Prep Teams Feeling Pain At The Pump
Classification Adjustments Could Help With Travel Strains
Last updated Saturday, June 7, 2008 8:27 PM CDT in Sports
By Vernon Tarver
The Morning News
FAYETTEVILLE - The landscape of Arkansas high school and junior high athletics could be in for a major change in the near future. And enrollment figures might not be the main factor.
With fuel prices reaching higher and higher and no end in sight, everyone is taking a hit at the gas pump. That includes the state's 300-plus school districts.
The question is, what can be done to help?
For now, area schools are left to fight their own battles. From scheduling fewer away games to cutting down on the number of traveling buses, districts throughout Northwest Arkansas know it's now time to stay close to home. But for some, that's not an option.
For tiny Decatur in Benton County, its conference alignment has them traveling more than 100 miles for almost every conference game. Decatur is the only Class 2A school in Northwest Arkansas, and its closest conference foe is in Fort Smith (Union Christian Academy) - a 95-mile one-way trek.
"Our problem is we're pretty much locked into what we've got," said Bobby King, Decatur's athletic director. "We don't have any of our conference teams nearby and there's not much we can do at this time other than bite the bullet and take as few buses as you can on the road.
"And that's kind of what we've done. We'll try to cram on one bus and even load the equipment in a personal vehicle, but even that can get expensive. But right now, we really don't have any other choice."
For a school such as Decatur, the rising fuel costs are just an added part of the problem. Because in its case, traveling for athletic events is already a nightmare. Currently, Decatur is a member of the Class 2A-4 Conference. And size-wise, that's right where the Bulldogs belong.
It's a concern schools like Decatur have been forced to deal with in the past. But with gas prices going through the roof, King is hopeful something can be done to help his school out.
"The (Arkansas Activities Association) is going to have to step up and say 'Look, we're going to have to reclassify or do something to help schools deal with this,'" King said. "Because right now we're just stuck."
Decatur isn't the only one. Other Northwest Arkansas schools such as Siloam Springs and West Fork currently compete in conferences which require long travel to league games. But with the help of the state's governing Arkansas Activities Association (AAA), perhaps that could change.
"We do have our classifications (though the 2008-2010 cycle)," said Lance Taylor, executive director of the AAA. "But we can always think outside the box. There's a lot we can do here and we're going to be proactive to see what can be done."
Schools like Decatur and West Fork would love to see a reclassification of sorts. Something, at least, to help keep them closer to home. And in most cases, these schools are willing to go to great lengths to make sure that can happen.
"One thing the coaches and I have discussed is proposing to move up to Class 3A," King said. "Our thinking is we can be in 3A and there's some schools we can be competitive with.
"I know we're still small, but we're getting our numbers back. And in time, we feel like we can compete with some of those teams in 3A."
By moving up a class, Decatur would instantly be paired with conference opponents much closer to home. But when does being able to compete take a backseat to helping schools with travel issues?
Apparently, that time might be now.
"This is just a prediction, but I think the cost of travel is going to trump some of these classifications," Fayetteville athletic director Dick Johnson said. "Take for instance Illinois. They only have four classifications in the state of Illinois. We have seven. And when you don't have as many classes, it allows you to compete against teams closer to home."
In the case of a school such as Fayetteville, travel for conference games isn't the issue. But that doesn't stop the bigger schools from addressing rising gas prices just as much as the other guys.
"I think next year you'll see more doubleheaders and things of that sort," Johnson said. "I think you're going to see schools play schools in closer proximity and I think you'll see more jamborees and things like that."
Big or small, the current and future price of fuel is forcing every school in the area to cut back in one way or another. And these cutbacks aren't going unnoticed either.
"What we're going to do is appoint a board of superintendents from around the state to study these issues such as logistics," Taylor said. "And then they'll come back and present many ideas for us to toss around.
"We'll start (the committee) when we get back in school and we'll just get as many ideas as we can so maybe then the board can make a recommendation on what we need to do."
Even before the gas prices started their climb this spring, the AAA was taking notice of the travel concerns. In the next two-year cycle, Classes 6A and 7A will merge as they previously were through the 2006 school year. By doing this, bigger schools will be allowed to compete with more teams in closer proximity for conference play.
Taylor also said the AAA is proposing a standard, state-wide Spring Break week. Currently, there are three different weeks in the calendar which schools use for Spring Break. But if all schools were mandated to take the same week, that would help travel problems as well.
"We're going to try to be proactive," Taylor said. "We're always looking for ways to help our schools and addressing issues such as travel is one of those ways in which we'll be proactive.
"If we can help our schools, that's what we always want to do."
And that's nice to hear for the school districts. But with the current state of fuel costs making everyone and every district cringe, even more help would be much appreciated.
"It's an emotional issue and it isn't easy to solve," Johnson said. "There's the competition side of it and wanting to give everyone a fair chance.
"But if you don't figure out a way to help some of these schools out, it could hurt the entire state. Because some schools might have to cut teams in order to save their budget."
A Long, Winding Road
With gas prices at an all-time high, high school travel budgets across Northwest Arkansas are being stretched to the max. Some more than others, though. While several schools are fortunate enough to compete in close proximity to other conference members, Decatur is feeling the pain at the pump. Here's a look at what Decatur is faced with now - in terms of road travel for conference games - as opposed to what travel would be like if the school was allowed to move up to Class 3A.
Decatur
Current Conference: 2A-4
Conference opponent Travel distance (one-way)
Union Christian (Fort Smith) 95 miles
Hackett 109 miles
Westside Johnson County (Hartman) 122 miles
Hartford 124 miles
Magazine 137 miles
Western Yell County (Havana) 154 miles
Decatur
If a member of 3A-1 Conference
Lincoln 35 miles
Greenland 44 miles
Elkins 54 miles
Cedarville 64 miles
Green Forest 74 miles
Mountainburg 75 miles
Source: www.mapquest.com
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