Tri-Valley Must Remain in Division IX Playoffs

A proposal that would have dropped the Tri-Valley League from Division IX to Division X for this season’s football playoffs was defeated by the Southern Section Council on Thursday.

As part of a realignment of playoff groupings in 1992, three Division VIII leagues (Los Padres, Frontier and Pioneer) were dropped to Division IX, and three former Division IX leagues (De Anza, Olympic and Santa Fe) were dropped to Division X. The Tri-Valley remained in Division IX, even though student enrollments for member schools more closely match those of Division X schools.

The average enrollment among Division IX teams is 602. In Division X, it’s 406. The average among Tri-Valley teams is 449.

Tri-Valley football members--Bishop Diego, Carpinteria, Fillmore, Oak Park and St. Bonaventure--complied with the realignment in 1992, but hoped the playoff groupings would change for the 1994-96 cycle.