Changes Coming To Class 7A

Poor Bryant.

The Hornets fought fiercely to remain in a conference where they were the only 7A school among 6A schools. The Arkansas Activities Association said no and was backed by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mary McGowan, who threw out Bryant's lawsuit against the AAA.

Bryant cited added travel for resisting a move into the 7A/6A-Central Conference that will include long trips to Van Buren, Russellville and Siloam Springs. That's a legitimate concern, especially when considering added travel costs and lost classroom time for student-athletes.

Bryant also benefited by beating 6A schools in its conference. It showed in the Class 7A state basketball tournament, where the Bryant boys and girls lost by a combined 43 points in first-round games.

Sorry, Bryant, but those 6A schools are holding their own state tournament at Jonesboro and you weren't invited.

The ruling against Bryant cleared the way this fall for Fort Smith Northside and Fort Smith Southside to rejoin the 7A-West. That's good news for the two Fort Smith schools, who were longtime members of the league before being reassigned to the 7A/6A-Central Conference.

The move will rekindle longtime rivalries between the Fort Smith schools and teams in Northwest Arkansas. Northside and Southside will see their gate recipes increase again after hosting small crowds for league games against Little Rock area schools.

"We look forward to coming back to the 7A-West, mainly because that's where we had been forever," said Jim Rowland, the athletic director of Fort Smith public schools. "Obviously, it's easier travel and the (home) attendance at football and basketball games are going to triple for us. Every game we play in the West, the stands are going to be full and the teams are going to be very good and well-coached. It's a win-win situation for us."

The move will also benefit Siloam Springs, which has mostly been overwhelmed while competing as the only 6A schools in the 7A/6A-West. Siloam Springs will move out of the league and make manageable trips to Van Buren, Greenwood, and Alma in the 7A/6A-Central.

Unike Bryant, the Northside girls dominate whatever conference they are assigned. The Lady Bears claimed the 7A/6A-Central champion after winning its sixth state championship last spring. Northside is in the state semifinals again after beating Little Rock Central on Friday.

"I'm not much on change," Northside coach Rickey Smith. "We took the challenge of playing in a different league that was more athletic and more up-and-down and won a conference championship. You do what you're told, but I'm excited to be coming back into familiar territory."

Of course, stability is a foreign concept with voting members of the AAA and more changes are coming in the 2016-2018 cycle. That's when the Bentonville School District will add a second high school near Centerton.

Sports teams from the new school will join the 7A-West and likely force Northside or Southside out of the league again. Placing Northside and Southside in separate leagues would be a nightmare scenario for rivals located three miles apart.

"I can see down the road that Northside and Southside are going to be split," Rowland said. "One will have to go the West and the other to the Central (Conference). I hope it doesn't happen, but I don't see how you could do much else."

There's also the possibility that Fort Smith and Springdale will add third schools in the foreseeable future, which will complicate the process even more. No system is perfect, but anything is better than one that relied on power points and allowed Bryant to be seeded ahead of teams from another league.

Good riddance.

RICK FIRES IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR NWA MEDIA

Sports on 03/09/2014

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