NIAA realignment won't happen until 2010-11 at earliest

Wholesale realignment for Nevada high school sports has apparently been tabled until the 2010-2011 school year.

South Tahoe High School Athletic Director Don Borges learned on Monday upon contacting the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association that realignment won't be applied toward the 2009-10 school year.

Both Whittell High School and South Tahoe High School were reclassified for different leagues in 2009-10 under the NIAA's proposed three-class realignment released last month.

The NIAA also isn't planning to require schools to reduce the number of games for each of its teams, according to Borges.

Donnie Nelson, the assistant director for the NIAA, said in an e-mail Monday that he was uncertain if the realignment/reduction of games was still in the works for next year.

"To be perfectly honest, I have no idea ... to be discussed June 16," Nelson said in his e-mail.

Nelson later sent an e-mail with the Board of Control's agenda for the June 16 and 17 meeting. Under the agenda's discussion items is realignment for 2010-2011.

Under the proposed three-class realignment, the Vikings would move to Division II with many current Class 3A members. The 13-team Northern Region would also include Wooster, Hug, Elko, Fallon, Truckee, Dayton, Fernley, Lowry, Rite of Passage, Sparks, Spring Creek and Yerington.

If the reclassification proposal is eventually approved, Whittell could move to Division III's 16-team Western Region. The region would combined 10 current Class A members with six Class 2A members.

Executive director Eddie Bonine sent out a letter to the media last month indicating that the NIAA was planning to make changes to address budget issues in Nevada.

"As the gatekeeper of our state interscholastic activities association, the NIAA worked diligently to propose reductions and reorganization of classification, to address travel, loss of instruction time, rivalries and competitiveness," Bonine said. "All reduction proposals are being considered on an urgent basis with possible implementation (in) 2009-2010."