A new era is set to begin in local high school sports as for the first time ever all desert schools will be under one umbrella as the Desert Athletic Conference debuts.
The DAC consists of the 14 teams in what we’ve come to know as our three leagues: The Desert Empire League, The Desert Valley League and the Sun Valley League.
Those monikers will remain in the DAC, but what’s unique about the new conference is that every sport will group the 14 teams differently to maximize competitiveness. Most sports will consist of a top group (Desert Empire League) a middle group (Desert Valley League) and the third group (Sun Valley League).
What desert fans will have to wrap their head around is that, for example, the six teams in the Desert Empire League for football will not be the same six teams in the Desert Empire League for volleyball. That will be a new phenomenon.
So let’s talk about the new league with a specific eye toward football.
Did any teams change leagues in football?
Yes, four of the 14 teams will play in a different league than they played in last year. The six Desert Empire League teams will remain the same so La Quinta, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Shadow Hills and Xavier Prep will make up the DEL, just as they have for the last eight years.
But the Desert Valley League and the Sun Valley League will see some shuffling with an eye toward competitive balance. The top two teams in the Sun Valley League were moved up into the Desert Valley League, while the two bottom teams in the DVL were moved down into the Sun Valley League.
This year’s league breakdown for football
So, as you can see, DHS and Banning from the Sun Valley League moved up to the DVL, while Indio and Twentynine Palms moved from the DVL to the Sun Valley League.
As far as the playoffs are concerned, the top three teams in the DEL, and the top two teams in both the DVL and SVL will make the postseason. In other words, seven of the 14 desert teams are guaranteed to make the postseason.
Takeaways from the football re-leaguing
When the idea of the DAC was floated, there was a fascination to see if the league’s ADs would break up the six-team Desert Empire League. Would they, perhaps, move DVL champs Coachella Valley up into the DEL and relegate (in this year’s case) last-place Rancho Mirage into the DVL. In the end, it sounds like they played it a little safe and just went by last year’s CIF-SS rankings at the end of the year, which had all six DEL teams ranked higher than Coachella Valley. But in the future, expect more movement at the top.
The one team whose fortunes were most adversely affected by the changes would probably have to be Desert Hot Springs. Though it is a badge of honor to move up into a higher league, the Golden Eagles, who have made the playoffs as one of the top two teams in the Sun Valley League the last two years, will find it harder to land a postseason spot alongside Coachella Valley, Yucca Valley and Banning in the DVL.
Golden Eagles head coach Roy Provost said navigating the new conference set-up and the moving and shifting of leagues will take some getting used to, both in on-the-field action and things like scheduling, but he’s eager to see how it will all shake out.
“There’s just so many variables at play here; it’s just like anything else, you gotta try it and see if it works,” Provost said.
Will his team be playing with a chip on its shoulder this year wanting to prove they belong in the tougher league they moved into?
“To be honest, no, there’s no chip on our shoulder like that,” Provost said. “But more of a chip in our shoulder in general to prove that we belong with the upper echelon of the valley. I always try to schedule a solid preseason with very good competition to test ourselves and know what we’re all about. Whether it’s a close game or a butt-whoopin from us or too us. We’re going to know where we stand.”
Conversely, of course, teams like Twentynine Palms and Indio, may find their footing quickly in the Sun Valley League as they will be immediate contenders for one of the top two spots and the playoff bids that go with them after years of struggling to make the postseason in the DVL.
Wildcats had coach Eric Tili said the re-leaguing has given his team a boost of confidence, now in a league with teams they feel no equal footing with.
“I think we have the smallest public school in the whole conference, so I think numbers-wise it will help us to be in the Sun Valley League where our talent level is similar to the rest of the league, teams we feel we can compete against,” Tili said. “It was hard going against a big school with big numbers on their roster like Coachella Valley for instance. This has given our guys a lift.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: How will new Desert Athletic Conference affect football season?
Reporting by Shad Powers, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Shad Powers, Palm Springs Desert Sun | USA TODAY Network
