My list of Potential PAC-12 expansion candidates

May 30, 2025 As of this writing, the PAC-12 needs one more football member to be recognized by the NCAA. Currently there are only two schools in the PAC-12, Oregon State and Washington State. However, the conference will have a mass expansion in 2026 as Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State, and non-football Gonzaga will join. As previously mentioned, one more team will need to be added, but which team will that be? Many sportswriters are making reports and giving guesses on who that eighth football school will be. I will present my list of top ten candidates and why I feel that way. My observations will be based on markets, reports I have read and random thoughts. 1) UNLV Rebels Most of the conference changes in Division I, both large and small, have been based on market presence. For example, the Big 10 gained the Los Angeles market when it added UCLA and USC. The Atlantic Coast Conference got both the Dallas market and the Bay Area market when it added California, Stanford, and SMU. Adding UNLV will give the PAC-12 the Las Vegas market that I think it should have had years ago. Last year UNLV, along with the other remaining Mountain West Conference schools agreed not to leave the Mountain West, but now that the PAC-12 has a TV deal, potential money may speak louder than any agreement it had a year ago. To me, adding UNLV makes the most sense both geographically and economically. 2) Sacramento State Hornets Why is a FCS school number two on my list? The phrase, "Desparate times call for desparate measures" comes to mind. When Sacramento State announced that it wanted to join either the PAC-12 or Mountain West Conference, I thought there was a remote chance. However, as more schools initially rejected the PAC-12's invitation, the odds for Sacramento State to join suddenly increased. Lately, the Hornets have put their money where their mouth is, particularly in basketball. They announced that Shaquille O'Neal will be the basketball general manager and they hired Mike Bibby as head coach. The Sacramento Kings are helping out by loaning the Golden 1 Center to the Hornets until a new basketball arena can be built. The one obstacle standing in the way of the Hornets is the SEC and the Big 10 both saying that they do not want any more FCS schools added to the FBS, but if you are the PAC-12, why do you care what they want? The SEC started this realignment roller coaster by adding Oklahoma and Texas. The Big 10 poached four of the PAC-12's schools and helped put the PAC-12 in the position it is in now. I must admit that it is a good thing I am not the PAC-12 commissioner, because it would be tempting to add Sacramento State to spite the Big 10, but it may not be the best business decision. As time goes by, however, adding Sacramento State could be the only decision the conference has. 3) Nevada Wolfpack This is another school that I admit that I placed higher than I probably should have. The reason why Nevada has a higher rating on my list is because sometimes rival schools are "packaged deals". For example, when the Western Athletic Conference was courting the University of Montana for expansion, it was made known that Montana was not going anywhere without Montana State. If Nevada does go to the PAC-12, the reason will likely be that it is a packaged deal with UNLV. 4) Texas State Bobcats Texas State is the betting favorite to go to the PAC-12. With San Marcos being located outside of San Antonio, it would enable the PAC-12 to have a market in Texas. Plus, leaving the Sun Belt Conference is likely easier than leaving the American Athletic Conference, and it is definitely easier than leaving the Mountain West Conference. Texas State is not an athletic power, but the sports programs are improving. Also, recruiting will probably be easier for Texas State if it is linked to the PAC-12. 5) Tulane Green Wave Like UNLV, the major attraction that Tulane could have is the economic market. The fact that Tulane University is in New Orleans could allure fans of other teams to make the lengthy road trips. Athletically, Tulane can be a major player. The Green Wave have competed for the American Athletic Conference championship in football over the past few years and they have a major bowl game victory over USC. Finally, Tulane has been linked by several professional writers as a possible PAC-12 expansion team. 6) Memphis Tigers A lot of the things I just wrote about tulane applies to Memphis. They have also been connected by sports writers as a possible candidate for PAC-12 expansion. The difference between Memphis and Tulane is that Memphis had traditionally been more of a basketball power. 7) Rice Owls Simply speaking, Rice had two things the PAC-12 would want, location and education. Houston, Texas, with a city population of over a million people, and that is not counting the populations of the surrounding cities and towns, would provide a huge market for the PAC-12. Also, many would consider Rice to be an "Ivy League" school of the South. The PAC-12 was once not only considered to be athletically superior, but it was also educationally superior to all other conferences outside of the Ivy League. Adding Rice to the conference could help the PAC-12 educationally. Also, a move to the PAC-12 could help Rice keep some of Texas's good athletes in the state. 8) UTSA Roadrunners UTSA can get the PAC-12 the San Antonio market. Occasionally the Roadrunners will have a football team that can compete with the larger schools. 9) Stanford Cardinal/California Bears I grouped these two schools as one, because I believe that they are a packaged deal. With the mass exodus of the PAC-12 teams, I can imagine it would have to come to the point that traveling across the country constantly can no longer be feasable regardless of the TV money that comes in. While I do not see a mass return back to the PAC-12, I can see these two schools having enough of the ACC. For the next nine years the money Stanford and Cal will be receiving is low compared to the rest of the ACC. Also, the mental health of most of the athletes has to become a factor at some point. 10) North Texas Mean Green North Texas is located in Denton, Texas, which is a suburb of Dallas. It is also a favorite among sports writers to join the PAC-12. Honorable Mention St. Mary's Gaels I heard St. Mary's expressed some interest to join the PAC-12. The Gaels are often the second best basketball team in the West Coast Conference (behind Gonzaga, who will be joining the PAC-12 in 2026). St. Mary's once had a football team and a move to the PAC-12 can get the conference the Bay Area market again. In a sense of wishful thinking, maybe it could revive the football team. Simon Fraser Red Leaves Why is a division II school on here? Simon Fraser, located in Burnaby, British Columbia, is the only Canadian school in the NCAA. The PAC-12 could gain Canadian fans. It could actually be more beneficial for Simon Fraser to join. One of the reasons Simon Fraser wanted to join the NCAA was to keep Canadian athletes in Canada. For the most part, the best Canadian athletes are still leaving for the United States. It's tough to keep good athletes at a division II school. They would have better luck if they could move to division I.

If I Was King of Sports: 2023 California 8-Man Playoffs

As I do annualy, I think there should be some sort of state championship in California for 8-man football and I will post something annualy until at least a regional championship happens. Admittedly, unless a BCS-type format is used, getting a state championship is difficult, because the southern part of the state has far more teams than the north and they are more talented, though the talent gap is narrowing. I have an idea for a 32-team bracket and one for a 16-team bracket. My 32-team bracket idea. This idea has all league winners entered into a tournament with 14 at-large teams. To qualify for an at-large bid, a team would need to play at least five games in a season and finish with at least a .400 winning percentage. The top 14 highest calpreps.com ratings from qualifying teams would get the bid. The bracket would be created from a combination of calpreps.com ratings and geography. However, if this tournament actually happened, a committee to seed the teams would be better. What this year's 32-team bracket would look like under my idea. (Only the top 16 teams would be seeded. The seeded teams would have home games. Also, match-ups between league teams in the first round should be avoided.) 1) Valley Christian Academy (Santa Maria) 6-2 55.1 (Coast Valley-SS) New Designs Universal Park (Los Angeles) 7-0 -13.2 (City-LA) 16) California School for the Deaf (Riverside) 5-3 25.1 (TCP-SS) Branson (Ross) 5-4 24.8 (North Central II-NCS) 8) Riverdale Christian 6-1 38 (Central Sierra-CS) California Lutheran (Wildomar) 6-3 10.2 (MAJ-SS) 9) Sage Hill (Newport Beach) 5-3, 36.8 (Prep-SS) Santa Clara (Oxnard) 5-4 18.5 (Tri-Valley-SS) 5) Flintridge Prep (La Canada) 7-1, 49.3 (Prep-SS) San Pasqual Academy (Escondido) 7-3 3.8 (MAN-SD) 12) Hayfork 9-0 27.1 (California D2-NS) Tulelake 8-2 18.9 (California D1-NS) 4) Chadwick (Palos Verdes Peninsula) 8-0 52.1 (Prep-SS) Fulton (LA-Van Nuys) 7-1 -0.7 (Valley-LA) 13) Woodside Priory (Portola Valley) 7-2 26.8 (PCL-CCS) Laguna Blanca (Santa Barbara) 7-1 21.6 (Tri-Valley-SS) 6) Stuart Hall (San Francisco) 7-1 40.6 (North Central II-NCS) California School for the Deaf (Fremont) 9-1 15.4 (Independent-NCS) 11) St. Joseph’s Academy (San Marcos) 7-2, 27.8 (Ocean-SD) Faith Baptist (LA-Canoga Park) 6-3 19.6 (Heritage-SS) 3) Avalon 6-1 52.7 (Independent-SS) Coast Union (Cambria) 5-4 -7.3 (Coast Valley-SS) 14) Hesperia Christian 8-1 26 (Agape-SS) Santa Clarita Christian 7-2 24.6 (HER-SS) 7) Cate (Carpinteria) 3-3 39 (TVL-SS) Orcutt Academy 4-5 15.8 (Central Sierra-CS) 10) Mammoth (Mammoth Lakes) 6-3 29.4 (Hi-Lo- CS) Thatcher (Ojai) 3-4 19.3 (Tri-Valley-SS) 15) South Fork (Miranda) 5-5 25.5 (North Central II-NCS) Foothills Chr. (El Cajon) 7-2 22.2 (Ocean-SD) 2) Fresno Christian 10-0 53 (CSL-CS) Roseland University Prep (Santa Rosa) 9-1 3.3 (North-Central III-NCS) My 16-team idea My 16-team idea splits the state into specific regions. The Southern Section would have its own region. The second region would be a combination of Los Angeles and San Diego Sections. The third region would consist of the Central, Central Coast, and Sac-Joaquin Sections. The fourth region would consist of Northern, North Coast, San Francisco, and Oakland (the latter two don't have 8-man teams yet). Each region would have 4-team brackets. League winners would not be guaranteed a spot. However, in regions with multiple sections, at least two of the sections must be represented. Also, no more than two teams in the same league would be allowed in. The regional winners would meet at neutral sites until a winner is crowned. Region 1 Southern Section (4) Flintridge Prep (La Canada) 7-1, 49.3 (Prep-SS) @ (1) Valley Christian Academy (Santa Maria) 6-2 55.1 (Coast Valley-SS) (3) Chadwick (Palos Verdes Peninsula) 8-0 52.1 (Prep-SS) @ (2) Avalon 6-1 52.7 (Independent-SS) Region 2 Los Angeles/San Diego Sections (4) Fulton (LA-Van Nuys) 7-1 -0.7 (Valley-LA) @ (1) St. Joseph’s Academy (San Marcos) 7-2, 27.8 (Ocean-SD) (3) Calvin Christian (Escondido) 6-3 15 (Ocean-SD) @ (2) Foothills Chr. (El Cajon) 7-2 22.2 (Ocean-SD) Region 3 Central/Central Coast/Sac-Joaquin Section (4) Woodside Priory (Portola Valley) 7-2 26.8 (PCL-CCS) @ (1) Fresno Christian 10-0 53 (CSL-CS) (3) Mammoth (Mammoth Lakes) 6-3 29.4 (Hi-Lo- CS) @ (2) Riverdale Christian 6-1 38 (Central Sierra-CS) Region 4 Northern/North Coast/San Francisco/Oakland (4) Tulelake 8-2 18.9 (California D1-NS) @ (1) Stuart Hall (San Francisco) 7-1 40.6 (North Central II-NCS) (3) South Fork (Miranda) 5-5 25.5 (North Central II-NCS) @ (2) Hayfork 9-0 27.1 (California D2-NS)

