Houston set to join Mid-Alaska Conference

Dec. 5, 2006

By Jeremiah Bartz/ Frontiersman

HOUSTON - Earlier this year, Houston High School learned the Hawks would be flying into the large-school class.

Now, the HHS athletic programs have found a home at the 4A level.

The Alaska Schools Activities Association has tentatively approved the move of Houston to the Mid-Alaska Conference, Houston High School activities director Jamie Smith said earlier this week. The only hurdle now is the approval of the Mat-Su School District. Smith said he does not foresee a problem.

Five of Houston's eight sports would make the move. The Hawks' football squad will be the only team to stay at the small-school level, and will remain in the Greatland Conference.

The Houston cross country running and track and field squads will stay in Region III, where they have been.

But starting next year, the Houston basketball, volleyball, wrestling, baseball and hockey squads will be a part of the Mid-Alaska Conference.

Until now, the Mid-Alaska Conference has included only programs from the Interior. In four of the sports - basketball, volleyball, hockey and wrestling - Houston will share a conference with a trio of Fairbanks area schools - West Valley, Lathrop and North Pole.

Eielson and Delta Junction are also in the Mid-Alaska Conference in baseball.

When Houston initially found out most of the school's athletic programs would have to move up a class, the idea of joining Region III seemed to be the obvious choice. Region III already includes Palmer, Wasilla and Colony. But the eight-team conference also contains programs from Kodiak, Homer and the Kenai and Soldotna areas.

Travel costs and the number of teams already in Region III were the main reasons Smith proposed to ASAA the move of Houston to the Mid-Alaska Conference, Smith said.

Smith said the Houston hockey, volleyball and basketball squads take a trip to Fairbanks ever year, anyway. By joining Region III, many of its teams would be committed to traveling to Kodiak every other year. Plus there would be at least two trips to the Kenai Peninsula per sport, each year.

&#8220This seemed like a better fit,” Smith said.

Rather than making multiple trips south, Houston can make one trip north, hit all of the schools, and be done.

Before making the proposal, Smith said he spoke with representatives from Fairbanks, such as West Valley activities director and ASAA board member Mike Hubbard.

&#8220He was ecstatic. The whole group is,” Smith said.

The size of the conference is also appealing to Houston, Smith said. The conference gets only one bid to the state tournament all of the sports, but there are only three other teams to contend with, he said.

On the other hand, Region III includes eight schools that boast solid programs in most sports.

&#8220Basketball and volleyball - Wasilla, Palmer, Colony and Kodiak are fantastic,” Smith said. &#8220Try to competing against those schools. To actually qualify for the state tournament would be pretty rough.”

ASAA rules mandate a limit of 440 total students for any school with small-school programs. According to the ASAA bylaws, if a school eclipses the 440-student mark for two straight years, a school automatically moves from the 3A to the 4A class. In October, Houston eclipsed the 440-student mark for the second-straight year. During its official count in October, the school's total was at 448.

ASAA has a different set of rules for football.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.