Conferences for three sports set for cycle
NORTH LITTLE ROCK — The calendar is still more than six months away from rolling over to a new year but spring sports teams in Arkansas can now get ready for their new season as the baseball, softball and soccer conferences have been tentatively set for the upcoming cycle.
The Arkansas Activities Association made the announcement in a press release on Friday.
The new cycle will be the first with the new competitive equity factor that is calculated every two years as well as the implementation of class 4A changing to eight member conferences in both baseball and softball.
Both of those changes were voted on and approved by the AAA member schools at last summer's governing body meeting.
In baseball and softball, there were no changes for El Dorado with one exception.
Benton, which was a conference rival in baseball and softball, will be moving to the 5A Central.
Benton is slated to stay in the 5A South for soccer.
EHS will continue to compete in the 5A South along with Texarkana, Hot Springs, Hot Springs Lakeside, Lake Hamilton, Pine Bluff, Sheridan and White Hall.
However, there are changes for Smackover, Parkers Chapel and Junction City.
Smackover will be moving from the 7-3A to the 8-3A with Ashdown, Bismarck, Harmony Grove, Centerpoint, Fouke, Genoa Central and Prescott as their conference rivals.
Parkers Chapel and Junction City will be staying in the 8-2A, but the league has three new additions in Hampton, Poyen and Magnet Cove, which will join Fordyce, Gurdon, Ouachita and Woodlawn.