What might happen to the storied rivalry between San Benito High
School and Gilroy High School with the Mustangs set to leave the
TCAL? Find out what locals are saying about the school’s departure
and its potential effect on the rivalry in Tuesday’s edition.
GILROY
In a move that came as a shock to some, Gilroy High and Christopher High are set to become part of the Monterey Bay League beginning in the 2010-11 season after a vote among 36 Southern Conference schools was passed on Monday.
The vote passed 20-16 in favor of moving Christopher High, scheduled to open in September, and the Tri-County Athletic League’s Gilroy High into the MBL.
The move will bolster the MBL from six to eight teams, while at the same time reduce the TCAL from seven to six teams, the minimum amount of schools necessary in order for a league to be formed.
The 16 votes in opposition were in favor of an equity league, which would have combined the TCAL and MBL into a two-division “super” league, the same format of the Blossom Valley Athletic League and two others in Northern California.
A third proposal, which received no votes, would have moved only CHS to the MBL, while keeping GHS in the TCAL.
“We were in favor of the equity league,” GHS athletic director Jack Daley said.
“We voted for the equity league. But for us, as we’re getting smaller, the MBL is certainly an okay thing for us. It works for us and we’ll be fine there. But we were trying to think [with a broader perspective].”
CHS athletic director Darren Yafai said his school also voted in favor of an equity league format.
“I was a little disappointed,” said Yafai, whose sports program will operate as an independent in the first year.
“We’re happy to join the MBL, but we’re hoping the equity league had caught on.
“Our goal should be to allow all of our athletes and all of our sports teams to be competitive,” he added.
“I think it maximizes the competitiveness for your team and it gives all your teams the best chance to compete.”
In the equity league format, teams would be placed into specific divisions based on the skill and strength of the team itself. The divisions would be reevaluated every two years, at which point the divisions could be reshuffled based on the strengths of individual programs.
“What the equity league does is it’s a perfect way to bring new schools in,” Daley said.
“The equity structure would have let [Christopher High] come in the lower division, and we still would have been in the same league. But now they’ll play in the MBL with us, and that’ll be okay for us. But when schools start to drop sports for financial reasons, with only six or seven schools in a league, then you run the risk of not having enough schools to have a league.”
The Central Coast Section does not recognize five-team leagues, meaning any automatic qualifiers toward the postseason would be lost if just one team from the TCAL does not compete in a particular sport.
San Benito High athletic director Tod Thatcher was shocked by Monday’s outcome.
“It’s really gonna affect the TCAL because it’s gonna go down to six member schools. We’re losing Gilroy in our rival and we’re going down to the league minimum,” Thatcher said. “There’s a lot of people unhappy. It’s not the best thing for the kids.”
Thatcher said “there’s been discussions” regarding an appeal of the vote.
A scheduled TCAL meeting involving the league’s athletic directors will be held March 17.
Questions now arise surrounding the state of certain supplemental leagues, which are currently used in water polo, boys volleyball, golf and tennis, as well as the state of the Hollister-Gilroy rivalry.
When asked what will happen with the Prune Bowl, Daley said, “I don’t want to see that go away at all. It’s a great rivalry and it’s great for both communities.”