My Thoughts on the Current State of the PAC-12

The PAC-12 is on a downward spiral. Anyone who pays attention to college sports can see that. On July 27, 2023, Colorado announced that it would leave the PAC-12 to return to the Big 12 in 2024. With UCLA and USC already announcing that they will join the Big 10 in 2024, the PAC-12 realistically became the “PAC-9”. One week later, Arizona announced that it will be joining Colorado in the Big 12 to make it the “PAC-8”. The next day Oregon and Washington announced they will go to the Big 10 and hours later Arizona State and Utah announced they will go to the Big 12. Now the PAC-12 will be down to the “PAC-4” in 2024. Forget remaining a “Power 5” conference. This once great conference is struggling just to survive. How did the PAC-12 get into its current position? There are many legitimate factors, rumors, and reasons that are not public. As the old saying goes, the more I learn, the more I realize I didn’t know about the situation. A lot of what I do not know a lot about what the previous commissioner, Larry Scott did, I learned that he left the PAC-12 in a horrendous position. According to ESPN, the PAC-12 lost so much money with its current television deal that it cannot pay exit fees for many Mountain West schools. While it may or may not be able to pay for one or two schools, the conference has at least four spots to fill to have any sense of adequacy and eight spots to fill if it wants to live up to its name of the PAC-12. The current commissioner, George Kliavkoff, had a chance to add schools like San Diego State, Boise State, SMU, Tulane, and possibly poach a Big 12 school and he failed to act for various reasons. Now, in my opinion, the PAC-12 is in such an abysmal state that if I am any one of those schools, I do not leave where I am at even though they are currently in “inferior conferences”. Finally, some schools lost money from COVID-19. During the height of the pandemic, college sports were canceled and when they were allowed to return, fans originally were not allowed to attend the games. In some cases, teams had to travel to play their “home games”. For example, some of Stanford basketball’s home games were in Arizona and New Mexico. For UCLA and USC, joining the Big 10 will allow them to recover lost funds quicker since the Big 10’s television revenue deal is better than the PAC-12’s. While UCLA and USC are not hurting for money, the schools have a right to do what is best for them. As previously mentioned, current commissioner, George Kliavkoff, had a chance to replace UCLA and USC when they bolted for the Big 10. The current wave of realignment began with Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12 for the SEC. That move led the Big 12 to take schools from the American Athletic Conference (AAC), and the AAC took schools from Conference USA, and there have been and will be other moves outside that specific chain. The motive behind the majority of the moves was to find new markets to extend the brand of the conference. The SEC is short for Southeastern Conference. I wouldn’t call Texas and Oklahoma the “Southeastern” section of the United States. Los Angeles is definitely not in the Midwest. With Rutgers, in the New York market, already in the Big 10, the conference will have the two largest markets in the United States. The search for larger markets is not exclusive to the “Power 5” conferences. One school the AAC added was Rice University. It is true that Rice is an excellent academic institution, but outside of baseball, the school has not been successful in sports. Originally, the AAC adding Rice was a questionable move, but Rice is located in Houston, Texas. To bring this discussion back to the PAC-12, it had a chance to regain the Southern California market (San Diego State), to add the Las Vegas market (UNLV), add the Dallas market (SMU), and maybe even add the New Orleans market (Tulane). Instead the conference took a gamble and tried to stay with ten teams. It lost. The concept of the “Power 5” will soon be the “Power 4”. There is no rule that says there has to be a “Power 5” and even if there was, either the Mountain West or the AAC would soon take over the PAC-12’s spot. When there was talk of a “Power 4” or “four superconferences”, it was originally thought the Big 12 would be dissolved. No one could imagine a few years later that it would be the PAC-12 that would be all but dead. On a side note, the PAC-12 once had a chance to expand its brand to Texas and Oklahoma and get Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State. At the time I was happy the deal did not happen. Knowing now what I didn’t know then, I wish it would have happened. The PAC-12 is now fighting for survival. I have an idea of how it can survive. I will be the first to admit that it is not a pleasant one, nor would anyone who makes the decisions actually go for it if they heard it. However, I do not think that the conference will survive in its current state. I am going to share my idea, anyway. I almost wonder if the PAC-12 should rebrand itself as a FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) conference. Being a FCS conference actually gives the conference a better shot of being on ESPN, albeit on ESPN+. According to ESPN, the PAC-12 is about to have a television deal with Apple TV. I’m sorry, but not many people will subscribe to Apple TV to see Stanford vs. Oregon State. Even if the PAC-12 took everyone who showed even remote interest in leaving its current conference to join the PAC-12, UNLV and South Florida (yes, South Florida) are not going to get people to subscribe to Apple TV. Part of me thinks dropping down to the FCS level and getting on ESPN will give the conference a better chance to survive. Let the remaining schools (California, Oregon State, Stanford, Washington State) go where they will and grab eight to twelve new schools. The brand and the history will likely attract many schools. I will have a list of possible schools at the end of the blog, but I would start with the Big Sky football associate members, Cal Poly and UC-Davis. My idea is not unprecedented. The Southern Conference once had Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, and LSU among others. When they left in 1932, the Southern Conference added who it could when it could. The conference that once had Alabama is now a FCS conference. I am not suggesting that the PAC-12 necessarily go with this idea, but whatever it does, it needs to think outside the box, which is what I believe my idea does. My idea of the FCS PAC-12 (current conference in parenthesis). Cal Poly (Big Sky for football/Big West for others) Eastern Washington (Big Sky) Montana (Big Sky) Montana State (Big Sky) North Dakota State (Missouri Valley for football/Summit for others) Portland State (Big Sky) Sacramento State (Big Sky) San Diego (Pioneer for football/WCC for others) South Dakota State (Missouri Valley for football/Summit for others) Southern Utah (WAC) Chicago State if it gets football (I am only half-joking with that one) If these schools would be willing to move up from Division II, I would also add Central Washington, Western Oregon, and Simon Fraser if it got football back. If the conference is open to non-football schools it could add Denver (Summit) Grand Canyon (WAC) Long Beach State (Big West) St. Mary’s (WCC) Seattle (WAC)

My Reaction to the First 2024-2028 Sac-Joaquin Section Realignment Proposal.

