seven Valley-area schools affected by the CAA plan supported the proposal, and none plan to appeal. Crespi and St. Francis lament any plan that would disband the Del Rey League, and Harvard voiced objections to the new San Fernando Valley League based on travel considerations.

The big winner is Alemany, which avoided membership in a newly formed Mission League that included five teams outside the Valley, thereby requiring extensive travel. Under a plan approved at last month’s Southern Section Council meeting, Alemany would have become a member of the Mission League. However, the CAA was forced to devise another plan after losing a legal battle with the Southern Section that forced the parochial-school group to accept responsibility for placing Santa Margarita in a league. Santa Margarita is a new school in south Orange County.

Alemany rejoiced when the new plan was revealed Monday, and Notre Dame accepted the news in similar spirit. Rooney, who also coaches Notre Dame’s football team, said the cooling-off period with Crespi has served its purpose.

Along with the four Valley schools, the new league, which has yet to be named, would include Bishop Montgomery, St. Bernard and St. Paul. The league’s first meeting is scheduled for Nov. 6 at Notre Dame.

The newly aligned San Fernando Valley League comprises Bell-Jeff, St. Genevieve, El Segundo, Harvard, La Salle, Louisville, Flintridge Prep and St. Francis. Gary Thran, Harvard’s athletic director and football coach, objects to El Segundo’s presence.

“If you sit on the freeway on a Friday afternoon, then you can understand why we don’t like going over there,” he said.