With some slight modification, the Gateway Athletic Conference will unveil its new three-division, 16-team format in the fall.
Added to the current North/South configuration will be a central division.
"We kept the GAC South division with all of the larger schools," Fort Zumwalt West activities director Paul Boschert said. "The North division is where all of the smaller schools will be, and the Central is where the (middle-sized) schools will be."
The GAC South will be comprised of the conference's larger schools - Zumwalt West (2,450 students), Francis Howell (1,760), Howell North (1,903), Howell Central (2,010), Troy (1,897) and Timberland (1,690).
The GAC North will group all of the schools with the smallest enrollments - Orchard Farm (433), Winfield (555), St. Charles (950), St. Charles West (1,019) and Warrenton (939).
"This divisional alignment will give schools like St. Charles, (St. Charles) West and Warrenton a chance to be in a place where they can compete," Holt director of athletics Frank Gentile said. "Everything was looked at in the forming of these new divisions."
The newly-titled GAC Central will have: Zumwalt East (1,248), Zumwalt North (1,417), Zumwalt South (1,357), Holt (1,579) and Washington (1,429).
Holt will drop out of its current affiliation with the South and will be the only current member to change divisions.
Gentile says even though his school is shifting divisions, there won't be much of a change.
"We're still going to play Zumwalt West, Timberland, Troy and the Howells," Gentile said. "Then, we will still see them in districts as well. The coaches will get home-and-home (with the Central division schools). We will get to see some very good competition while still playing (the former GAC South opposition)."
While the changes will have an immediate impact on the GAC, the alignment was also done with an eye on the future.
"Wentzville passed their bond issue and they will be opening up their new high school with a freshman/sophomore class in 2013, probably," Boschert said. "I would think that the new school would fit right into the middle section. Down the road, you would look at a possible new Troy high school. If that happens, we can be an 18-team conference with three six-team divisions."
One new aspect of the realignment will lie in scheduling.
When it comes to a sport like basketball, the GAC will schedule home-and-home with division opponents.
"A lot of coaches, especially (at the smaller schools) would start the season off 0-4 under the current schedule," Boschert said. "It was like, ‘this isn't good'. Why were we doing this crossover thing and kind of making it mandatory. Our solution was three equal divisions with a home-and-home to decide things."
Boschert also added the conference schools will begin a common scheduling practice in order to cater to basketball fan bases.
When two divisional opponents are scheduled to square off, it will be commonplace for all four games - junior varsity and varsity boys and girls - to play on the same night at the same location.
"For the schools with multiple gyms, there will be the option of four games in one night," Boschert said. "The idea is that junior varsity would play in separate gyms, both at 4:30. The varsity girls would then play at 6 and the boys at 7:30. That way you can keep all of your fans together to watch your teams."
