Thursday, January 31, 2002
Oahu Interscholastic Association principals have approved a new divisional alignment for football that combines the traditional east-west format and the current strength-based conferences. OIA principals OK
football realignmentStar-Bulletin staff
The alignment consists of two conferences, with the stronger conference split into two geographical divisions.
"The principals approved the concept, but we still have a lot of things we have to tweak," OIA executive secretary Dwight Toyama said.
The top seven teams in the OIA East and West make up the Red Conference. The league's remaining eight teams comprise the Blue Conference.
"It keeps the classification system and brings back the east-west system which the athletic directors and coaches had been pushing for," Toyama said.
Toyama said the league must still finalize the placement of the teams for the coming season and the names of the conferences may be changed. The method of promoting teams between divisions also remains in question.
Toyama said he hopes those issues can be resolved at Monday's athletic directors meeting so the league can build its schedule for next season.
The regular-season schedule consists of seven games for each team. Each Red Conference team has one crossover game against a squad from the opposite division.
The top five teams from the Red East and West and the top two Blue teams would qualify for the 12-team OIA playoffs.
The OIA used an East-West alignment through 1991, then went to Red, White and Blue conferences in 1992, with teams divided according to the prior season's records. The Blue Conference was scrapped in 1998.
Following is a proposed alignment for the 2002 season:
West Red -- Waianae, Mililani, Campbell, Aiea, Waipahu, Leilehua, Radford.East Red -- Kahuku, Castle, Kailua, McKinley, Roosevelt, Kalaheo, Farrington.
Blue -- Kaimuki, Nanakuli, Kaiser, Pearl City, Moanalua, Waialua, Kalani, Kapolei.
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