NIAA realignment approved by Board of Control

Twenty-nine months, several committee meetings, a rubric and a new proposal later, the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association is ready to realign.

The NIAA's Board of Control met Monday at South Point and unanimously approved a realignment proposal that will go into effect for 2012-2013.

The proposal essentially combines the current Class 4A and 3A schools, then separates them into two divisions based on competitive balance.

Discussion first started taking place on the plan in May 2009.

"We fought the original proposal hard," Basic principal David Bechtel said. "When it came out, I found out about it in the newspaper.

"But we came full circle with it. The decisions were made in the best interest of everybody."

Bechtel served on the South's realignment committee, which came up with a rubric to assign points to a school based on their finish in each sport. Those points were compiled over a two-year period, with the top 12 schools in each of the two regions being placed in what will now be known as Division I.

Division I will have Sunset and Sunrise Regions, with each region comprised of two six-team leagues.

The remaining 10 schools join the 3A schools in a 13-school Division I-A, which will be broken into two regions.

The realignment approved by the board Monday was the one recommended by the realignment committee last spring. It's a two-year plan that gives schools the opportunity to move from Division I to I-A or vice versa after two years based on how their teams fare in all sports.

"People need to understand it will rotate every two years," said Pam Sloan, the Clark County School District's athletic director.

The NIAA had based its alignment strictly on enrollment numbers.

In an attempt to balance leagues and save money on transportation costs, especially for the Class 3A schools that struggled in scheduling nonleague games, the NIAA went with the committee's proposal.

Still to be determined, though, is what postseason format will be used.

The board tabled that decision until December as it seeks input from schools.

Contact reporter Bartt Davis at bdavis@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5230.