I wrote this blog for the southern part of the Sac-Joaquin Section only. Proposed changes New Teams in CAPS. TCAL (D1): EDISON, Lincoln-Stockton, Lodi, MANTECA, Modesto Christian (basketball only), St. Mary’s, Tracy CCAL (D2): Downey, Enochs, Gregori, Modesto, Pitman, Turlock (It is the only league in the entire Sac-Joaquin Section that has no proposed changes). CCC (D3): Atwater, Buhach Colony, El Capitan, Golden Valley, LOS BANOS, Merced SJAA (D3): Bear Creek, Chavez, Franklin-Stockton, McNair, Stagg, TOKAY, WEST Weston Ranch VOL (D3): Central Catholic, East Union, Kimball, MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Oakdale, PATTERSON, Sierra WAC (D4): Beyer, Ceres, CENTRAL VALLEY, Davis-Modesto, Johansen, Lathrop, LIVINGSTON, Pacheco TVL (D5): Escalon, Hilmar, Hughson, ORESTIMBA, Ripon, Ripon Christian, SONORA CCAA (D6): Big Valley, HOLT ACADEMY, HUGHES ACADEMY, Millennium, MODESTO CHRISTIAN (no basketball), RIVER ISLANDS, Turlock Christian, Venture Academy MLL (D6): Amador, Bret Harte, Calaveras, LINDEN, RIVERBANK, Summerville, WATERFORD SL (D6): Delhi, Denair, Gustine, Le Grand, Mariposa, STONE RIDGE CHRISTIAN MVL (D7): ABLE Charter, Delta Charter, Don Pedro, ELLIOT CHRISTIAN, Lodi Academy, Stockton Christian, Tioga, VANGUARD 209 Teams outside of 209 leagues: ARGONAUT, Galt, and Liberty Ranch all in the SVC. Dos Palos is not in the Sac-Joaquin Section. Source: Twitter post via the Sac-Joaquin Section One thing to keep in mind is that this is the first proposal. I would estimate that only 60-70 percent of what is in the proposal ends up happening when the leagues become binding. However, the first proposal gives schools and coaches an opportunity to discuss the pros and cons of their respective positions and, yes, to politick any changes to the proposal they may want. There will be at least two more meetings where both rational discussions and complaints can be made before the new leagues are finalized. I do not expect the new leagues to be like they were proposed today. For example, I do not believe Sonora and Orestimba will end up in the same league. The two schools are almost two hours from each other when there are no traffic issues. While there were a lot of surprises, there were some moves that made sense. There was a call by some to have a “SFL-type” league in the 209 area. The SFL (Sierra Foothill League) is the top league in the Sac-Joaquin Section in many sports. It is a league that personifies the phrase “iron sharpens iron”. The Sac-Joaquin Section did not accommodate the request of a “Southern SFL league”, but the TCAL comes close. The TCAL has the best football schools in San Joaquin County, but if Central Catholic, Oakdale, and Turlock were added and Lodi moved elsewhere, then there would be the “Southern SFL League”. Looking at the small schools, Modesto Christian going to the CCAA with the exception of basketball made perfect sense. Modesto Christian has been declining in enrollment. I believe the school was at 120 last year and it is at 78 students this year. With the exception of basketball, the quality of the athletic teams has been on the decline. For example, the football program once won a state bowl game (the closest thing there is to a state championship in California). In the past two or three years, the Crusaders have either been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs or out of the playoffs altogether. Other programs struggle to even field a team. It is time for Modesto Christian to be in a league with schools of similar size. As previously mentioned, there were a lot of surprises. I will not go over all of them in detail, but I will expand on two of them and simply list the rest at the bottom of this blog. I will start with the one that might affect me as a coach. I am surprised that the section made the Southern League (SL) a six-team league. Currently, the league is the five teams mentioned above, Orestimba, Ripon Christian, and Waterford. It was already assumed Ripon Christian and Orestimba were going to leave. Orestimba is getting too big for the Southern League and Ripon Christian made it clear that it wants out of the league. Waterford leaving the league, too, was the second biggest surprise to me. Throughout the conversations I have had with Southern League coaches and other people of authority, it seemed to me that there were six candidates to be the three replacement teams: Big Valley, Bret Harte, Modesto Christian, Riverbank, Stone Ridge Christian, and Summerville. It was surprising that only one of those teams was chosen. The biggest surprise to me was the section placing Argonaut and Amador in separate conferences. The two schools are similar in enrollment, they are the only two high schools in Amador County, and they will merge into one school in a few years. It only makes sense that they are in the same league. I thought both schools would be sent to the SVC (Sierra Valley Conference). Since they are in different area codes, it seems that Amador County and Sacramento are far away from each other; but the truth is that several schools in Sacramento County are closer to the two Amador County schools than other schools in the Mother Lode League, the league they are currently in. As mentioned above, Argonaut will be in the SVC and Amador will be in the MLL until the two schools merge. The joint school will play in the SVC. Other Surprises Waterford to the MLL Not making drastic changes to the WAC Making the CCAA a D6 league Splitting Los Banos schools Delta Charter staying in the MVL River Islands to the CCAA VOL staying D3.

If I Was King of Sports: CA 8-man football playoffs

California has a state bowl system for 11-man high school football, but it does not have a state playoff or bowl game system for 8-man football. These players deserve to have a state championship as well. I have two ideas of how to make this happen. I will admit that it is hard to have a fair system, because there are far more teams in Southern California than in Northern California; and for the most part, most of the Southern California teams are far better than the Northern California teams, at least according to calpreps.com. For me, it was more important to have representation from all parts of the state as opposed to strictly having the best teams in, especially in high school. Anyway, my first idea is to have a 32-team state playoff tournament. All league winners in the state would be in the playoff, along with the 14 top-rated at-large teams. I used calpreps.com ratings to select and bracket the teams. I broke the bracket into two 16-team parts to better allow for less travel in the first round, but that would not prevent all travel difficulties. Idea #1 (Note: I would have true #16's play true #1 regardless of travel. The numbers were calpreps.com ratings. Bracket I 1) California School for the Deaf-Riverside (TCP-SS) (52.7) 16) Tomales (NC-III NCS) (-22.3) 8) Lancaster Baptist (LIB-SS) 23.4 9) Desert Chapel-Palm Springs (TCP-SS) 22.9 5) Valley Christian Academy-Santa Maria (CVL-SS) (32.6) 12) Villanova Prep-Ojai (FL-SS) (17.5) 4) Woodside Priory-Portola Valley (PCL-CCS) (34.9) 13) Rock Academy-San Diego (SURF-SD) (10.4) 6) Victory Christian-Chula Vista (OCE- SD) (31.3) 11) AGAPE (SS): Hesperia Christian (19.6) 3) Mammoth-Mammoth Lakes (IND-CS) 47.1 14) San Pasqual Academy-Escondido (MAN-SD) (5.4) 7) Stuart Hall-San Francisco (NCII-NCS) (29.5) 10) Thatcher-Ojai (IND-SS) 19.6 2) Fresno Christian (CSL-CS) (48.4) 15) Cornerstone Christian-Wildomar (MAJ-SS) (-4.9) II 1) Faith Baptist-LA Canoga Park (IND-SS) 49.5 16) Amino Robinson-Los Angeles (CITY-LA) (-10.8) 8) Leadership Military Academy- Moreno Valley (LIB-SS) (26) 9) Cate-Carpinteria (IND-SS) 21.5 5) Grace Brethren-Simi Valley (IND-SS) 32 12) Chester (CA-I NS) (13.5) 4) Flintridge Prep-La Canada (PREP-SS) 35.7 13) Cuyama Valley-New Cuyama (CVL-SS) (11.7) 6) Sierra-Tollhouse (CSL-CS) 31.4 11) St. Joseph’s Academy-San Marcos (OCE-SD) 19.5 3) Branson-Ross (NCII-NCS) 35.8 14) Big Valley-Bieber (CA-II NS) (1.5) 7) Chadwick-Palos Verdes Peninsula (PREP-SS) 29.1 10) Coast Union-Cambria (CVL-SS) 20.1 2) Sage Hill-Newport Beach (PREP-SS) (48.4) 15) Fulton- LA Van Nuys (VALLEY-LA) (4) Idea #2 My second idea is a four-team tournament. I would break the state up into 3 regions: North (Northern, North Coast, Central Coast, and Central Sections), South (Los Angeles and San Diego Sections), and Southern Section. The Southern Section would get its own region, because it has about as many leagues as the rest of the sections combined. The top-rated team in each region, plus an at-large would be in the playoffs. 1) California School for the Deaf-Riverside (TCP-SS) (52.7) (Southern) 4) Victory Christian-Chula Vista (OCE- SD) (31.3) (South) 3) Fresno Christian (CSL-CS) (48.4) (North) 2) Faith Baptist-LA Canoga Park (IND-SS) 49.5 (At-Large)

If I Was King Of Sports 2022 NCAA Baseball NIT

I always thought NCAA baseball should have its own NIT. There are too many teams who have great seasons that are not invited to the NCAA tournament. Even though softball now has its own NIT, it is unlikely that baseball will have one. The main reason is that baseball has a summer league that can possibly give players an opening to Major League Baseabll. Because the baseball NIT will likely not happen, I can create my own hypothetical one with my own rules; and I can use this blog as an outlet to get my thoughts down. For this model, all teams who have a better record than the team with the worst record to get an at-large berth in the NCAA tournament would get an invite. If there are any open spots, I would extend the invitation to division II teams who are not in its version of the College World Series. If this was a real tournament, there would have to be a pre-determinant amount of teams. Since it is not, I can make it fluctuate from year to year. This year, there would have been 36 teams, divided into six six-team regions. Each region winner would have advanced to the championship series. Everything would have been double-elimination, just like the real postseason. Seeds would be determined by records, except for the division II teams that would have received an invite. They are automatic 6th seeds. At-large team with the lowest winning percentage to make NCAA tournament: Florida State 33-23 (.589) Region I @ Davidson, NC (*=Division II team) (6) Wingate* (48-10) vs. (1) Davidson (43-13) (5) Lipscomb (35-23) vs. (2) Belmont (39-20) (4) UNLV (36-22) vs. (3) Charlotte (37-21) Region VI @ Philadelphia, PA (6) West Virginia (33-22) vs. (1) Penn (33-15) (5) Fairfield (31-20) vs. (2) Ball St. (40-19) (4) Central Connecticut St. (29-18) vs. (3) Lamar (37-21) Region IV @ Norfolk, VA (6) East Tennessee St. (31-21) vs. (1) Old Dominion (41-17) (5) South Carolina-Upstate (35-22-1) vs. (2) Iowa (36-19) (4) BYU (32-21) vs. (3) California Baptist (36-20) Region III @ Spartanburg, SC (6) Northridge St. (32-22) vs. (1) Wofford (42-16-1) (5) Florida Gulf Coast (35-23) vs. (2) College of Charleston (37-20) (4) Marist (29-17) vs. (3) North Carolina St. (36-21) Region V @ Macon, GA (6) McNeese St. (34-23) vs. (1) Mercer (40-18) (5) Clemson (35-23) vs. (2) UTSA (38-20) (4) North Dakota St. (31-19) vs. (3) Creighton (31-18) Region II @ Carbondale, IL (*=Division II team) (6) Trevecca Nazarene* (37-15) vs. (1) Southern Illinois (44-16) (5) Houston (37-24) vs. (2) Eastern Kentucky (38-20) (4) Eastern Illinois (33-20) vs. (3) Cal Poly (37-21)

