At its quarterly meeting Wednesday at the Grand Sierra Resort, the NIAA’s Board of control voted unanimously, 9-0, to allow Clark County 4A schools to continue to hold their girls soccer season in the winter. However, there are consequences. They won't be awarded a champion this time around.
The decision comes on the heels of Clark County Director of Athletics Ray Mathis’ request for his district to avoid the NIAA’s scheduled plan to move Southern Nevada’s large school girls soccer season to the fall, coinciding with northern Nevada’s season.
In the past, the NIAA, Nevada’s governing body for high school athletics, has held postseason tournaments in both the North — in the fall — and South — in the winter, declaring two state champions. That won’t be the case this upcoming schoolyear.
The NIAA voted in 2005 to unify its girls soccer season starting in the fall of 2008. It will still hold its state tournament in the fall. Therefore, Clark County schools will not participate, leaving the northern Nevada champion to be declared the state winner without playing a South foe.
“I haven’t heard one complaint from people in the South or North (about a unified fall season),” said NIAA Board member Dan Phillps, also the Palo Verde High School Principal. “My high school is at the forefront of girls soccer and I haven’t heard one complaint; so let’s just do it.”
NIAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine had similar sentiments
“This is a school district issue in Clark County that it has to address. So if they need a year to get their house in order, they should do so, but the NIAA has to move forward,” Bonine said.
The Clark County School District’s decision to keep its 4A schools playing girls soccer in the winter has been a controversial one. Its due in large part to the threat of a lawsuit by the parent of a Green Valley High School student-athlete, who claims the district will violate Title IX by eliminating the winter field sport.
Under Title IX, males and females are expected to receive fair and equal treatment in all arenas of public schooling, including athletics. Earlier this spring, CCSD Superintendent Walt Rulffes directed Mathis to further study the Title IX ramifications of a move.
Mathis said Wednesday at the NIAA’s Board of Control meeting that the Green Valley parent, Eric Johnson, has said the CCSD would not be named in any lawsuit if it kept its soccer season in the winter. Johnson wrote in a previous letter that he would file a new lawsuit, against the NIAA if it chose not to recognize a winter girls soccer season for Las Vegas area schools.
If that indeed happens, the NIAA won’t be caught off guard. NIAA officials believe they have firm ground to stand on, surrounding Title IX issues. The organization’s plan to unify the 4A girls seasons was based on Title IX concerns. Nevada has been the only state which offered two state titles for schools in the same classification, thus not allowing the best of the best to compete against each other.
“I have not gotten one phone call (to complain about the season change). This is one parent using his status to try and muscle the NIAA and Clark County School District,” Bonine said.
Johnson’s daughter will be a sophomore at Green Valley in the upcoming school year so the issue is not going away because she will graduate soon.
Mathis and CCSD officials had hoped girls soccer would need to be played in the winter for just one more year. They had hoped a Title IX expert could study the situation, make recommendations and then put them into effect. Mathis said that timetable is probably unrealistic and he now expects it to take two years to make any permanent change.
Mathis, who is also the NIAA Board of Control’s Chairman, is in a tough spot. He must follow the direction of his superior, Superintendent Rulffes, but he also believes a unified 4A girls soccer season is in everyone’s best interest. He and Bill Garris, a long-time NIAA board member and CCSD administrator, told Rulffes this past spring that the district should put aside threats of potential litigation and move forward with a fall girls soccer season. Their protests were ignored.
CCSD’s plans to continue with the winter season have huge ramifications for two other schools. Pahrump Valley, which is gearing up for its first year as a 4A member, was set to play in the Sunset Region’s Northwest League, against Clark County schools.
The Nye County school’s girls soccer team would have been left out in the cold had the 3A South League not agreed Wednesday to allow it to play one more year there.
Still, that doesn’t solve Bishop Gorman’s woes. The private Catholic school in Las Vegas does not fall under CCSD jurisdiction, but the Gaels will have no one to compete against if they don’t agree to play in the winter as well — in turn losing any postseason rights.
Bishop Gorman Athletic Director Peter Weinbergh took Wedneday’s decision in stride.
“We haven't done anything different. The season in the past was always played in winter. The North and South seasons had been separated and the sport didn't have a true state champion. That hasn't changed,” he said. “I just wish they'd get it settled, decide what do and move forward.
“The change to the fall hadn't been on the table long enough to get excited about before the information about the lawsuit came out. Title IX is something you want to stay away from because once they start looking at one thing, they start looking at it all.”
Reed High School in east Sparks has boasted the top 4A North girls soccer squad in each of the past two fall campaigns. The Raiders were looking forward to the opportunity to compete in a planned four-team state tournament in November. Those dreams died with Wednesday’s decisions.
Reed coach Jason Saville voiced his displeasure during an interview last week.
“I applaud Mr. Bonine for saying that he’ll hand out one state title, but if the South’s not participating, you can call it whatever you want, it’s not really a state title,” Saville said. “I applaud his courage for moving forward in this debacle. I’m not frustrated with anybody except one individual.”
•In other action items discussed at Wednesday’s meeting, the NIAA approved Faith Lutheran’s petition to become a 4A school. The private school in Las Vegas will play its last year in the 3A ranks this upcoming schoolyear, before becoming a 4A member in 2009-2010.
With a current enrollment near 725, Faith Lutheran will be the smallest 4A school in the state. Crusaders’ Athletic Director Bret Walter said that due to space limitations at the FLHS campus he doesn’t expect enrollment to grow in the near future.
Faith Lutheran’s departure from the 3A will leave the 3A South League with just three schools.
In another move, the board approved the use of distance measuring devices in prep golf. NIAA rules for golf follow the USGA, which had already approved the devices.
“It won't be that much of a change because for the last two years the kids had been able to use them in league play, just not in regional or state play,” Spanish Springs boys and girls golf coach Victor Sherbondy said. “Some coaches thought originally it would slow the pace of play but instead of kids stepping off yardage, now they can pull out the device and be a lot more efficient with their time.”
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