The following is an opinion piece from Ryan Cunningham. The views expressed do not represent the views of i3G Media or it’s sponsors.
VALLEY CITY, ND
It’s time to panic.
That board meeting didn’t go well.
If you’re a three-division proponent, you will be told the meeting did go well. The board, verbally, not in the printed record, but verbally, committed to three divisions.
Changes to be implemented at a time TBD.
Yeah, it’s time to panic.
Despite board members from Wahpeton, Devils Lake, and Valley City being joined in support of a plan for 23-24 by board members from Kidder County, Larimore, and even the elected Superintendent of Public Instruction, Kirsten Baesler, the board took a step back and decided on further studies, a next report in February that was described by Executive Secretary Matt Fetsch as “the tip of the iceberg”, and the ability to make changes to the plan that needed 65% support to even get to the board.
Rarely have those with so much settled for so little, and even more rarely have those with so little received so much.
For private schools and Class A administrators in the west region, today’s developments were the equivalent of manna from Heaven after being left in the desert following a chase by the chariots of Egypt, except that, this time, the chariots weren’t swept into the Red Sea. They just stopped the pursuit.
Private schools saw over 65% of their peers state, on the record, that their enrollment was just a shell of who they really are, and that their advantages in location allowed them to bully their way to regional titles.
They were a vote away from reality.
West region administrators saw 65% of their peers willing to push the tournament schedule to new positions in the interest of competitive balance, threatening their sacred cash cow of the WDA basketball tournament at the only west region venue with two floors, the Bismarck Events Center.
They were a vote away from having to figure it out in Minot on one floor, just like the EDC does at the SHAC.
And then, those administrators turned to the last option anyone that has all but lost a battle has left: the stall game.
When Baesler weighed in, and said she felt, as an elected official, she had to listen to the overwhelming majority of those she serves, the scales were clearly tipped in favor of passage. With Diegel’s motion to approve, and the next step as a finance plan set, the window for a tactical retreat was opened.
The first concern was the expectation of the staff that compiles the study. The board concluded there was just no possibility to compile study by January to keep 23-24 in play. February would be the earliest. At that moment, 23-24 became 24-25, a point further enhanced by Executive Secretary Matt Fetsch, stating the venues typically want seven years of advance notice before setting sites of tournaments.
Then, despite 65% of the schools signing off on this plan and on these specifics, the board was told that the plan is essentially their plan now to make changes to as they see fit. The need to get 65% approval of a plan from member schools was really just a requirement to meet with the board, this being said after hearing, just minutes before from Baesler, that the people had spoken, and she had to support the membership.
At the conclusion, the board left it with a February finance study and the ability to make changes to the plan.
Here are five reasons to panic:
1) Let them be fruitful, and not multiply
Private school after private school used words like “discriminatory”, “bigoted”, and “hostile” toward the multiplier of their enrollment due to their lack of district boundaries. It was clear there were board members uncomfortable with being sued, favoring a design that would allow privates to opt up if they choose to.
Schools like Shiloh Christian and Minot Ryan stated that they favored a three-division plan. They also stated they are not large schools. I would take that to mean they want the window open to move up when they are good, and move down when enrollment didn’t mean basketball projections.
The multiplier is likely gone, or will be in a different form that will allow the privates the freedom to move.
2) Go West young man, but not till mid-March
The Class “A” west region has only one venue with two basketball floors, the Bismarck Events Center. The administrators in the west would rather drink turpentine and spit on a brush fire than move their WDA tournament out of Bismarck.
The first weekend of March has always been the State B girls tournament. Now, that would be a combined tournament of some kind, and, if the Bismarck Events Center chose a state tournament on the first weekend of March, the WDA is on the move.
Right now, there’s only one combined state tournament. With three divisions, there would be three. Paul Jundt, Bismarck Athletic Director, taking over as the lead voice against the plan, is telling of how WDA administrators, who will have no change to their classification if the plan was approved, think of the idea of their tournament being impacted.
3) Its a Bear Market
That leads to the finances in general. We will find out, in the financial study, that the combined girls tournaments will not be money makers. They will need to be combined with the boys. When that happens, venues will be affected.
It will be a loud argument to leave things alone.
4) Commitment Issues
The board stated, over and over again, they were in favor of the three-class plan. They never stated a date that would be the latest to make it happen.
If you propose, but never set a date, are you getting married?
5) Wither in Winter
All it will take is one wrong move, and that number drops below 65%. When it does, this board will have every opportunity to say that circumstances have changed. It’s all negotiable, at this point, and a handful of administrators out there that signed letters of support, then seeing changes, could easily tip this back anywhere during the process.
That process will likely begin before the next meeting in January. It’s exactly what those against three divisions are hoping for. Will those board members from Wahpeton, and Devils Lake, and Valley City be able to keep their caucus together?
Only time will tell.