Some Area Officials Favor Open Recruiting : Junior colleges: Court case involving WSC school focuses attention on inequities of current district-based system.

Some Valley-area junior college athletic administrators believe that open recruiting would be a reasonable alternative to the district-based system, although a court decision this week supported the current arrangement.

Previously able to recruit in 12 high schools outside its two-school district, Santa Monica Community College had sought a preliminary injunction that would have returned the boundaries to the original borders. However, Federal District Judge Harry Hupp denied the school’s request.

Santa Monica was restricted to its own district by the state Commission on Athletics in October.

The Western State Conference, of which Santa Monica and several Valley-area schools are members, had been among those requesting the ban.

Although they don’t necessarily agree with Santa Monica’s methods (the ban reportedly was partly instigated by Santa Monica’s alleged recruiting abuses), representatives of local schools nonetheless believe that the current recruiting system needs to be remedied.

“I think I’d just like to see it opened up and let anybody recruit where they wanted,” said Marian McWilliams, Pierce athletic director.

Had Santa Monica been granted the injunction, Valley-area junior colleges likely would have sought the same freedom to recruit outside their districts.

“It would have been more realistic in some respects,” Antelope Valley College Athletic Director Brent Carder said.

“What it would have done is brought (recruiting) to the surface and taken the hypocrisy out of some of the things people are doing.”

Santa Monica had been the only junior college in California permitted to recruit in-state athletes outside its district.

Some schools, such as Antelope Valley, are allowed to recruit out-of-state athletes.

However, schools in the Los Angeles Community College District, such as Pierce and Valley, are allowed to recruit at every high school in the county. Others have much smaller districts; Glendale College, for example, is limited to three high schools.

“If Santa Monica would have won their court case, then it would have been a great advantage for a school like Glendale College,” Glendale football Coach John Cicuto said.

Schools can recruit athletes within their district by initiating contact but must wait for out-of-district athletes to make the first contact before beginning their recruitment.

Hupp gave Santa Monica’s attorney, Urrea Jones, 21 days to amend his case and again request a preliminary injunction.