The New Area Code

In December 2022, the 209 area code will get a second area code. As of this writing (February 2022), we do not know what the new area code will be. However, we do know that there will be an overlay instead of a split. What that means is that the entire 209 area code region will have two area codes. Therefore, with everyone using cell phones now, two people in the same household could have two different area codes. There are advantages and disadvantages of both a split and an overlay, but that could be for a different blog. For this blog, what can be the first high school with the new area code. While that is impossible to predict, because it will have to be a new high school. What I am going to guess is which town will have the first high school with the new area code. I will give you my top 5 most likely cities based on population growth, what I have heard from reliable sources, rumors that I have heard, and just plain guesses based on a variety of factors. I am just guessing towns and not school districts. (For example, let’s say the Sylvan School District in Modesto decided to build a high school in Riverbank for its Riverbank students, then for this blog, I would list Riverbank as the town. By the way, that would not actually happen, though I can see a middle school in its future.) In addition, for high schools, I am only referring to traditional high schools, not private or charter. There are several sports pages and websites devoted to high school sports in “the 209”. I am curious as to what will happen when the new area code comes in and schools start getting the new area code. I am also curious as to what would have happened to their pages and websites if area codes still split, but we will never know the answer to that question. Well, regardless of what happens, here is my list of towns who may have a school with the new area code. Tracy (population 90,675) (3 high schools) Tracy currently has three high schools. Most of the city of Tracy is served by the Tracy Unified School District, but it also has two smaller school districts. I heard one of them wants to build a high school. The question is if it can find the available land. I believe it will soon be possible. So while Tracy Unified School District will still have three high schools, I believe the city will soon have four. Manteca (population 83,498) (3 high schools) First, I want to clear up some confusion. Manteca Unified School District has five high schools. In addition to the three that lie within the city limits, the district has Lathrop High School and Weston Ranch High School is in Stockton. At one time there were plans for a fourth high school to be built in the city of Manteca. In fact, it was supposed to be named South Manteca High School. I do not know why those plans fell through. As of this writing, there are currently no high schools south of the Highway 120 bypass. I predict there will be a school in that area soon. Salida (population 13,722) (0 high schools) This selection is a complete guess on my part; however, this guess is not entirely random. Last time I walked by Salida Middle School, there was a “for sale” sign on the empty land next to it. I have been wondering if the Salida Union School District planned on buying it. I believe Salida is the largest town in the 209 without a high school. In 2009, Gregori High School opened to serve citizens of both Northwest Modesto and Salida. Modesto is currently building homes on the north part of town and those students will likely attend Gregori. Therefore, Gregori will likely be large enough without the Salida students. The Salida Union School District could decide to build a high school and get attendance money from its high school students. Turlock (population 73,631) (2 high schools) A month ago I heard that Turlock is looking for land for a third high school. If what I heard was correct, the unfortunate news was that the original site the Turlock Unified School District had chosen had fallen through. I do believe that it will be a while before Turlock will get another high school. The city has almost 75,000 people and only two junior high schools. Turlock High School had an enrollment of nearly 4,000 before Pitman was built. Turlock can possibly finally build a third high school when businesses are given the new area code. Modesto (population 218,464) (7 high schools) It was hard to pick a fifth city. The reason I chose Modesto, because there is a section of town without a public high school. The southwestern part of the city does not have a public high school, though there is a private school. The students who live in Southwest Modesto are split into Gregori, Davis, Modesto, and Downey High Schools, depending on where one lives. The question is where the land will come from. As Modesto grows, perhaps there will be a school for each neighborhood. Honorable mention (in alphabetical order) Lodi (population 65,846) (2 high schools) Merced (population 82,662) (3 high schools) Patterson (population 22,066) (1 high school) Riverbank (population 24,842) (1 high school) Stockton (population 309,228) (8 high schools) Note: When the first new high school in this area is built, the new school may not necessarily get the new area code. Not many people know, but the 916 area code now has a second area code, 279. Two high schools have opened since the formation of the 279 area code, yet they both still have the 916 area code. Population figures are from wikipedia.org

The Big South Issue

One piece of advice from a teacher training exercise that I received was that if I am going to teach writing, I should practice it. I am going to take that advice. I will periodically write blogs about random subjects, mostly about sports. Most of these subjects will be those that very few people write about. My first subject will be about the state of the Big South Conference football. The Big South Conference is part of NCAA’s Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Last season there were nine teams. However, the conference was going to lose two of them when the ASUN announced that it was going to have football. Therefore, the Big South associate members, Kennesaw State and North Alabama would join, as they are full members of the ASUN. This week, full member Hampton and associate member Monmouth announced that they were going to join the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in July. Suddenly, the Big South found itself with five football-playing schools for the 2022 season. NCAA rules say that a conference must have at least six members. According to HBCU Gameday, the Big South can apply for a one-year extension to get a sixth member. It would be a wise idea, especially when the conference dropped to five members at practically the last-minute. I have a few ideas for a solution to the problem (I am sure the conference officials have many more). Idea number one, put pressure on Presbyterian to leave the non-scholarship, Pioneer Football League, and join the rest of its sports in the Big South. The second idea is to have the remaining Big South football teams merge with the Southern Conference teams to form one league for football only. If this move were to happen, it would not be unprecedented. In division II, the remaining three football-playing schools in the Great Northwest Conference (Central Washington, Simon Fraser, and Western Oregon) will merge with the mostly Texas-based Lone Star Conference beginning in the 2022-2023 season. My final idea is that the teams can align with the remaining MEAC teams. This possible solution has some problems, though. The primary issue is that the MEAC champion plays the SWAC champion in the Celebration Bowl. If this merger were to happen, would the top MEAC team still play the SWAC team? Would the top Big South/MEAC team from the merger play? That could defeat the purpose of the Celebration Bowl. Regardless of the decision the Big South makes, the conference officials need to make a move soon before it loses other programs.

If I Was King of Sports: 2021 8-man football state championship

I have always believed that California should have a state championship for 8-man football. I will continue to create a hypothetical bracket until a real state championship exists. In this model, I have a 32-team bracket. The top 16 teams are seeded. In the first round, I have the 17th rated team play the 16th and the top team play the bottom team. After that, I made the hypothetical matches based on geography the best I could, as long as teams in the same league would not play each other in the first round. I have league winners and the top rated teams by calpreps.com as at-large teams, as long as they have a one game under .500 record or better. Here is the bracket I have... Calvary Baptist (La Verne) @ (1) Fresno Christian Upper Lake @ (16) Coast Union (Cambria) Sierra (Tollhouse) @ (8) Avalon Riverdale Christian @ (9) Mammoth (Mammoth Lakes) Sage Hill (Newport Beach) @ (5) Grace Brethren (Simi Valley) Valley Christian Academy (Santa Maria) @ (12) Chadwick (Palos Verdes Peninsula) Hesperia Christian @ (4) California School for the Deaf (Riverside) Laton @ (13) Pinewood (Los Altos Hills) Calvary Chapel (Downey) @ (6) Thatcher (Ojai) Victory Christian (Chula Vista) @ (11) San Diego Jewish Academy Sotomayor (Los Angeles) @ (3) Faith Baptist (Los Angeles-Canoga Park) Big Valley (Bieber) @ (14) Redding Christian (Palo Cedro) Cornerstone Christian (Antioch) @ (7) Branson (Ross) Calistoga @ (10) Priory (Portola Valley) Windward (Los Angeles) @ (2) Cate (Carpeteria) North Valley Military Institute (Los Angeles) @ (15) Stuart Hall (San Francisco)

If I Was King of Sports. NCAA Division II NIT

Like last year, if I controlled sports, I would have the top 2 teams in each region that did not make the NCAA Division II tournament play in a 16-team tournament in Reno. The top-4 seeds would be protected, I would have the (1) play the (16). Since it would be in Reno, everything else would be the luck of the draw. Here are the teams Atlantic Fayetteville State (8), East Stroudsburg (9) Central Minnesota-Duluth (7), Sioux Falls (10) East Franklin Pierce (9), Pace (10) Midwest Grand Valley State (4), Drury (9) South West Alabama (6), Barry (9) South Central Black Hills State (4), Lubbock Christian (9) Southeast King (TN) (6), Emmanuel (9) West Western Oregon (8), Chaminade (10) The tournament (16) Fayetteville State vs. (1) Grand Valley State East Stroudsburg vs. West Alabama Lubbock Christian vs. Black Hills State Franklin Pierce vs. (4) Chaminade Minnesota-Duluth vs. Emmanuel Barry vs. (3) Drury Western Oregon vs. Sioux Falls Pace vs. (2) King (TN)

If I Was King of Sports Former VOL vs. Current VOL basketball challenge

I would like to see a high school basketball challenge between the former members of the Valley Oak League vs. the current members of the Valley Oak League. The teams wouldn't have had to be in the VOL at the same time, but I still want to see it. If I was in charge, here is what the challenge might look like... (In reverse order of last year's VOL finish. Last place would play first, champion would play last. Current members are in CAPS.) 1) Riverbank vs. OAKDALE (predicted winner: Oakdale) (by the way, this matchup is actually happening). 2) Bear Creek-Stockton vs. EAST UNION-MANTECA (predicted winner: Bear Creek) 3) West-Tracy vs. KIMBALL-TRACY (predicted winner: Kimball) 4) Ceres vs. CENTRAL CATHOLIC-MODESTO (predicted winner: Central Catholic) 5) Lathrop vs. SIERRA-MANTECA (predicted winner: Lathrop) 6) Tracy vs. MANTECA (predicted winner: Manteca) 7) St. Mary's-Stockton vs. WESTON RANCH-STOCKTON (predicted winner: Weston Ranch) The current VOL would win 5-2 under my predictions.

