THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 19, 1995 TAG: 9502160120
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Jeff Zeigler
LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
There has been a noticeable drop in fan interest in high school gyms around the Albemarle area this winter. Teams (even the good ones) are playing to half-filled houses. Only two local boys basketball teams, Perquimans County and Manteo, are involved in any kind of conference race or drive for the state playoffs. Why?
It's got to be those confounded conferences the North Carolina High School Athletic Association has stuck us with for the past two years and the next two years. Why should Manteo's athletic teams have to drive four hours by bus to play Roanoke Rapids? Northeastern's closest conference opponent is Greenville Rose. And who really cares when Camden County plays Northampton West, a school on the other side of I-95?
These are some examples of why fans have become bored and are staying away from games:
A recent boys basketball game at Northeastern did not start until 8:45 p.m., although it was advertised at 7:30 p.m. Big East Conference opponents are so far away that the schools have to allow for at least two hours travel time and can't start any earlier. You tell me how a boys game can start at 7:30 when there is a JV girls game at 4:30, followed by a JV boys game, followed by a varsity girls game. Who wants to pay four bucks and sit around at a basketball game all night on a Friday, particularly when the opponent is from three hours away?
Northampton West showed up at Perquimans County's gym 40 minutes late, forcing the delay of the three scheduled games. Again, another 8:45 starting time. Yawn.
The Albemarle Conference representatives in the football playoffs this past year were Williamston, Northampton East and Weldon. Are these teams really from the Albemarle region?
There is plenty of interest when Manteo plays Northeastern in basketball, a game which means virtually nothing because the teams are in separate conferences. The same goes for Perquimans-Edenton and Currituck-Camden. Harrell Thach, head coach of the Perquimans County football team, called the so-called rivalry between Edenton and Perquimans ``meaningless'' this past season. Why? Because it is a non-conference game. The fans just can't get into rivalries like Manteo-Southeast Halifax, Perquimans-Weldon, and Northeastern-Kinston.
I propose that the NCHSAA look at the possibility of regional conferences across the state, not based on school population. Some will say that this is unfair for the smaller schools, but not the way I propose to set it up.
Currently, conferences are divided up into 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A leagues, 4A being the schools with the largest average daily enrollments. The question must be asked, why does a larger enrollment necessarily mean a stronger program? The theory certainly doesn't hold up for Northeastern this year, the area's only 4A school. The Eagles boys basketball and football teams had not beaten a 4A or 3A school all year - until this week. On Tuesday, Northeastern beat Rocky Mount, a 4A school, by a score of 53-52 in overtime.
A sample conference for this area could consist of 16 high schools that are geographically near each other. Let's call it the Northeastern Conference for lack of a better name. The new Northeastern Conference would pull teams from seven different conferences which are currently in use and place them in two divisions of eight - the eight smallest schools would be in one division and the eight largest schools would be in the other division. The small division would consist of Creswell, Jamesville, Columbia, Camden, Gates, Perquimans, Williamston and Plymouth. The larger division would consist of Currituck, Manteo, Northside, Edenton, Washington, Hertford County, Bertie County and Northeastern.
When setting up a football schedule, for example, all games would be played within the conference. Northeastern, the largest school, would play all the teams in its division plus the three largest schools from the other division. Its schedule would look like like this: Bertie County, Hertford County, Washington, Edenton, Northside, Manteo, Currituck, Plymouth, Williamston and Perquimans.
On the other hand, Creswell, the smallest school, would play all the teams in its division plus the three smallest teams from the other division. Its schedule would look like this: Jamesville, Columbia, Camden, Gates, Perquimans, Williamston, Plymouth, Currituck and Manteo.
In basketball and baseball, the teams would all play a 20-game schedule with the same format.
There would be no non-conference games. Every game would mean something. There would be no three- or four-hour trips. Not only would it be better for the fans, the teams would take in more money in gate receipts, and the players, who are after all students, wouldn't be getting home at 2:00 a.m. on a school night.
It's something to think about. by CNB