Division Realignment for 2012-13 begins in December, what changes would you make?

“It’s a double whammy for us. “It’s like a left and right hook, then maybe a little punch to the gut because if you get into the playoffs you get to go two hours to get your butt kicked and go home. But they think it will be good for CIF.” –Charter Oak coach Lou Farrar in 2010 after learning the Sierra would compete in the Inland Division

This is the final year of the the 2010 and ’11 CIF-Southern Section Division alignment cycle, which is voted on every two years. In December, leagues begin submitting proposals to CIF stating what Division it should compete in for 2012 and ’13 seasons, a process that takes several steps and is concluded in April. My question to you is what changes would you make? Should the Sierra remain in the Inland Division for another cycle if it fails to do much better than it did last year, with only Chino Hills reaching the semifinals, and Charter Oak and Claremont eliminated in the first round? In the Southeast Division, should the Hacienda remain there if its teams dominate again? West Covina beat league foe Bonita in last years championship, what if two Hacienda teams advance to the finals again, should the Hacienda get bumped up to say, the Central Division? Or what about the Mid-Valley. If Monrovia wins a second consecutive title, shouldn’t the Rio Hondo be bumped to the Southeast? A lot could happen, but here is what I would suggest for the next cycle…

Southeast
Hacienda (4), Sierra (3), Pacific (4), Del Rio (3) — 14 guaranteed, two wild card berths.
Note: I would drop the Suburban to the Mid-Valley and add the Sierra League to the Southeast, creating a strong playoff division with area powers and tradition. You would have West Covina, Bonita, Muir, Arcadia, Charter Oak, South Hills, Damien, Chino Hills and Ayala all in the same playoff division. What’s not to like? You would have 14 guaranteed spots, and two at-large. You wouldn’t have to change the Inland, simply by dropping the Sierra, you would still have four powerful leagues in the Inland with 13 guaranteed playoff spots, using three at-large berths to replace the Sierra, a league that shouldn’t of been there in the first place.

Mid-Valley Division
Almont (2), Mission Valley (2), Suburban (2), Rio Hondo (2), Valle Vista (2), Olympic (2) — 12 guaranteed, 4 at-large.
Note: I wouldn’t bump the Rio Hondo to the Southeast because of Monrovia’s success. Eventually, Monrovia needs to move to the Pacific, because the rest of the Rio Hondo couldn’t compete in the Southeast. What I would do is add the Suburban to make the division stronger, and drop the Montview, who hasn’t been able to compete, to the Northeast Division, which includes the Prep League and has six leagues with two guaranteed playoff spots each, and four at-large. By adding the Montview to the Northeast, you would then have two guaranteed playoff spots each and only two at-large, and it’s a division the Montview may finally be able to compete in for titles. The Mid-Valley would be stronger by adding La Mirada, Norwalk, Mayfair, etc.

Finally: there are no changes to the leagues until 2014, meaning Glendora is stuck in the Baseline, and Bishop Amat should continue to compete in the Pac-5 because the Serra is strong. If you have better suggestions, let’s hear them.

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