Vikings may be in 4-team league in 2018


The Siuslaw Vikings have been caught in another draft by the Classification and Districting Committee for the Oregon School Activities Association.

Another two more drafts, to be exact. Draft Nos. 16 and 17. Each is a six-classification model for the four-year block 2018-22.

Draft 16 is the same as Draft 15 for the Vikings, who would be in a six-team 3A Umpqua River Conference with Coquille, Douglas, Rogue River, South Umpqua and Sutherlin.

Draft 17 puts Siuslaw in a four-team 3A Umpqua River Conference with Coquille, Rogue River and South Umpqua. Douglas and Sutherlin would move to 4A leagues.

The committee also is adding two opportunities for the public to offer testimony — Tuesday, June 20, and Monday, Aug. 28. The June meeting originally was going to be a closed session.

Both meetings will start at 9 a.m. at the OSAA office in Wilsonville. Both will offer public testimony followed by a closed work session.

Both models have the Far West League remaining at 4A, with Draft 16 including Brookings-Harbor, Cottage Grove, Hidden Valley, Marshfield, North Bend and North Valley.

Draft 17 has a Far West League of those six schools plus Sutherlin.

Regardless the mixing of schools, it appears Siuslaw is destined to go down a classification and face a three-hour trip to Rogue River for its teams.

Draft 16 has 38 schools in five leagues for 3A, while Draft 17 has 34 schools in six leagues.

Draft 17 would make Siuslaw the biggest school in 3A, based on Adjusted 2015-16 ADM (average daily membership, as reported by Oregon school districts).

The latest minutes for the committee are available online at http://www.osaa.org/docs/committees/classification/20170522update.pdf.