If I Was King of Sports: CA State 8-man football playoff (2019)

In California, there are 15 divisions for high school football state championships, but there is nothing for 8-man football. I believe there needs to be a state 8-man championship. But how can that be done? I do realize that there are so few teams and it can be a logistical nightmare. Also, looking at calpreps.com over the past few years, it seems that the southern part of the state is more dominate than the northern part. The south also has far more schools playing 8-man football. I have proposed something for many years, and I usually propose a different format, and this year is no exception. Unless a BCS-style is done for 8-man, I now think that we must start with separate Northern California and Southern California playoffs. Because, as stated before, there are far more teams in the South than in the North, I propose a 12-team tournament for the North and a 24-team tournament for the South. Each league winner would get an automatic bid. Also, teams in the same league would not be able to play each other in the first round, but teams in the same section could. Here is my bracket. Since I am from the North, I will start there. North (Central, Central Coast,North Coast, and Northern Sections) Highest seeds would host each round (1) Mojave (CS) (6-0) Bye (8) South Fork-Miranda (NCS) (6-2) (9) Burney (NS) (7-3) (5) Branson-Ross (NCS) (6-1) (12) Woodside Priory-Portola Valley (CCS) (6-2) (4) Lone Pine (CCS) (7-2) Bye (6) Riverdale Christian (CS) (8-1) (11) Tomales (NCS) (6-2) (3) Chester (NS) (10-0) Bye (7) Redding Christian-Palo Cedro (NS) (9-1) (10) Trona (CCS) (6-4) Bye (2) Cornerstone Christian-Antioch (CCS) (10-0) South (Los Angeles, San Diego, and Southern Sections) Bracket 1 (1) Windward-Los Angeles (SS) (8-0) Bye (8) Calvary Chapel-Downey (SS) (6-4) (9) Sage Oak-Hesperia (SS) (5-3) (5) Lancaster Baptist (SS) (6-2) (12) San Diego Jewish Academy (SD) (8-1) (4) Sage Hill-Newport Beach (SS) (9-1) Bye (6) Bloomington Christian (SS) (7-1) (11) Noli Indian-San Jacinto (SS) (6-3) (3) Thatcher-Ojai (SS) (4-3) Bye (7) Avalon (SS) (7-1) (10) Hillcrest Christian-Thousand Oaks (SS) (7-1) Bye (2) Amino Robinson-Los Angeles (LA) (8-1) Bracket 2 (1) Chadwick-Palos Verdes Estates (SS) (9-1) Bye (8) Santa Clara-Oxnard (SS) (5-2) (9) Fulton-Los Angeles (Van Nuys) (LA) (7-1) (5) Foothills Christian-El Cajon (SD) (10-0) (12) Desert Christian-Lancaster (SS) (5-4) (4) Cate-Carpinteria (SS) (6-3) Bye (6) Riverside County Education Academy-Moreno Valley (SS) (6-4) (11) Milken-Los Angeles (SS) (5-5) (3) Faith Baptist-Los Angeles (Canoga Park) (SS) (7-2) Bye (7) Coast Union-Cambria (SS) (9-1) (10) TEACH Tech- Los Angeles (LA) (7-1) Bye (2) Flintridge Prep-La Canada (SS) (8-2)

2019- What might the playoffs look like if the old system was still used?

This is obviously a guess, because for those divisions with three leagues, we wouldn't be able to determine which league would get two teams. For this model, I gave the lowest rated league two teams. The others would get three each. *= Did not make playoffs under format actually used. DIVISION I (8 teams) (DL and SFL, 3 teams each) (TCAL: 2 teams) DL 3: Jesuit-Carmichael (4-2, 5-5) @ SFL 1: Folsom (6-0, 9-1) SFL 3: Oak Ridge-El Dorado Hills (4-2, 7-2) @ TCAL 1: St. Mary's-Stockton (5-0, 5-5) DL 2: Cosumnes Oaks-Elk Grove (4-2, 7-3) @ TCAL 2: Lincoln-Stockton (4-1, 9-1) SFL 2: Rocklin (4-2, 7-3) @ DL 1: Davis (5-1, 9-1) DIVISION II (8 teams) (Each league gets 2 teams) SJAA 2: Bear Creek-Stockton* (4-1, 4-6) @ CVC 1: Inderkum-Sacramento (6-0, 10-0) ML 2: Laguna Creek-Elk Grove* (4-1, 7-3) @ CCAL 1: Turlock (5-0, 8-2) CCAL 2: Downey-Modesto (4-1, 7-3) @ SJAA 1: Edison-Stockton (5-0, 9-1) CVC 2 Yuba City (4-2, 6-4) @ ML 1: Monterey Trail-Elk Grove (5-0, 9-1) DIVISION III (16 teams) Note: In the old system, division I had 16 teams. However, it also had the most leagues. Currently, division III has the most leagues. That is why I gave this division 16 teams in my model. Like the old system, though, there would be a north and a south and those winners would meet in the championship. North (CAL and FVL 3 teams each) (MEL 2 teams) CAL 3:Christian Brothers-Sacramento (4-2, 7-3) @ FVL 1:Placer-Auburn (5-0, 8-2) FVL 3: Ponderosa-Shingle Springs (2-3, 5-5) @ MEL 1: Vacaville (5-0, 8-2) CAL 2:Vista del Lago-Folsom (5-1,8-2) @ MEL 2: Vanden-Fairfield (4-1, 5-5) FVL 2:Rio Linda (4-1, 8-2) @ CAL 1:Capital Christian-Sacramento (6-0, 8-2) South (Each league gets 4 teams) VOL 4: Sierra-Manteca (3-3, 7-3) @ CCC 1: Buhach Colony-Atwater (6-0, 10-0) CCC 3: Merced (4-2, 5-5) @ VOL 2: Oakdale (5-1, 7-3) VOL 3: Central Catholic-Modesto (5-1, 5-5) @ CCC 2: Atwater (4-2, 7-3) CCC 4: Patterson (3-3, 6-4) @ VOL 1: Manteca (5-1, 8-2) DIVISION IV (8 teams) (GEL and WAC get 3 teams each) (GSL gets 2) WAC 3: Johansen-Modesto* (5-2, 7-3) @ GEL 1: Casa Roble-Orangevale (5-0, 7-3) GEL 3: Dixon* (3-2, 6-4) @ GSL 1: Johnson-Sacramento (4-0, 8-2) WAC 2: Los Banos (5-2, 5-5) @ GSL 2: Valley-Sacramento* (3-1, 4-6) GEL 2: Woodland (4-1, 7-3) @ WAC 1: Beyer-Modesto (6-1, 6-4) DIVISION V (2 teams each) (Note: There might be a possibility of north vs. south here, too. If so, it would be SVC vs. PVL and MLL vs. TVL) SVC 2: Rosemont-Sacramento (3-2, 7-2) @ TVL 1: Ripon (5-1, 9-1) MLL 2: Sonora (4-1, 5-5) @ PVL 1: Center-Antelope (5-0, 9-0) TVL 2: Escalon (5-1, 9-1) @ MLL 1: Amador-Sutter Creek (4-1, 9-1) PVL 2: Colfax (4-1, 7-3) @ SVC 1: Bradshaw Christian-Sacramento (5-0, 8-2) DIVISION VI (3 teams each) SDL 3: Highlands-North Highlands (3-2, 8-2) @ SL 2: Denair (6-1, 8-2) winner @ SDL 1: Golden Sierra-Garden Valley (5-0, 8-2) SL 3: Mariposa (5-2, 6-4) @ SDL 2: Linden (4-1, 7-3) winner @ SL 1: Ripon Christian (7-0, 9-1) DIVISION VII (2 teams each) CCAA 2: Stone Ridge Christian-Merced* (3-1, 6-4) @ SMAL 1: Woodland Christian (5-0, 8-2) SMAL 2: Encina-Sacramento* (3-2, 3-6) @ CCAA 1: Big Valley-Modesto (4-0, 6-4) Teams that actually made playoffs that would have missed in the old format Antelope Bear River-Grass Valley Calaveras-San Andreas Del Campo-Fair Oaks Del Oro-Loomis Elk Grove Golden Valley-Merced Granite Bay Gregori-Modesto Hilmar Hughson Kimball-Tracy LeGrand Liberty Ranch-Galt Lincoln Livingston Nevada Union-Grass Valley Oakmont-Roseville Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove River Valley-Yuba City Tracy Union Mine-El Dorado Vacaville Christian Western Sierra-Rocklin Whitney-Rocklin

