Northern Area schools approve four-team football-only league

Vote called a 'waste' by Oaks Christian official



Northern Area representatives in charge of putting together high school sports leagues for the 2010 through 2014 seasons voted 31-23 in favor of forming a four-team private-school league for football only on Tuesday in Santa Barbara.

The four schools are Oaks Christian, St. Bonaventure, Santa Clara and Grace Brethren.

The vote drew immediate criticism from OCHS athletic director Jan Hethcock.

“With everyone in a budget crisis, we wasted thousands of dollars and five hours of time to solve absolutely nothing,” Hethcock said.

“We are back to square one. We know CIF isn’t going to approve this. This just isn’t logical.”

Oaks Christian has won six consecutive CIFSouthern Section championships, while St. Bonaventure has captured eight section banners in the past decade.

Although they’ve had some success on the gridiron over the years, Grace Brethren and Santa Clara have been overwhelmed in recent meetings with the Lions.

The vote also appears to fall short of the CIF’s criteria for establishing a new league.

According to CIF-SS director of communications Thom Simmons, there are three factors that must be met—geography, enrollment and competitive balance.

Hethcock said a second proposal, titled Proposal No. 14, included Oaks Christian moving to the Marmonte League for all sports and St. Bonaventure going to the Marmonte for football only. That proposal received 23 votes.

The Marmonte League has made it clear in recent months that it has no intention of adding the Lions for football.

An OCHS proposal to put Calabasas in the Tri-Valley League and move Oaks Christian from the TVL to the Marmonte for football was also shot down.

A Northern Area appeals hearing has been set for May 6. At that time, the current proposal could be altered before a May 20 CIF Executive Committee meeting.

The Acorn will post a more in-depth story on its website Friday morning. Visit www.theacornonline.com.

— Thomas Gase and

Stephen Dorman


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