Legislation: Plan would disallow moving up in CIF playoffs

Barry Faulkner

BUENA PARK - The Sunset League introduced a proposal which would

ban schools from “playing up” in CIF Southern Section division playoffs

at Thursday’s section council meeting at the Sequoia Athletic Club.

If passed April 13 by the council, comprised of one representative from

each of the section’s 76 leagues, this would forbid teams, including Back

Bay powers in boys and girls volleyball and boys and girls tennis, from

seeking the best postseason competition.

Instead, all schools would be required to compete in their

enrollment-based division, regardless of the strength of their program.

Newport Harbor High boys and girls volleyball coach Dan Glenn, as well as

CdM boys tennis coach Tim Mang, have long advocated the current option to

move up to a higher division.

Newport Harbor’s girls volleyball team has used this option to win three

straight Division I-AA section championships.

The CdM boys tennis team moved up to Division I and won a section crown

last spring, when the CdM boys volleyball team also chose to move up,

leading to an all-Back Bay Division I section final won by Newport

Harbor.

Los Alamitos Assistant Principal Jerry Halpin spoke on behalf of the

proposal Thursday. He said schools which move up often deny those in

upper divisions playoff spots, even seeds.

“If playoffs are enrollment-based, nothing else should matter,” Halpin

said.

A similar proposal was defeated, 33-31, by the council’s majority vote,

Oct. 22, 1998.

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A proposal to create an additional 12-minute quarter to break ties in CIF

football championship games was introduced as a non-action item by the

Serra League.

Mater Dei Principal Patrick Murphy spoke on behalf of the plan, which

would end the current practice of recognizing co-champions if a CIF title

game is tied at the end of regulation. The extra quarter (not sudden

death) differs from the current tiebreaker (modeled after the NCAA

version with both teams taking turns trying to score from the 25-yard

line) used in playoff games leading to the finals.

This will be voted upon April 13.

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The council voted to allow boys and girls water polo teams to increase

their regular season from 18 games to 20.

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Other proposals, to be voted upon April 13, include a plan to increase

boys and girls swimming and diving from three divisions to four and to

allow track and field athletes to qualify for CIF preliminaries based on

their individual school’s enrollment, rather than division placement by

league.