The start of the 2024-25 high school sports calendar marks the beginning of the Sac-Joaquin Section’s new league realignment cycle.
Section athletic directors, media and section officials met in January, February and March of 2023 with ADs submitting proposals for the realignment committee to hear and make decisions on whether teams would change leagues or remain with the same group until the next cycle.
Of all leagues in the section, the CCAL was the only one that left all five meetings unscathed, keeping the same six-team format for at least the next four years.
Here is a look at how each team with Stanislaus District teams was affected by realignment:
CCAA
Original League
Big Valley Christian
Elliot Christian
Millennium (all sports except football)
Stone Ridge Christian
Turlock Christian
Venture Academy
Teams Added
Holt Academy (from MVL)
Hughes Academy (from MVL)
River Islands (from VOL)
Teams Leaving
Big Valley Christian (to MLL)
Elliot Christian (to MVL)
Millennium (football to MLL)
Stone Ridge Christian (to SAL)
About the new league: Four teams leave the Central California Athletic Alliance and three teams enter, including River Islands, which adds sports for the first year. Listed as a Division VI league by the section, the CCAA adds two teams from the D-VII MVL. Uniquely, Millennium football leaves to the Mother Lode League, but all other sports stay. Hughes Academy joins from the MVL and Big Valley, Elliot Christian and Stone Ridge leave to the MLL, MVL and SAL, respectively.
CCAL
Original League
Downey
Enochs
Gregori
Modesto
Pitman
Turlock
Teams Added
None
Teams Leaving
None
About the new league: CCAL was the only league not affected by realignment. The six-team league, which entered the section in 2018-19, did not add or lose a team. Schools in the league fought to keep all of its schools. CCAL schools fought to stay together, noting they would rather add two schools to become an eight-team league instead of splitting up. Turlock remained part of the CCAL despite a push to move it to the Tri-City Athletic League. During early meetings, multiple proposals to have schools like Manteca and Mountain House take Turlock’s spot in the CCAL were heard by the realignment committee.
CCC
Original League
Atwater
Buhach Colony
Central Valley
El Capitan
Golden Valley
Merced
Patterson
Teams Added
Los Banos (from WAC)
Teams Leaving
Patterson (to VOL)
Central Valley (to WAC)
About the new league: The CCC is now a Merced-area-based league. It loses a heavyweight when Patterson goes to the VOL, and Central Valley leaves to the WAC to be in the same league as its crosstown rival, Ceres. Los Banos, which in the past three years qualified for the playoffs in football, baseball, boys basketball, girls basketball and softball, replaces Central Valley in the WAC.
MLL
Original League
Argonaut
Amador
Bret Harte
Calaveras
Sonora
Summerville
Teams Added
Big Valley Christian (from CCAA)
Linden (from SJAA)
Millennium (from CCAA - football only)
River Islands (from VOL - football only)
Riverbank (from TVL)
Teams Leaving
Argonaut (to SVC)
Amador (to SVC)
Sonora (to TVL)
About the new league: Arguably the most movement of any league in the southern part of the section was in the Mother Lode League. The league lost Argonaut and Amador to the SVC, which is listed as a league from the northern part of the section, and lost Sonora to the TVL. In return, the MLL gained Big Valley from the CCAA, Linden from the SJAA and Riverbank from the TVL. Millennium and River Islands will compete in the league for football. The CCAA originally voted unanimously to keep Big Valley in the league. That was brought to the committee in the first realignment meeting but was ultimately not granted.
SAL
Original League
Delhi
Denair
Gustine
Le Grand
Mariposa
Orestimba
Ripon Christian
Waterford
Teams Added
Delta Charter (from MVL - football only)
Modesto Christian (from TVL - all sports except football and boys basketball)
Stone Ridge Christian (from CCAA)
Teams Leaving
Orestimba (to TVL)
Ripon Christian (to TVL)
About the new league: The SAL loses a pair of heavyweights at the top with Orestimba and Ripon Christian moving on to the TVL, but adds a school dedicated to growing its sports in Stone Ridge Christian out of the Merced area. Delta Charter’s football team joins the league and Modesto Christian enters from the TVL in all sports except football and boys basketball. It is an eight-team league.
TVL
Original League
Escalon
Hilmar
Hughson
Livingston
Modesto Christian
Ripon
Teams Added
Orestimba (from SAL)
Sonora (from MLL)
Ripon Christian (from SAL)
Teams Leaving
Livingston (to WAC)
Modesto Christian (to MLL – all sports except football)
About the new league: The best small-school football league only get tougher when league champions and perennial section title contenders enter from the Southern and Mother Lode leagues. Ripon Christian was already part of the league for boys and girls basketball, but enters for all sports now. Modesto Christian remains in the league just for football. While the eyes draw to football, the TVL drastically improves in girls volleyball by adding back-to-back state champion Ripon Christian, softball by adding Orestimba to compete with Ripon, Hilmar and Escalon, and Sonora which, in addition to football, has successful boys basketball, girls volleyball, softball and girls soccer programs. You also can’t beat the small school rivalries and the excitement of constant matchups between Ripon and Ripon Christian, which are separated by one street.
VOL
Original League
Central Catholic
East Union
Kimball
Manteca
Oakdale
Sierra
Teams Added
Mountain House (from WAC)
Patterson (from CCC)
Teams Leaving
Kimball (to TCAL)
About the new league: Kimball is quickly growing, so it leaves the VOL for the south league with the largest population schools, the TCAL. Mountain House is also a growing school and moves from the WAC to the VOL starting this year. Patterson, which has had success in the CCC in sports like football and boys and girls basketball, moves into the league, which will make for some great league battles.
WAC
Original League
Beyer
Ceres
Davis
Johansen
Lathrop
Los Banos
Mountain House
Pacheco
Teams Added
Central Valley (from CCC)
Livingston (from TVL)
Teams Leaving
Los Banos (to CCC)
Mountain House (to VOL)
About the new league: Livingston made its push to move from the TVL to the WAC based on scope of programming (the amount of sports teams offered), and was granted the move. Central Valley moved into the league from the CCC, making transportation easier with two Ceres schools in the same league. Conversely, Los Banos was moved to the CCC despite Los Banos administration’s concerns about limited bus drivers between Los Banos and Pacheco, two schools in the same city. They proposed moving Livingston to CCC. Livingston said it was OK moving to the WAC, but not the CCC.
Most Popular
Comments / 0