Sac-Joaquin Section sports realignment gets second look

The Sac-Joaquin Section realignment committee will meet Thursday in Stockton for its second meeting in the effort to redesign its 27 athletic conferences.

Every four years, the section restructures its leagues to ensure competitive balance and, beginning with the 2018-19 school year, the section will once again shuffle the deck.

Commissioners from the Stanislaus District’s four large-school conferences – the Modesto Metro Conference, Central California Conference, Valley Oak League and Western Athletic Conference – met Monday in Lodi after a regularly scheduled meeting of section commissioners.

The biggest concern centers on the MMC, which would see its teams play in three leagues under the section’s initial plan, presented Dec. 14 at the first realignment meeting.

After his school was proposed for a move from the WAC to the MMC, Central Valley athletic director Greg Magni offered a counterproposal that would see the Hawks move to the CCC.

Magni’s plan, which drew considerable interest from fellow athletic directors and committee members, did not address the MMC issue.

At their Monday confab, the “Big Four” commissioners were hopeful of reshaping Magni’s plan to be more palatable to the MMC.

Thursday’s section meeting begins at 9 a.m. at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton.

This story was originally published January 11, 2017 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Sac-Joaquin Section sports realignment gets second look."