Section realignment plan effectively wipes out Modesto Metro Conference

A process that started back in the summer of 2016 is less than a month from a likely conclusion as the Sac-Joaquin Section finally has a workable realignment proposal.

The plan now will be sent to all 199 section-member schools for approval, and then on to the Board of Managers for ratification. Simple majorities are all that’s needed to approve the plan at each stop.

That’s all pretty much a formality, which means the Modesto Metro Conference, as it’s been known since 2004, is no more.

Under the realignment plan, Beyer, Davis and Johansen will leave the MMC and join the Western Athletic Conference. The MMC, a seven-team league, will become a six-team loop, with Turlock and Pitman leaving the Central California Conference to fill the void left by the three Modesto schools.

“The wishes of Modesto City Schools were to keep all seven Modesto schools in one league,” said MMC commissioner Ed Felt. “We saw that wasn’t realistic, so then the goal was to keep four in the MMC and the other three in the WAC.”

The section’s original proposal called for Downey and Beyer to be shipped to the Valley Oak League, while Davis and Johansen went to the WAC.

“The three-way split would’ve made it difficult to organize facilities and schedules,” said Felt. “A lot of sharing goes on and two is easier than three.”

Of the Stanislaus District’s eight conferences, only the Central California Athletic Alliance – home to small Christian schools, including Big Valley Christian, Turlock Christian and Stone Ridge Christian – remained unchanged. All others face major to minor tweaks.

An altogether different battle may be on the horizon regarding the MMC: What should the new conference be named?

Modesto Metro Conference doesn’t quite ring true since Turlock and Pitman are joining the Modesto, Downey, Gregori and Enochs.

Turlock, along with Modesto High, was a charter member of the CCC back in 1957 and has made it clear that it would like to remain playing in conference referred to as the CCC. Downey also was a member of the CCC before the creation of the MMC.

However, Gregori and Enochs went straight into the MMC when they opened their doors and have no historical connection to the CCC.

Meanwhile, the CCC is currently home to five teams – Merced, Golden Valley, El Capitan, Atwater and Buhach Colony – that have ties to the name.

“I know there’s a real interest in the CCC name, but there have been no lines of communication opened up or any negotiations,” Felt said.

This story was originally published March 13, 2017 at 3:21 PM with the headline "Section realignment plan effectively wipes out Modesto Metro Conference."