My NCAA lacrosse bracketology

I wanted to see what a bracketology would look like from week to week. For those who don't know, a bracketology is a week-to-week prediction of what the tournament would look like based on the games played thus far. There are 17 teams in the NCAA lacrosse tournament. There is a play-in game and then the tournament of 16 teams. There are nine automatic bids (the ACC does not have enough teams to have an automatic bid, but they usually get at least three teams in, and sometimes all of them make it). Only the top-8 teams are seeded. I believe the 8th seed and what would be the 9th play each other, and the two lowest-rated teams play in the play-in game, with the winner playing the top-seed. The rest of the first-round matches are based on geography. The first round games are at the seeded-team's campus site. The rest of the tournament games are at neutral sites. Teams from the same conference are not allowed to play each other in the first round. For this year, I will use the rankings do determine seeding and at-large bids. The first few weeks will look weird, but it will play itself out at the end. Monday April 29th (automatic bids in CAPS) Play-In Game MARIST @ MOUNT ST. MARY'S First Round MAR/MSM @ (1) PENN ST. Cornell @ (8) Notre Dame Towson @ (5) Maryland DENVER @ (4) Virginia Syracuse @ (6) LOYOLA (MD) STONY BROOK @ (3) PENN HIGH POINT @ (7) Duke MASSACHUSETTS @ (2) Yale Bids by Conference ACC- 4, Ivy- 3, Big 10-2, CAA-2 First 4 Teams Out Ohio State, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, North Carolina Wednesday April 24th (automatic bids in CAPS) Play-In Game MARIST @ STONY BROOK First Round MAR/SB @ (1) PENN ST. Cornell @ (8) LOYOLA (MD) Notre Dame @ (5) Yale VILLANOVA @ (4) PENN Ohio St. @ (6) Virginia HIGH POINT @ (3) Duke HOBART @ (7) Syracuse TOWSON @ (2) Maryland Bids by conference ACC-4; Big 10- 3; Ivy- 3 First 4 Teams Out Denver, Massachusetts, Boston, Georgetown Wednesday April 17th (automatic bids in CAPS) Play-In Game VERMONT @ CANISIUS First Round VER/CAN @ (1) PENN ST. Ohio St. @ (8) LOYOLA (MD) Notre Dame @ (5) PENN DENVER @ (4) Yale DELAWARE @ (6) Virginia HIGH POINT @ (3) Duke Cornell @ (7) Syracuse MOUNT ST. MARY'S @ (2) Maryland Bids By Conference ACC- 4, Big 10- 3, Ivy- 3 First 4 Out Towson, Massachusetts, Boston, Army Monday April 8th update (automatic bids in CAPS) Play-In Game VERMONT @ DETROIT First Round VER/DET @ (1) PENN ST. Syracuse @ (8) Cornell Ohio St. @ (5) Yale RICHMOND @ (4) Virginia Notre Dame @ (6) PENN TOWSON @ (6) Maryland VILLANOVA @ (7) Duke MOUNT ST. MARY'S @ (2) LOYOLA (MD) Teams by Conference ACC-4, Big 10- 3, Ivy- 3 First 4 Teams Out High Point, Denver, Johns Hopkins, Lehigh Monday April 1st update (automatic bids in CAPS) Note: Conference play began for the remaining conferences that did not begin last week. That made an impact in the bracket. Play-In Game ALBANY @ MOUNT ST. MARY'S First Round ALB/MSM @ (1) Penn St. Ohio St. (8) Duke QUINNIPIAC @ (5) Yale RICHMOND @ (4) Virginia LEHIGH @ (6) PENN Cornell @ (3) MARYLAND DENVER @ (7) Notre Dame TOWSON @ (2) Loyola (MD) Teams by conference ACC-3, Big 10- 3, Ivy-3, Patriot-2, First 4 Teams Out: Syracuse, High Point, Army, Massachusetts Tuesday March 26th update. The bracket (automatic bids in CAPS) Play-in game VERMONT @ SIENA First Round VER/SIE @ (1) PENN STATE Denver @ (8) Syracuse Cornell @ (5) Duke MARQUETTE @ (4) Ohio St. TOWSON @ (6) Loyola (MD) LEHIGH @ (3) Maryland RICHMOND @ (7) Virginia HOBART @ (2) YALE Teams by conference ACC-3, Big 10- 3, Big East-2, Ivy-2, Patriot-2 First 4 teams out Notre Dame (4-3), Penn (4-3), High Point (7-2), Army (7-2)

If I Was King of Sports- 2019 Reno 16

I believe that NCAA Division II basketball should have a second postseason basketball tournament just like Division I does. My proposal would be the Reno 16. There are 8 regions in division II. My proposal would take the top 2 teams in each region that were not selected for the NCAA Division II basketball tournament and send them to Reno. This idea is based off the Vegas 16 tournament that happened in 2017. It was a good idea in my opinion, but division I was just too saturated with postseason tournaments. Many division II teams have excellent seasons, but do not continue; because only 64 teams qualify for the NCAA division II basketball tournament. If I had things my way, I would hold the tournament at the Reno Events Center, but the University of Nevada would be a possibility, too. Having two venues might be a good idea, because one day if by some miracle this tournament actually happened, I would want to have a tournament for the division III teams, as well. In my proposal, I would rank the top 4 teams and then the rest of the games would be chosen at random. I think random choosing would make things more entertaining, but I would want to separate the top-4 teams, that way we don't risk the top-2 teams playing each other in the first round. The teams Atlantic Region 1. Mercyhurst (19-6)-2 2. Slippery Rock (17-9) Central Region 1. Wayne St. (NE) (18-9)-1 2. Sioux Falls (18-11) East Region 1. Bentley (19-10)-3 2. Bloomfield (19-9) Midwest Region 1. Indianapolis (16-8) 2. Ferris St. (16-11) South Central Region 1. Newman (16-8) 2. Dixie St. (16-8) South Region 1. Eckerd (17-9) 2. Barry (14-10) Southeast Region 1. Lincoln Memorial (19-8) 2. Belmont Abbey (19-7) West Region 1. Northwest Nazarene (16-7)-4 2. Azusa Pacific (19-10) The Bracket Newman vs. (1) Wayne St. (NE) Bloomfield vs. Barry Indianapolis vs. Dixie St. Eckerd vs. (4) Northwest Nazarene Slippery Rock vs. Lincoln Memorial Sioux Falls vs. (3) Bentley Ferris St. vs. Belmont Abbey Azusa Pacific vs. (2) Mercyhurst

If I Was King of Sports-2019 209 basketball tournament

The rules to this tournament are mentioned in my previous blogs, but I do have a couple of changes. I decided to make a bracket for the girls tournament. One change is if one school qualifies as hosts for both the boys and girls tournaments, then there will have to be a different location for the girls (if this tournament actually happened, the burden for the new location will be on the boys next year). I would want to test out three different options for the alternative location: 1) Have the #2 seed host, 2) find the closest school geographically to the #1 seed so that team would not have to travel as far, 3) have the closest school geographically to the #1 seed in the pod to host, even if it is the #8 seed. My bracket this year will use the first two options. (Note: For the issue of St. Mary's: The girls have an independent schedule, and thus will be independents. The boys reported an ineligible player late in the season. In my tournament, it would lose its right to host. That pod would be at the #2 seed.) Boys Bracket Pod A: at Weston Ranch-Stockton (8) Atwater Falcons (CCC) vs. (1) Weston Ranch Cougars (VOL) (5) Holt Academy Bobcats (MVL) vs. (4) Venture Academy Mustangs (CCAA) (6) Bear Creek Bruins (SJAA) vs. (3) Tracy Bulldogs (TCAL) (7) Pitman Pride (CCAL) vs. (2) Mountain House Mustangs (WAC) Pod H: at Argonaut-Jackson (8) Gustine Reds (SL) vs. (1) Argonaut Mustangs (MLL) (5) Oakdale Mustangs (VOL) vs. (4) Buhach Colony Thunder (CCC) (6) Dos Palos Broncs (WSL) vs. (3) Ripon Christian Knights (TVL) (7) Enochs Eagles (CCAL) vs. (2) Stockton Christian Eagles (MVL) Pod E: at Modesto Christian (8) Waterford Wildcats (SL) vs. (1) Modesto Christian Crusaders (TCAL) (5) Delta Charter Dragons (MVL) vs. (4) Big Valley Lions (CCAA) (6) Stagg Delta Kings (SJAA) vs. (3) Beyer Patriots (WAC) (7) Merced Bears (CCC) vs. (2) Gregori (CCAL) Pod D: at Turlock Christian (Note: Due to St. Mary's using ineligible players) (8) Summerville Bears (MLL) vs. (1) St. Mary's Rams (TCAL) (5) Turlock Bulldogs (CCAL) vs. (4) Denair Coyotes (SL) (6) East Union Lancers (VOL) vs. (3) El Capitan Gauchos (WAC) (7) Hilmar Yellowjackets (TVL) vs. (2) Turlock Christian Eagles (CCAA) Pod F: at Liberty Ranch-Galt (8) Johansen Vikings (WAC) vs. (1) Liberty Ranch Hawks (SVC) (5) Riverbank Bruins (TVL) vs. (4) Calaveras (MLL) (6) Lodi Flames (TCAL) vs. (3) Manteca Buffaloes (VOL) (7) Central Valley Hawks (CCC) vs. (2) Chavez Titans (SJAA) Pod C: at Brookside Christian-Stockton (8) Franklin Yellowjackets (SJAA) vs. (1) Brookside Christian Knights (CCAA) (5) Kimball Jaguars (VOL) vs. (4) Hughes Academy Titans (MVL) (6) Amador Buffaloes (MLL) vs. (3) Los Banos Tigers (WAC) (7) Linden Lions (SDL) vs. (2) Ripon Indians (TVL) Pod G: at Central Catholic-Modesto (8) Livingston Wolves (TVL) vs. (1) Central Catholic Raiders (VOL) (5) Modesto Panthers (CCAL) vs. (4) Edison Vikings (SJAA) (6) Ceres Bulldogs (WAC) vs. (3) Vanguard Lions (IND) (7) Lincoln Trjoans (TCAL) vs. (2) Mariposa Grizzlies (SL) Pod B: at Sonora (8) McNair Eagles (SJAA) vs. (1) Sonora Wildcats (MLL) (5) Downey Knights (TCAL) vs. (4) Sierra Timberwolves (VOL) (6) Orestimba Warriors (SL) vs. (3) Lathrop Spartans (WAC) (7) Escalon Cougars (TVL) vs. (2) Golden Valley Cougars (CCC) Non-advancing pods Pod I: at Galt (8) Delhi (SL) vs. (1) Galt (SVC) (5) Millennium (CCAA) vs. (4) Pacheco (WAC) (6) Elliot Christian (CCAA) vs. (3) Bret Harte (MLL) (7) Davis (WAC) vs. (2) West (TCAL) Pod J: at Lodi Academy (8) Today (TCAL) vs. (1) Lodi Academy (MVL) (5) LeGrand (SL) vs. (4) Hughson (TVL) (6) Patterson (CCC) vs. (3) Tioga (MVL) (7) Humphreys Charter (MVL) vs. (2) Don Pedro (MVL) Pod K Central Valley Christian (IND) @ Stone Ridge Christian (CCAA) Girls Tournament Pod A: at Holt Academy-Stockton (Pod at #2 seed due to conflict with boys tournament) (8) Golden Valley Cougars (CCC) vs. (1) Argonaut Mustangs (MLL) (5) Sierra Timberwolves (VOL) vs. (4) Lodi Flames (TCAL) (6) Venture Academy Mustangs (CCAA) vs. (3) Edison Vikings (SJAA) (7) Modesto Panthers (CCAL) vs. (2) Holt Academy Bobcats (MVL) Pod H: at Summerville-Tuolumne City (Pod at closest location to #1 seed due to conflict with boys tournament) (8) Stagg Delta Kings (SJAA) vs. (1) Sonora Wildcats (MLL) (5) Orestimba Warriors (SL) vs. Central Catholic Raiders (VOL) (6) Mountain House Mustangs (WAC) vs. (3) Ripon Chrisitan Knights (TVL) (7) Buhach Colony Thunder (CCC) vs. (2) Stockton Christian Eagles (MVL) Pod E: at Kimball-Tracy (8) Amador Buffaloes (MLL) vs. (1) Kimball Jaguars (VOL) (5) Modesto Christian Crusaders (TCAL) vs. (4) Merced Bears (CCC) (6) McNair Eagles (SJAA) vs. (3) Ripon Indians (TVL) (7) Gregori Jaguars (CCAL) vs. (2) Beyer Patriots (WAC) Pod D: at Bear Creek-Stockton (8) Tracy Bulldogs (TCAL) vs. (1) Bear Creek Bruins (SJAA) (5) Liberty Ranch Hawks (SVC) vs. (4) Hughes Academy Bobcats (MVL) (6) Gustine Reds (SL) vs. (3) East Union Lancers (VOL) (7) Ceres Bulldogs (WAC) vs. (2) Livingston Wolves (TVL) Pod F: at Atwater (8) Tokay Tigers (TCAL) vs. (1) Atwater Falcons (CCC) (5) Oakdale Mustangs (VOL) vs. (4) Le Grand Bulldogs (SL) (6) Dos Palos Broncs (WSL) vs. (3) Los Banos Tigers (WAC) (7) Millennium Falcons (CCAA) vs. (2) Turlock CCAL) Pod C: at Mariposa (8) Downey Knights (CCAL) vs. (1) Mariposa Grizzlies (SL) (5) Weston Ranch Cougars (VOL) vs. (4) Hughson Huskies (TVL) (6) Stone Ridge Christian Knights (CCAA) vs. (3) El Capitan Gauchos (CCC) (7) Don Pedro Panthers (MVL) vs. (2) Calaveras (MLL) Pod G: at Lathrop (8) Chavez Titans (SJAA) vs. (1) Lathrop Spartans (WAC) (5) Waterford (SL) vs. (4) Pitman Pride (CCAL) (6) Escalon Cougars (TVL) vs. (3) Manteca Buffaloes (VOL) (7) West Wolfpack (TCAL) vs. (2) Turlock Christian Eagles (CCAA) Pod B: at St. Mary's-Stockton (8) Delta Charter Dragon (MVL) vs. (1) St. Mary's (IND) (5) Patterson Tigers (CCC) vs. (4) Johansen Vikings (WAC) (6) Bret Harte Bullfrogs (MLL) vs. (3) Enochs Eagles (CCAL) (7) Galt Warriors (SVC) vs. (2) Lincoln Trojans (TCAL) Non-advancing pods Pod I: at Hilmar (8) Franklin (SJAA) vs. (1) Hilmar (TVL) (5) Summerville (MLL) vs. (4) Big Valley (CCAA) (6) Davis (WAC) vs. (3) Lodi Academy (MVL) (7) Pacheco (WAC) vs. (2) Linden (SDL) Pod J: at Denair (4) Delhi/Riverbank winner vs. (1) Denair (SL) (3) Tioga (MVL) vs. (2) Central Valley (CCC) Pod K: Delhi (SL) @ Riverbank (TVL)

