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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have posted this in the past but I still dont understand why the WCAC, IAC, and MAC all merge to form a super conference and have a, A, B, & C Division for reach sport.

The individual school can then choose which division (A, B or C) they would like to compete in based on how competitive their program is.

For example, a school like St. Albans might compete in the "A" Division for baseball and soccer, but might opt to play in the "B" Division for lacrosse or basketball. Sidwell for example might have their soccer and basketball teams in the "A" Division but their lacrosse and baseball teams might opt to play in the "C" division.

The Baltimore based MIAA follows this model, and has close to a 25 team athletic conference. It is very well organized and it prevents athletic contests getting out of hand.

[/quote]

Excellent idea.  In California (CIF) you are placed in a different Division for each sport, so your Girl's Tennis Team might compete in Division 4 and your Boy's Football Team might compete in Division 6.  Moreover, the [i]teams[/i] are re-evaluated for existing talent, coaches, etc. and can be moved up or down Divisions in certain years.[/quote][/quote]

I'm sure there are many ways to end up with more competitive conference groupings.
 
But as a longtime IAC watcher, I don't think anyone from Baltimore or California can appreciate the glacial pace at which the IAC moves (or doesn't move) and the barreirs to any kind of minor change.

In order for the Baltimore system (or any other) to work, there would have to be someone driving it. There has never been and likely there never will be anyone to take on that challenge. There is no Conference commissioner or conference office. You would also have to have a degree of trust between the various Athletic Departments to do this. I certainly have never seen that. In fact, competitiveness and lack of trust is all I have ever witnessed.

For example, I have been told that Potomac has been interested in the past in joining the IAC. The IAC has never gotten enough members to sign on to this. And its not because it isn't a good idea for Potomac and the IAC. But if SSSA or Landon feel that impinges upon their territory for students or for players, it's dead in the water. (That's just an example, not a real situation.)

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There are many reasons why the school's don't want a "super conference."  Why be in a minor league "C Division" with devalued championships when you have your own conference you can win outright?  Why blow up conferences when there's 70 years of tradition?  Why form a mega-conference when some schools go crazy over sports and others don't?  Why form a conference when some schools give merit money that can function as athletic scholarships and others are straight need-based?

With all that said, there's been some talk of the IACS and MAC (which contains Potomac, Flint Hill, Maret, Sidwell, GDS, St. Andrews, St. James) moving towards a structure more like the biggest private school girls' league, the ISL, and having two divisions which would be different depending on how good a school was in a given sport.  (So you could be in the top division in football and the lower division in baseball.)  I don't know the "state of play" of those discussions, but I believe they happened.[/quote]

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