Bryce Alderton
The Mission Conference is slated for realignment -- again.
Athletic directors approved the proposal during their winter
meetings after coaches from the 12 conference football teams
unanimously voted for the shift, which will create two new divisions
-- the American and National -- beginning with the 2003 season.
Orange Coast College will be in the American Division along with
former Northern Division member schools Cerritos, Long Beach and Mt.
San Antonio, along with ex-Central Division participants Golden West
and Palomar.
The National Division will feature the north's El Camino, Pasadena
and Riverside along with former Central Division holdovers Fullerton,
Saddleback and Santa Ana.
Teams were grouped into divisions by combined wins and losses the
previous two seasons. The rankings, beginning with the best and
following in descending order, are: Palomar (18-2), Pasadena (17-3),
Saddleback (15-5), Cerritos (14-6), Long Beach (13-7), Riverside (10-10), Fullerton (9-11), Mt. San Antonio (9-11), Orange Coast (7-13), El Camino (7-13), Santa Ana (5-15) and Golden West (3-17).
Teams will play division rivals once in addition to two
nonconference or "crossover" games at the beginning of the season.
Crossover games pit teams against one another with similar records
the year before and have been used for the past two seasons. Next
fall, OCC will open with games against Glendale and Los Angeles
Southwest, followed by eight conference games. Dates will be
announced in late March, following the decision about a playoff
format.
Some traditional rivalries will be splintered -- at least for two
years -- such as Long Beach and El Camino while others will be held
intact like Santa Ana and Fullerton.
"It's a credit to our coaches that we're not afraid to change with
the times," said conference commissioner T. Mark Johnson.
In two years the divisions will be reevaluated for another
possible shuffle, which is nothing new to this conference.
OCC head coach Mike Taylor is satisfied with the new alignment.
"It keeps the Orange County flavor intact," Taylor said. "My
biggest issue was Orange County schools still getting to play each
other and that is the case for the most part."
Since its inception in 1969, the conference has undergone several
realignments, including one from 1988-93, that had three divisions
(Southern, Central and Northern).
Mission Conference teams have captured (outright or shared) six of
the last 10 national titles.
Last season, conference teams went 2-1 in bowl games with
Saddleback and Palomar both winning.
"In the past, Palomar and Saddleback each have had one tough game
a year, against each other, and whoever won that won the conference,"
said Eric Mendoza, the conference's football statistician and
Fullerton's sports information director. "Now Saddleback has to play
Pasadena and El Camino coupled with everyone else. Teams are tired of
losing. It only helps the conference's image to shake things up. You
get six closer teams in the division. Anyone could win the
(conference)."
