Budget cuts could cost state tourneys

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008 | midnight

Don't be surprised if north-south competition between Nevada high schools during the playoffs is eliminated within two years.

As radical of a thought as it seems, it's a possibility being discussed as school districts statewide brace for budget cuts ordered by Gov. Jim Gibbons.

While the hype surrounding Saturday's state football championship between Las Vegas' Palo Verde and Reno's McQueen High seems like an early Christmas for us prep die-hards, keeping postseason competition between opposite parts of the state isn't fiscally responsible.

It will cost the Clark County School District roughly $6,000 to transport Palo Verde's 42 players and 10 coaches to Reno — a fee that includes chartering a bus, meal per diem and 25 rooms at the Holiday Inn in Sparks, a Reno suburb.

Officials from the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, the governing body for high school sports in Nevada, have had informal talks to be proactive in anticipation of cuts. The cuts could be announced as early as the spring.

The association's board of control meets Fridat in Reno, and it is expected to give orders to investigate solutions for realignment, a process where schools are reclassified every four years based on enrollment. The nine-member board, one that approves the association's rules and regulations, will have discussions during the meeting to realign before its scheduled date of fall 2012 to accommodate worst-case scenarios with the budget.

The state's large-school, 4A classification is divided into three regions, which has created scheduling nightmares in every sport during the postseason since the region-concept was launched nine years ago.

Football and boys basketball are the lone sports where the district makes money — by charging admission — but they have to foot the bill to send athletes from all sports to Reno during the playoffs.

In swimming, for instance, the top three boys and girls in each of nine events qualify for state from Southern Nevada's two regions. That's more than 100 athletes the district must transport, feed and find a place to stay for the two-day state meet.

With 17 sports having state tournaments, and roughly half of those played in Reno annually, the logical solution would be to pull the plug and help the state tread water with trying to spread its limited resources.

States like California already award dual champions, and in Southern Nevada where there are 35 teams in the large school division, having the regional champions meet for the ultimate prize would still create electricity at the end of the season.

The Nov. 29 state football semifinals between Palo Verde and Las Vegas High, which reminded me of the old Southern Zone tournament before the regions were formed, showed the kind of excitement an all-Vegas championship would bring — at least judging by the 4,000 fans in attendance at Arbor View.

It's not a popular opinion, but one we should be prepared to accept.

Sports Editor Ray Brewer can be reached at 990-2662 or ray.brewer@hbcpub.com.