Since the option to revisit was rolled into play as its last set of alignment discussions was taking place -- and ultimately voted into place -- the Mid-Penn Conference apparently is planning to take advantage of an opportunity it afforded itself and make several cosmetic changes.
That’s right, no complete overhaul.
And if approved by the Conference’s general membership during Monday morning’s meeting at Boiling Springs High School, the proposed adjustments to the sprawling yet suddenly shrinking circuit’s alignment will be put into play prior to the 2014-15 school year.
It wasn’t an adjustment the Mid-Penn wanted to propose – especially since a four-year cycle was endorsed when the current structure was adopted – but a caveat was tossed in that gave the alignment committee the option to revisit if a need arose.
Well, a need arose.
“We were forced to do something to shore some things up and account for departures,” Mid-Penn executive director Fred Isopi said.
Due to the departure of Gettysburg to the York-Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association and the pending relocation of Susquenita to the Tri-Valley League – both are expected to be full-fledged members of their new alliances in 2014-15 -- the Mid-Penn took a look and made a rapid assessment.
With Gettysburg and Susquenita no longer part of a Conference equation that once numbered 32 variables, the Mid-Penn suddenly found itself in a bind since several sports were left with heavily imbalanced divisional alignments.
As a result, 11 of the 22 sports offered by the Mid-Penn have proposed changes awaiting approval.
Eight, if approved, will have multiple teams relocating.
According to alignment committee chair Andrea Teeter of Mechanicsburg, the Conference’s first objective was to even out the divisions. And some schools, such as Central Dauphin East, offered to move some of their sports willingly.
Six of East’s programs – baseball, softball, boys’ and girls’ soccer, boys’ and girls’ tennis – are scheduled to leave the Commonwealth for the Keystone.
Of the seven remaining schools slated to have teams relocated, Palmyra has three programs moving, West Perry, Middletown, Mifflin County, Trinity and Northern each have two and East Pennsboro one.
“East was a logical school to drop down and be put in the Keystone based on geography,” said Greg Goldthorp, the Central Dauphin district athletic director and East’s building AD. “It helps our district out with transportation costs.
“When you have two schools in one district, that definitely helps out,” Goldthorp said. “We were just the logical team to put there since the Keystone has mainly East Shore teams.”
For those schools that didn’t care to move willingly, Teeter said geography and a fit in a particular division were other criteria the committee employed.
“Our superintendents and our school boards said transportation [costs] matters,” Teeter said. “Where we could, we did what we could.”
Obviously, not everyone is pleased by the proposed changes.
Taking a look at basketball – which is one of those areas where the boys’ and girls’ alignments are identical ostensibly to ease the league scheduling process – a sizable imbalance would remain if no adjustments were enacted.
While the Commonwealth Division would have continued to roll with eight teams and the Keystone nine, Susquenita’s move to the TVL would have dropped the Capital to seven schools and Gettysburg’s shift to the YAIAA would have left the Colonial with six.
What the Mid-Penn has proposed is returning Northern to the Colonial Division – the Polar Bears called the Colonial home until swapping spots with Boiling Springs prior to the 2012-13 school year – and shipping Trinity from the Keystone to the Capital.
Although Trinity’s boys’ program claimed back-to-back Capital crowns and collared 28 straight victories during its previous two-year stay, Kristi Britten’s girls, just one season removed from their final year in the Commonwealth are slated to pick up and relocate yet again.
“We had to do something with that division,” said Teeter, who admitted that Trinity’s boys’ classification (AA) definitely was part of the discussion.
“It was nuts trying to play three [divisional] games a week. … “Unfortunately for them, they were the ones that made the most sense to move.”
“We saw it coming, we knew it was coming,” Trinity athletic director Gary Bricker said. “We belong in the Keystone Division. Both our boys and our girls, that’s where we belong competitively. Then they said we should play up if we wanted to stay there, but why should we?”