If the Sac-Joaquin Section ran its playoffs like the NCAA tournament- 2019

Apparently I did this blog last year, so I will keep it as simple as I can. I wondered what the high school basketball playoffs might look like if it was ran like the NCAA tournament. I will give some basic rules for my hypothetical tournament and what the brackets might look like. For the actual playoff brackets, go to There are teams that qualified for the actual playoffs that would not qualify here, and vice versa. Like last year, there would be no divisions. The smallest school could play the largest school. There are a few logistic differences between high school and college. 1) Because it is high school, I think teams should have a winning record in order to qualify. I gave the exception to teams who actually qualified for the playoffs (there are 3 teams in this case). 2) In college, teams cannot play in the same city as the host in the first two rounds, I allowed this as long as schools were not within two miles of each other. Like college, the bracket is divided in four-team pods, the highest-seed gets location priority. The #4 seeds gets what's left. 3) The talent "gap" between automatic qualifiers and at-large teams is not as big in high school as it is in college. Therefore, the at-large play-in games for my tournament will fall in the 15th seed as opposed to the 11th or 12th in college. If this tournament actually happened, there would be some predetermined host sites. In this model, I just used the largest schools in each region. For the tournament, there are four area codes in the Sac-Joaquin Section. Each region is named after area codes. Host sites 1st and 2nd rounds 209 530 707 916 Lincoln (Stockton) Davis Armijo (Fairfield) Franklin (Elk Grove) Turlock Yuba City Vacaville Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 3rd and 4th rounds 209: University of the Pacific (Stockton) 530: University of California-Davis 707: Solano Community College (Vacaville) 916: Sacramento State University Semifinal and Final: Golden One Center Play-In Games (@ Galt) At-large 15th seed: Modesto (14-13) vs. Stagg (14-13) 15th seed: Oakdale (15-13) vs. Lathrop (17-9) 16th seed: Highlands (13-9) vs. Foresthill (17-8) 16th seed: Greene Academy (11-9) vs. Stockton Christian (23-4) Bracket: Overall #1 seed: Weston Ranch (Stockton) 209 @ Lincoln (Stockton) (16) Mira Loma (11-13) vs. (1) Weston Ranch (27-1) (9) Kennedy (15-13) vs. (8) West Campus (20-6) @ Yuba City (12) Brookside Christian (23-3) vs. (5) Rio Americano (20-6) (13) Placer (17-10) vs. (4) Liberty Ranch (26-2) (11) Cordova (16-11) vs. (6) Monterey Trail (17-10) (14) El Dorado (17-11) vs. (3) Whitney (18-9) @ Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (10) Gregori (19-9) @ (7) El Camino (19-8) (15) Sacramento Adventist (23-5) vs. (2) Grant (20-6) 707 @ Turlock (16) Highlands/Foresthill vs. (1) Modesto Christian (21-7) (9) Sierra (15-11) vs. (8) El Capitan (20-6) (12) Ripon (16-11) vs. (5) Manteca (19-9) (13) Vacaville (14-11) vs. (4) Roseville (20-7) @ Armijo (Fairfield) (11) Marysville (20-7) vs. (6) Burbank (18-9) (14) Chavez (15-12) vs. (3) Vanden (19-7) @ Davis (10) Mountain House (20-6) vs. (7) Wood (20-6) (15) Modesto/Stagg vs. (2) Sheldon (17-10) 916/279 @ Franklin (Elk Grove) (16) Mariposa (22-5) vs. (1) Rocklin (24-3) (9) Woodcreek (16-9) vs. (8) Tracy (16-9) @ Vacaville (12) Turlock (14-12) vs. (5) Franklin-Elk Grove (18-9) (13) Edison (15-12) vs. (4) Central Catholic (19-8) @ Davis (11) Kimball (14-13) vs. (6) Sonora (22-4) (14) Bear Creek (13-15) vs. (3) Sacramento (16-9) @ Lincoln (Stockton) (10) Beyer (20-8) vs. (7) Golden Valley (22-5) (15) Argonaut (16-10) vs. (2) St. Mary's (20-6) 530 @ Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (16) Greene Academy/Stockton Christian vs. (1) Folsom (22-5) (9) Del Campo (13-13) vs. (8) Center (19-7) @ Armijo (Fairfield) (12) Foothill (13-8) vs. (5) River Valley (18-8) (13) Lincoln (18-9) vs. (4) Oak Ridge (17-10) @ Vacaville (11) Ponderosa (15-11) vs. (6) Davis (16-8) (14) Union Mine (17-11) vs. (3) Center (15-12) @ Franklin (Elk Grove) (10) Rodriguez (15-10) vs. (7) Inderkum (19-8) (15) Oakdale/Lathrop vs. (2) Jesuit (20-8) First 4 Out (all under .500) Elk Grove Pleasant Grove Vista del Lago Cosumnes Oaks NIT Teams would not have to have a winning record to qualify. Since the section does not have conference tournaments, those teams that finished second in league that did not qualify would get automatic bids. Elk Grove Bracket (8) Alpha Charter (Elverta) @ (1) Elk Grove (5) Los Banos @ (4) Ripon Christian (6) Enochs (Modesto) @ (3) Lodi (7) Sacramento Waldorf @ (2) Del Oro (Loomis) Cosumnes Oaks Bracket (8) Hughes Academy (Stockton) @ (1) Cosumnes Oaks (Elk Grove) (5) Valley (Sacramento) @ (4) Buhach Colony (Atwater) (6) Bear River (Grass Valley) @ (3) Nevada Union (Grass Valley) (7) Venture Academy (Stockton) @ (2) Granite Bay Vista del Lago Bracket (8) Vacaville Christian @ (1) Vista del Lago (Folsom) (5) Calaveras (San Andreas) @ (4) East Union (Manteca) (6) Amador (Sutter Creek) @ (3) Downey (Modesto) (7) Mesa Verde (Citrus Heights) @ (2) Laguna Creek (Elk Grove) Pleasant Grove Bracket (8) Western Sierra (Rocklin) vs. (1) Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (Game would be at Western Sierra since Pleasant Grove would host the other tournament) (5) Christian Brothers (Sacramento) @ (4) Rosemont (Sacramento) (6) Bella Vista (Fair Oaks) @ (3) River City (West Sacramento) (7) Denair vs. (2) Yuba City (Game would be at Denair since Yuba City would host my other tournament)

