‘Big Four’ schools look out for themselves as realignment talks continue

Remember playing musical chairs as a kid?

At the beginning of the game, when plenty of seats were available, the game had a relaxed, congenial pace. Later, as chairs became more and more scarce, the action was frenzied and intense. When the music stopped, you’d break the leg of your best pal if you had to, scrambling for that final chair.

In other words, sort of like the Sac-Joaquin Section realignment meetings.

The third installment of the section’s quadrennial confab will be held at 9 a.m. Thursday at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton. And, unlike the last meeting, when three of the Stanislaus District’s four largest leagues presented a united front, everybody now seems intent on doing their own thing.

Two weeks ago, the Modesto Metro Conference, Central California Conference, Valley Oak League and Western Athletic Conference worked out a unified presentation that seemed to make 29 schools happy.

The plan was a retooled version of a proposal by Central Valley athletic director Greg Magni. Magni was quick on his feet at the first meeting Dec. 14, coming up with an outline on the fly that got his team out of the MMC.

The Magni plan drew lots of interest, and the “Big Four” commissioners met privately to tweak it.

However, the unified front began to crumble when the CCC pulled its support at the 11th hour.

Nevertheless, the three remaining leagues presented the plan to the realignment committee and it seemed to be gaining support, only to be voted down late in the proceedings. One of the plan’s tenets was for the VOL to remain intact.

When a vote to move Kimball from the VOL to the Tri-City Athletic League was approved 5-4 by the committee, the “Big Four” plan died.

So where do the “Big Four” go from here? Here’s what we know:

▪ The section wants to split up the MMC, placing the seven Modesto City Schools members into three leagues. The MMC, finally convinced it needs to disband, would rather compete in just two leagues.

▪ Lathrop and Weston Ranch, two VOL schools the section would like to move to the WAC, made known their desire to remain grouped with all other Manteca Unified schools. That was the wrong approach. If the committee would have been willing to let the Manteca Unified schools remain together, MMC commissioner Ed Felt would have sprinted to the podium to make a similar case for Modesto City Schools.

Lathrop and Weston Ranch should have mimicked Denair superintendent Aaron Rosander’s high-energy presentation. Rosander said the Coyotes, despite their low competitive-equity number in the Southern League, were ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work in the SL.

▪ Orestimba, along with Denair, successfully lobbied to stay in the Southern League. The Warriors were pegged for a move to the Trans-Valley League, while Denair was headed to the Central California Athletic Alliance. Administrators must have taken notice.

One Stanislaus District athletic director said everybody is “going rogue” now, trying to get the best deal for their school.

After Thursday’s meeting, only two meetings remain: Feb. 9 and March 9, if deemed necessary.

It will be interesting to see who’s left without a chair when the music stops playing.

This story was originally published January 25, 2017 at 5:44 PM with the headline "‘Big Four’ schools look out for themselves as realignment talks continue."