Columnist Spencer Patterson: Nevada may vote to oust Californians from NIAA

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Jan. 14, 1999 | 10:33 a.m.

Spencer Patterson's high school notebook appears Thursdays. Reach him at spencer@lasvegassun.com or 259-4085.

A movement to oust five California high schools who participate as members of the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association may be gaining momentum, according to NIAA Executive Director Jerry Hughes.

Assumed to be dead in the water just months ago, the effort to force South Tahoe, North Tahoe, Tahoe-Truckee, Needles and Coleville out of the NIAA has picked up steam and may ultimately be put to a vote by the other member schools.

"They're pretty serious about this," Hughes said. "Right now, it's too close to call."

Coaches in favor of ousting the five California schools point to the more than 70 Nevada state titles captured by the out-of-staters over the years.

"No other state has given their own state championships to a school from another state, and we've done it 73 times," said Moapa Valley football coach Jeff Knutson, who has spearheaded the movement.

"I've had to go to Truckee five times in the state playoffs, and I've had to explain to parents why we have to go to California to play in a Nevada state championship game," Knutson added.

Knutson's 3A league has been dominated by California schools of late, with North Tahoe and Tahoe-Truckee grabbing six of seven state titles during the fall season.

"We feel this will have the single greatest impact of anything the NIAA has ever dealt with," Knutson said.

The five California schools became permanent NIAA members during the 1980s, with shorter travel distances the primary reason for the move.

"At that point, the leagues voted overwhelmingly to let them in," Hughes said. "It was never unanimous, but it was an overwhelming majority."

According to Needles principal Terry Brace, his school would have to travel more than 225 miles to its nearest similarly sized California opponent, as opposed to fewer than 25 miles to current 2A foe Laughlin.

"The travel would really be prohibitive," Brace said. "It's a mutual benefit to both the Nevada schools and us."

Knutson counters that argument with a pair of his own.

"A Nevada school is not allowed to play outside Nevada, but a school from outside Nevada can play in Nevada," Knutson said. "And as far as travel goes, there are teams in Nevada that travel farther than 200 miles within in the state."

Ousting the California schools would require a two-thirds voting majority from schools in their divisions, along with a two-thirds vote of all schools in their leagues. From there, a majority vote of the nine-member NIAA board would be needed, as would a majority vote of the state's 17 school superintendents.

According to Hughes, a vote could happen sometime before summer. Until then, he said it will be business as usual as far as the California schools are concerned.

"My feeling is that at this point, they're members of our association, and I treat them like any other member," Hughes said.

If the movement falls short, Knutson said he and his supporters will consider other channels.

"We're trying to do this through the NIAA," Knutson said. "However, if we feel we have a strong majority and the NIAA is not responsive to us, we would consider going to the legislature and trying to get a law passed."

Although California has a regulation prohibiting out-of-state schools from participating in the California Interscholastic Federation, California's San Pasqual High plays as a member of the Arizona Interscholastic Association.

* NO ASSISTANCE: When Bishop Gorman girls soccer coach Victor Arbelaez found out assistant Andrew Kriechbaumer couldn't make it to last Friday's game at Durango, Arbelaez had no idea it would have a significant impact on the contest's outcome. As it turned out, Arbelaez was ejected just seven minutes in for arguing a called penalty kick with the referee. And, according to NIAA rules, a team without a certified head or assistant coach cannot continue playing. The result? A 1-0 Durango win by forfeit. To boot, the ejection means Arbelaez will sit out his team's game Friday against Cimarron. Kriechbaumer will coach the club in that one before Arbelaez returns next week.

* PERFECT RESPONSE: After spending most of the season on Las Vegas High's varsity bowling team, junior Nathaniel Jaramillo found himself participating on the junior varsity squad last Wednesday when the Wildcats took on Boulder City at the Showboat. Jaramillo promptly showed his coaches he prefers varsity, posting the school's first 300 game in head coach Jeff Sarbacker's four years at the helm. "It makes us look like geniuses," Sarbacker joked. "He was pretty loose and pretty low key. He didn't seem that nervous."

* TIME OUT: Because of first semester exams, there are no scheduled high school sporting events this week until Friday, although teams have been practicing all week. A full slate of Nevada prep action will return next week.

* ON THE AIR: KSFN 1140-AM will broadcast Friday's Cheyenne at Bishop Gorman boys basketball game live at 6:45 p.m.