If I Was King of Sports- 2018 Former VOL vs. Current VOL challenge

December 8, 2018 I intended to write this blog at the beginning of the school year, but let's be honest, I forgot. Generally I do an annual former VOL vs. current VOL blog for basketball, but since there was realignment this year, I wanted to do it for all sports. I will do one for basketball right now, but I will edit it for each sport when I have enough time to spare for it. On a side note, until this year I believed the VOL was the only league which a challenge like this one would be interesting, but this year there have been enough changes in the CCC and WAC that a challenge could be easily done for those leagues as well. Former full member VOL schools and current leagues in parenthesis (that I know of) Bear Creek (SJAA), Buhach Colony (CCC), Central Valley (CCC), Ceres (WAC), Downey (CCAL), Lathrop (WAC), Livingston (TVL), Los Banos (WAC), Modesto (CCAL), Pitman (CCAL), Riverbank (TVL), Sonora (MLL), Tracy (TCAL), West (TCAL). (Note: After I made the original post, I found out that St. Mary's was in the VOL for two years in the 1970's. I will use them for the other sports.) Boy's Basketball In my model, it would be in order of maxpreps rankings (though I don't agree with them) for the former VOL teams. I have my predicted order of finish for current VOL. Sonora @ Central Catholic Tracy @ Weston Ranch Los Banos @ Manteca Lathrop @ Sierra Downey @ Kimball Riverbank @ Oakdale Livingston @ East Union Games that will actually happen or that have happened 11/24 West @ Manteca (MAN won 90-67) 11/26 Oakdale @ Livingston (OAK won 87-54) 11/27 East Union @ Ceres (EU won 55-49) 11/29 East Union @ Downey (DOW won 69-66) 11/30 Modesto vs. Kimball (KIM won 75-61) Sierra @ West (SIE won 80-57) 12/1 Buhach Colony @ East Union (BC won 63-62) 12/4 Central Catholic @ Downey (CC won 57-39) 12/17 Downey @ East Union 12/20 Kimball @ West Manteca @ Tracy 12/21 Kimball @ Tracy Weston Ranch @ Downey 12/26 Tracy vs. Weston Ranch (@ Modesto Christian) 1/11 Oakdale @ Riverbank Girl's Basketball In this model, I will use the top rankings (former VOL) vs. how they finished in the VOL last year. St. Mary's vs. Kimball Bear Creek vs. Manteca Lathrop vs. East Union Los Banos vs. Oakdale Sonora vs. Central Catholic Pitman vs. Weston Ranch West vs. Sierra Football St. Mary's vs. Central Catholic Pitman vs. Manteca Buhach Colony vs. Oakdale Downey vs. East Union Los Banos vs. Sierra Sonora vs. Kimball Modesto vs. Weston Ranch From here on out, I will find match ups that actually happened. If there are not enough of them, then I will make up the remaining match ups to fill the hypothetical challenge. Girls Volleyball Modesto vs. Central Catholic Pitman vs. Oakdale Bear Creek vs. Manteca West vs. Kimball Downey vs. East Union Livingston vs. Sierra (Sierra did not have a game against former VOL) Riverbaank vs. Weston Ranch (Weston did not have a game against former VOL) Girls Tennis There is usually no non-league in tennis, so for my model, I will just use the teams in alphabetical order. (Note: Current small schools do co-ed tennis in the spring) Bear Creek vs. Central Catholic Buhach Colony vs. East Union Central Valley vs. Kimball Ceres vs. Manteca Downey vs. Oakdale Lathrop vs. Sierra Los Banos vs. Weston Ranch Water Polo There are only 3 former VOL members in water polo (all MLL members and two were solely associate members) and there is an associate member of the VOL (Ripon). For water polo only, I would turn it into a MLL vs. VOL challenge. Amador vs. Central Catholic Calaveras vs. Kimball Sonora vs. Oakdale Bret Harte vs. Ripon

What if Stanislaus County had a football tournament

Modesto Christian 25.9 Oakdale 18.7 Gregori 11.9 Denair 11.4 Modesto 9.2 Big Valley -9.1-x Davis -7.3 This week a couple of coworkers and I were discussing the topic of "What if there was a Stanislaus County high school football tournament?" The reality is this year that the conversation begins and ends with Central Catholic, but it was more particularly, "How would Denair do?" Denair won the Sac-Joaquin Section, Division VII championship and defeated Santee High School of Los Angeles for the California state Division 7-AA championship. Could Denair do well against the "big boys"? Barring a miracle, Central Catholic would win the championship; but who would get second? That would depend on how the bracket is situated. My idea is to have a sixteen team tournament. To allow everyone to participate, I would have the top 10 teams to qualify directly and the other 12 to play qualification games for six spots. One change I would make is I would allow all league winners to qualify (but not section winners). In the tournament, I would allow teams of the same league to play qualification games, but not in the first round of the tournament. Like the Sac-Joaquin Section, I would use calpreps.com ratings to rank the teams. Teams who would directly qualify (in alphabetical order) (*=league winner) Big Valley*, Central Catholic*, Denair, Downey, Gregori, Modesto, Modesto Christian, Oakdale, Pitman, Turlock*, Qualification (Matchups would have a different way to have matchups each year if my idea actually happened. For this year, it would be by geography. The higher rated team would be the home team.) Qualification Matchups Orestimba @ Patterson Turlock Christian @ Hughson Riverbank @ Waterford Johansen @ Davis Beyer @ Enochs Ceres @ Central Valley I think all home teams would win. Tournament (16) Central Valley (CCC) @ (1) Central Catholic (VOL) (9) Modesto (CCAL) @ (8) Denair (SL) (12) Enochs (CCAL) @ (5) Modesto Christian (TVL) (13) Waterford (SL) @ (4) Downey (CCAL) (11) Hughson (TVL) @ (6) Oakdale (VOL) (14) Davis (WAC) @ (3) Pitman (CCAL) (10) Patterson (CCC) @ (7) Gregori (CCAL) (15) Big Valley (CCAA) @ (2) Turlock (CCAL) My predicted 2nd round (9) Modesto @ (1) Central Catholic (5) Modesto Christian @ (4) Downey (6) Oakdale @ (3) Pitman (10) Patterson @ (2) Turlock Semifinals (5) Modesto Christian @ (1) Central Catholic (3) Pitman @ (2) Turlock Finals (2) Turlock @ (1) Central Catholic Winner Central Catholic

If I was King of Sports-California High School 8-man football state championship

Over the past few years, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has created a state championship for football based on the bowl system. It evolved from three division, to five, and now thirteen to ensure section champions get a chance to play more football. Unfortunately if you are a small school and can only have 8-man football, there is no championship. I think that is wrong. A state championship needs to be created. The question is, "How can we do it?" There is no simple answer. There are many factors to be considered. The reality is that there may have to be a committee that chooses two Northern California teams and two Southern California teams to play semifinal games with the winners playing in the championship. With the logistics and the size of the state, that might be the best solution. Fortunately in my blogs, we don't have to worry about logistics. In my suggestion, I would have a 32-team tournament. There are 18 leagues throughout the CIF. Those 18 would be in. Just to try to have some representation from all over the state, I would require three at-large bids be from the north, three from the south, and the other eight teams can be from either region. Whether the Central Section (Fresno/Bakersfield area) is considered to be "north" or "south" depends on the sport. For my model, since the Sac-Joaquin Section (Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto area) does not have 8-man football, the Central Section would be in the north. I have separated the teams in two brackets. I used calpreps.com rankings for the at-large teams and the rankings. Like the current Sac-Joaquin Section format, a team must have 4 wins in order to be eligible, unless it wins its league. If this tournament were to actually happen, I would use a committee. Also, teams from the same league would not play each other in the same round. Bracket 1 (Note: Records are prior to playoffs) League winners in CAPS (16) BORREGO SPRINGS (9-1) (City-San Diego Section) @ (1) MISSION PREP-San Luis Obispo (10-0) (Central Sierra-Central Section) (9) CORNERSTONE CHR.-Antioch (9-0) (PCL-Central Coast Section) @ (8) Villanova Prep-Ojai (6-3) (Mt. Pinos-Southern Section) (12) BIG VALLEY-Bieber (9-0) (CA North-Northern Section) @ (5) HESPERIA CHRISTIAN (8-1) (Agape-Southern Section) (13) Tomales (4-4) (N.Central III N-North Coast Section) @ (4) ANIMO ROBINSON-Los Angeles (7-2) (City-Los Angeles Section) (11) Riverdale Christian (6-3) (Central Sierra-Central Section) @ (6) LOS MOLINOS (9-0) (CA South-Northern Section) (14) Calistoga (5-4) (North Central III-S-North Coast Section) @ (3) CATE-Carpinteria (8-0) (Mt. Pinos-Southern Section) (10) Riverside Cty. Education Aca. (5-3) (Victory-Southern Section) @ (7) Orcutt Academy (7-3) (Central Sierra-Central Section) (15) SHERMAN OAKS CES-Los Angeles) (6-4) (Valley-Los Angeles Section @ (2) Faith Baptist-Canoga Park section of Los Angeles (7-2) (Independent-Southern Section) Bracket 2 (Note: Records are prior to playoffs) (16) CALVARY BAPTIST-La Verne (6-2) (Omega-Southern Section) @ (1) MOJAVE (7-0) (Desert Mountain-Southern Section) (9) SOUTH FORK-Miranda (6-3) (NCL) III-N-North Coast Section) @ (8) Branson-Ross (6-1) (North Central III-S-North Coast Section) (12) McCloud (7-1) (Independent-Northern Section) @ (5) STUART HALL-San Francisco (8-0) (North Central III-S-North Coast Section) (13) Hillcrest Chr.-Thousand Oaks (7-2) (Omega-Southern Section) @ (4) Windward-Los Angeles (6-3) (Prep-Southern Section) (11) Calvary Chapel-Downey (5-2) (Express-Southern Section @ (6) Fresno Christian (8-1) (Central Sierra-Central Section) (14) Laton (6-4) (Central Sierra-Central) @ (3) CHADWICK-Palos Verdes Estates (8-0) (Prep-Southern Section) (10) FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN-El Cajon (6-2) (Ocean-San Diego Section) @ (7) SAGE HILL-Newport Beach (9-0) (Express-Southern Section) (15) VALLEY CHR. ACA.-Santa Maria (6-2) (CVL-Southern Section) @ (2) BLOOMINGTON CHRISTIAN (7-0) (Victory-Southern Section)