An alternative realignment plan

I got a call from an old friend a few days ago, and he shared an interesting realignment plan with me.

His idea (let’s call it the M.W. plan) is to make regions comprised of six, seven or eight schools that are located near each other regardless of their enrollment numbers. The schools would compete against each other during the regular season, but for the state tournaments, their enrollment numbers would determine which postseason they would play in.

For example, Viewmont, Bountiful and Woods Cross would compete in the same region. But in the postseason, Viewmont would be included in the 5A state tournaments, while Bountiful and Woods Cross would compete in the 4A tournaments.

The plan would keep Salt Lake City schools East, Highland and West in the same region. West, because of its size, would play in 5A state tournaments and East and Highland would play in 4A.

This plan would greatly decrease the amount of travel schools have to make, and save them some money. As the former athletic director told me, he has no idea how some schools are going to pay for gas with where they’re slotted in the second realignment draft.

Of course, there are some issues with the plan, such as determining playoff berths, how many teams are allowed into the state tournaments, and how seedings are determined when schools are in mixed leagues. That stuff can be worked out. I think there are greater concerns to be considered, such as the amount of time kids are going to be out of class, and how costly it’s going to be for some schools to travel with the current realignment plan.

Your thoughts on the M.W. plan?