There is a simple explanation for why the Mountain State Athletic Conference dominates West Virginia's Class AAA.

That's because it houses 40 percent of the teams in Class AAA and spans a 175-mile radius throughout the state.

Simply put, the MSAC is too big.

Is it a plus to pit the best teams in the state in a mega-conference and have them duke it out?

Probably.

Is it economically feasible to expect athletic directors, school systems and parents to continue to shell out mega-bucks to keep the conference intact?

Probably not.

From an athletic director's perspective, it is a nightmare for Huntington High or Cabell Midland to schedule buses for a contest at Greenbrier East or Princeton on a weeknight for a soccer game.

The students would have to leave school around 1 p.m. to make it to their destination by 4:30 p.m. (with one stop) for a varsity game at 5:30 p.m. and a junior varsity contest to follow.

That puts your departure from said location at 9 p.m. where you will get back to the school at 12:30 a.m. and have to wake up at 6 a.m. to prepare for school the next day.

It takes the student out of student-athlete.

Or how about from the parent's perspective?

For the same Huntington-to-Princeton trip, a parent would have to take a half-day off of work then shell out $20 in gas and nearly the same amount in meals per person for one night of varsity action.

It is not economic, and the attendance figures for sporting events have reflected such findings.

NOW WHAT?

So now that the problem is identified, how can it be fixed?

One way is to disperse the teams into separate conferences according to location.

There could be a split between the Kanawha Valley, Huntington, Parkersburg and Beckley areas, creating four new smaller conferences.

The Huntington area would merge into the Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC) and be comprised of Huntington High, Cabell Midland, Spring Valley, Hurricane, Lincoln County and Logan.

With Winfield back at the Class AAA level, the former Kanawha Valley Conference could re-emerge as an eight-team league. Winfield would join Capital, George Washington, South Charleston, St. Albans, Riverside, Nitro and the conference's choice between Ripley and Herbert Hoover.

Ripley could be an X-factor in the process working. The Vikings could either join the revamped KVC or opt to create a conference with Parkersburg, Parkersburg South, Marietta (Ohio), Warren (Ohio) and a couple of defectors from the overcrowded Ohio Valley Athletic Conference.

The Beckley area would also see a new conference form -- the Gateway Conference (derived from the gateway to I-64 East or I-77 South). It would include Woodrow Wilson, Princeton, Nicholas County, Greenbrier East and Fayette Plateau High School -- the future consolidation of Oak Hill, Mount Hope, Fayetteville and Midland Trail high schools.

Analysis

The breakup of the MSAC would not only allow athletic directors the ease of scheduling cost-friendly trips for three-game-a-week sports such as soccer and volleyball, it would also open up the realm of possibilities as far as scheduling for football.

Currently for football, most MSAC teams are forced to play all 10 football games against conference opposition because the conference-mandated scheduling is completed so late in the year that it makes it almost impossible for athletic directors to schedule out of conference contests.

Smaller conferences would allow for the local athletic directors to schedule at least two games and even maybe four or five against outside competition.

The realm of possibilities would be endless.

The natural rivalries of the MSAC could still be maintained, new ones could be generated or older ones rehashed.

Would anyone like to see an Ironton-Cabell Midland matchup? Perhaps a Huntington High-Ashland contest early in the season?

Over the last decade, the merging of leagues and schools has come at a significant cost.

It is costing the student-athlete time in school.

It is costing the athletic directors and fans significant money to support their programs.

It is costing those programs the tradition-rich contests that used to fill the stands -- no offense, but Cabell Midland-Ironton has a lot better ring to it than Cabell Midland-Princeton.

Sometimes taking a step back to the past will put you two steps ahead for your future.

This is one of those times.

TUG VALLEY GETS COACH: It appears there will be football in Naugatuck after all.

After concerns that Tug Valley High School might have to cancel its football season due to the lack of a coach, Tug Valleyprincipal Ray Clagg announced that Joshua Duty will be the 12th head coach in 21 years for the Panthers.

Duty was one of three applicants for the position once a story ran about the possible cancellation of the season. None of the three applicants were employed by the Mingo County School System, and Duty was chosen as the best candidate.

Duty replaces Mike Smith, who left Tug Valley to take over the reigns at Pike County Central in Kentucky.

FOOTBALL SCHEDULES: If you are a football coach or athletic director from Ohio or Kentucky, please send your 2009 football schedules via fax or E-mail to Grant Traylor.

Thank you to Chesapeake, South Point and Fairland for getting schedules in this week.

Grant Traylor is a writer for The Herald-Dispatch. He can be reached by phone at (304) 526-2759 or by fax at (304) 526-2857. His E-mail address is gtraylor@herald-dispatch.com.

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