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SANTA ANA — Orange County’s releaguing process for the 2024-26 cycle resumed Monday after an appeal by five Freeway League schools and delivered the same configuration that emerged in May.
Yes, the same league alignments for all sports — other than football — that were approved in the spring were pushed forward again.
The big change coming is that Orange County’s proposed leagues will now head to the CIF Southern Section Council for approval or appeal instead of the much smaller CIF Executive Committee.
“Hopefully, we’re finished,” Mater Dei president and O.C. leaguing chairman Michael Brennan told the gathering of principals and athletic directors at Calvary Chapel High.
After about a nearly 4 1/2-hour meeting that was mostly amiable, Orange County voted 66-10-1 to send the “Kennedy” proposal to the council, which next meets Jan. 30. The council is comprised of nearly 90 leagues with voting rights.
The Freeway League schools that appealed to the executive committee — Fullerton, La Habra, Sonora, Sunny Hills and Troy — were among the dissenting votes. Buena Park, the sixth school from the all-Fullerton Union High School District league, was the one abstaining vote.
The schools appealed based on “releaguing criteria and process” for non-football sports.
“It was an extremely clean process,” Villa Park athletic director Tom Fox said after Monday’s meeting. “I think all procedures were followed to a T. I believe that everybody who had a voice or had a skin in the game had their opportunity to speak their part. I believe there is no stone unturned.”
A Freeway League official at the meeting referred a media inquiry about the outcome to Fullerton Union assistant superintendent Karl Zener, who didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment.
La Habra, Sonora, Sunny Hills and Troy were again proposed to join a 15-team Century Conference while Buena Park and Fullerton were slotted for a 15-team Golden Empire Conference.
Several Freeway League representative spoke Monday in support of a plan by Rosary, which made the final two proposals along with the one from Kennedy.
Rosary’s draft placed itself and the five appealing Freeway League schools together in the Century Conference, slotted Irvine in the Golden Empire instead of Fullerton and moved Crean Lutheran to the Trinity League.
The Kennedy proposal defeated the Rosary plan 51-24-2.
“I think they should feel good about their representation and what they brought to the table,” Fox said of the Freeway League. “I understand their concerns. It’s a paradigm shift (to conferences). Those of us who have been in a conference understand the implications.”
The proposed county alignment features five conferences and just two leagues, the Sunset and Trinity.
Other highlights of the proposal that passed Monday: Beckman moves to the Coastview Conference; Laguna Beach, Rosary and St. Margaret’s join the Pacific Coast Conference.
Beckman and several Irvine school were dissenting votes in the final tally.
The meeting began with mentions of legal forces working behind the scene.
“There were conversations with the legal folks in Northern California who handle legal procedures for the CIF,” said releaguing veteran John Dahlem, who served as the meeting’s parliamentarian. “It was felt that (releaguing) was mandated to Orange County and that they needed to come forth with another proposal.”
The county’s competitive equity plan for football leagues with the exception of the Trinity remains on track to kick off next year. The football plan wasn’t part of Monday’s meeting.
