The news of a potential split in the 19-team Central Iowa Metro League* bears some similarities to what went on in college sports the past half-decade. This time, though, it’s the have-nots taking the initiative and separating from the haves.
The splitters are a pretty obvious group: Five Des Moines high schools that are not evenly distributed in student numbers; Ottumwa, which was lumped in with the Des Moines schools** in the football “Metro Conference” until Class 4A was reorganized into districts last year; Marshalltown, which has an easy driving connection to Des Moines and a football team that had a spurt of success in 2009-12; and Indianola, the second-smallest school in the CIML.
Feeding into the parallel with college football-driven realignment, these schools aren’t as flashy in the facilities arms race and don’t get as much respect media market-wise (ValleyDowling ValleyDowling BattleOfAnkeny ValleyDowling). They also are the ones with the population problem; the Register noted Marshalltown and Ottumwa have had double-digit enrollment drops in the past decade. The suburbs, meanwhile, continue going like gangbusters.
We are talking about the separation of the top of the top; Indianola still has more students in grades 9-11 alone than 60% of Iowa’s districts have total. I’m a small-school fan, of course, but shakeups at the top are something to keep an eye on.
*How does a 19-team conference manage a decent basketball season, anyway? Or do all teams not play each other?
**In retrospect, that’s really why IA 163 needed to be four-laned.