Players compete in a Redmond High vs. Bend High football game in 2017. A Monday decision by the OSAA executive board could move the Redmond-area and Bend-area high schools back into the same league (the 5A Intermountain Conference).

Sports teams at Bend-area and Redmond-area high schools could soon be competing in the same conference once again.

When the executive board of the Oregon School Activities Association meets Monday morning, it will adopt new classifications and districts for the 2022-2026 school years.

And the main question that will be answered following the meeting is what to do with the Class 6A Mountain Valley Conference — which has been the conference for Bend High, Mountain View and Summit since 2018.

The addition of Caldera High this year in southeast Bend will lower enrollment for all four Bend-area high schools, making a move back down to Class 5A for these schools likely. Redmond High and Ridgeview are both currently in Class 5A.

One thing has been made clear leading up to Monday’s decision: No school in the 6A MVC — which in the Salem area includes South Salem, West Salem, McNary, Sprague and McKay — wants the conference to continue as is for another four years.

Representatives from the Salem schools testified at an earlier OSAA executive board session that they did not want to remain in the conference. The Bend school representatives share that sentiment.

“We are hoping that we can stay closer to home,” said Dave Williams, the athletic director at Caldera. “It allows our community to attend games and is less stressful on students and teachers.”

Three changes to the current classification makeup have been proposed, all three of which would move the Bend schools to a new conference. One proposal was to keep the MVC intact, which is not a popular option. That option would also keep the current six classifications. Monday’s OSAA meeting will also decide whether their will be five or six classifications for the next four years.

Another option is to have five classifications, which would put the Bend schools in a conference with Eugene-area and southern Oregon schools. That is not a better option if the goal is to have shorter road trips and fewer late-night or early-morning returns from away games.

The most recent proposal would bring back the old Class 5A Intermountain Conference, in which the Bend schools would rejoin Redmond, Ridgeview and possibly Crook County. This would be the ideal scenario for the Bend schools.

Williams says returning to the IMC would help ease some of the lingering issues that are currently hanging over high school sports: a shortage of transportation, a shortage of officials, and extended road trips for league contests.

“It makes life a little easier for programs, kids and schools,” Williams said.

When deciding reclassifications, the executive board of the OSAA will consider distance between schools, school enrollment and competitive balance.

Crook County athletic director Rob Bonner said that it would be best for the Cowboys to compete in Class 4A, rather than compete in the same conference as the Bend schools. With a student population around 600, Crook County’s enrollment is much smaller than the four Bend schools.

Bonner hopes that Crook County can return to the Class 4A Tri-Valley Conference, which was its conference prior to joining the 5A IMC in 2018. The school’s football program is currently competing in the 4A TVC for competitive balance.

“I suggested raising the 4A (enrollment) ceiling for Crook County to allow us to go 4A rather than going against the larger Bend schools,” Bonner said. “We feel good about that, and feel that it is a better fit for our district. Less travel would have been one nice thing. But competitive equity is more important.”