Bryant athletic teams will be traveling to Siloam Springs for “non-conference” conference games for at least the next two years after all.
A ruling has been handed down by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mary McGowan denying the Bryant School District’s challenge to the Arkansas Activities Association’s assignment that placed the athletic program in a revised 7A/6A-Central Conference. The District, led by Superintendent Randy Rutherford, brought suit against the AAA to try to prevent the assignment under the organization’s own guidelines, which appeared to make restricting travel a priority in conference assignments.
The 7A/6A-Central Conference will include not only Siloam Springs, a town west of Springdale on the Oklahoma border in the northwest corner of Arkansas, but Greenwood and Alma — all Class 6A schools — along with Class 7A Van Buren. The conference also includes 6A Russellville and 7A Conway and Little Rock Catholic. The extensive travel which that produces for Class 7A Bryant is far greater than the travel involved in the school’s rivals in its current conference, the 7A/6A-South, which includes El Dorado, Texarkana, Pine Bluff, Sheridan, Benton, Lake Hamilton and Little Rock J.A. Fair, all 6A schools.
“Basically, it appears that the judge felt that we did not prove that the AAA conferencing would cause Bryant irreparable harm,” said Rutherford of the ruling. The judge’s ruling is attached below.
The AAA realigns leagues and classifications based on school attendance every two years.
Bryant’s hearing in court was in early December and emphasized the complications for students, parents and fans that the travel creates; for example, playing varsity boys and girls basketball games on a school night in Siloam Springs in the middle of winter.
Another complication to the new alignment for Bryant and the other 7A schools in the new Central is that the games against 6A members of the conference will not count in the standings which determine qualification for and seedings in post-season play. In other words, Bryant’s trips to Siloam Springs, Alma, Greenwood and Russellville are mandated as members of the same conference but will not count in the standings, which determine if a Bryant team goes to State. Basically, for that purpose, the league — as well as the 7A/6A-East — will essentially be determined by three games against the 7A teams in the league, Conway, Catholic and Van Buren.