Bricker is just hoping to see the Mid-Penn take a consistent approach to its alignment philosophy across the Conference board – whether that’s using enrollment figures, geography, competitiveness in particular sports, power ranking considerations or some other methodology.
And, from one alignment period to the next.
“The Conference setup is great and it benefits all of us very well, but there’s some inherent problems that make life difficult,” Bricker said.
“As for our basketball programs, I need to get them quality opponents. I want to keep playing certain teams in the area, develop nice rivalries. But I can’t do that if I’ve got to make up for being put in a division we don’t belong in.
“Two years ago, our girls were Commonwealth Division champs, now we’re in the Capital Division. Nothing against those teams, but we don’t belong there,” Bricker continued. “We flat out don’t belong there.”
Northern’s Ron McDonald also is displeased that his Polar Bears are expected to return to a Colonial setting that will put his club on the road to Franklin County several times during the oft-hazardous winter months.
And those lengthy journeys will take the place of relatively short jaunts to Camp Hill, East Pennsboro and, if approved on Monday, Trinity.
“From my standpoint and the team’s standpoint – I don’t know about the school’s standpoint with the additional travel costs and budget costs and things of that nature – but it takes away from trying to create local rivalries,” McDonald said.
“East Penn, Camp Hill, schools of that nature, are right down the road,” McDonald continued. “And we’ll need to go past a number of schools to get to the one we’re playing that’s right down by the Maryland border.
“It takes away from local rivalries, which is something I like, the kids like, and it creates a good cultural atmosphere in the school district if you have local rivalries. … I’m not a proponent for it, so I’ll just go where they put me.”
Swapping spots with East Pennsboro, West Perry’s football program now finds itself in the Capital after several tours in the Colonial. For now, that means no lengthy ventures to Waynesboro, James Buchanan and Greencastle-Antrim.
West Perry, however, is scheduled to play Greencastle in a home-and-home series in 2014 and 2015.
Palmyra, which suffered through a winless 2012 campaign during its first season in the Keystone Division, also is moving back to the Capital -- if the Mid-Penn votes to accept its proposal.
“It doesn’t matter,” veteran West Perry football coach Al Ream said of the proposed switch. “We’re supportive of it and we’re not going to balk at the system.
“Now we’ll just line up and get West Perry ready to play the best football we can. That’s what we have to do.”
Yet while others are displeased by the proposed alignment changes – or even indifferent to what awaits – CD East girls’ soccer coach Ian Kauffman is happy to be moving out of the brutal Commonwealth and into the Keystone.
East boys’ skipper Dave Kern also is pleased about his club’s potential move.
Assuming the proposal passes.
“We’re looking forward to it, it’s something we’re definitely excited about,” said Kauffman, whose Panthers snapped a really long Commonwealth losing streak several seasons back. They also won several divisional games last fall.
Yet …
“It’s still not an easy task since there’s some really good teams in [the Keystone],” Kauffman continued. “It’ll be nice to have a little change of scenery. I mean last year there were three teams in the top 10 of the state in the same division.”
Kauffman is referring to Cumberland Valley, Cedar Cliff and State College, all of which will continue to call the Commonwealth home.
“This is a good opportunity,” Kauffman added. “Maybe it’ll give us a good opportunity to be more successful on the field.
“Hopefully, we can get some more numbers.”
And while some programs are hoping to rustle up additional numbers, the Mid-Penn felt it had to make something happen since its numbers dropped.
By two.
“Sacrifices were made,” Isopi said. “People bit the bullet.
“Some did it for the good of the Conference.”
Whether the Conference’s general membership agrees or at least a significant portion votes in favor – Isopi said a simple majority is required to pass the proposed changes – will be determined on Monday morning.
Even if they don’t, yet another alignment proposal devised and designed by perhaps a much-different set of parameters, will come along.
MICHAEL BULLOCK:mbullock@pennlive.com
BULLOCK ON TWITTER: @thebullp_n