Local officials question why El Paso teams mostly travel for tournaments

Current and past coaches and school administrators in El Paso told ABC-7 Monday they’ve been complaining for years about how far their teams have to travel to compete during the postseason.

A longtime administrator and coach in the Ysleta District said the Region 1 track meet has been held in Lubbock for as long as he can remember, despite the fact the meet is supposed to be up for bid.

“We could do a great job of hosting and the (University Interscholastic League) listens to us, but they’ve got to deal with a lot of other schools,” said YISD Associate Superintendent Pat O’Neill, who indicated they’ve worked with UTEP and the City in the past to host but have been shot down every time. “The Metroplex is part of our region now, so it’s that far and there’s so many school in the Metroplex, that’s kind of the feeling I got from the UIL. Why make so many schools have to come this far, when we don’t have as many schools?”

Del Valle’s Bruce Reichman, a two-time state championship coach (2005-08), says it’s the same problem when it comes to soccer. The last eight years, his team has had to travel to Wichita Falls for regionals.

“There could be a way that is a little more equal to both teams,” Reichman told ABC-7. “That’s what i would like to see. Wichita Falls is miserable to drive to on a bus.”

Eastwood cross country and track coach Mike McLain said he and other coaches wrote an email to area athletic directors last week, prior to the bus crash.

“We wanted to have a meeting and discuss why the area meet wasn’t held here and what we can do in the future to make sure the area meet is here,” McLain said. “We are the ones always taking the risk and paying the money to travel and our kids getting tired from that travel. Our superintendents and athletic directors need to contact UIL and put some pressure on them if we have to travel that far this year, than guess what you’ll have to travel that far next year. That’s only fair.”

Juan Hernandez, a former EPISD school administrator, said, “This concern has been brought up many many times. Ask the state why we’re not having some of these tournaments here in El Paso. We definitely have the facilities.”

The UTEP sent ABC-7 this statement: “The UIL selects regional sites with the facilities and infrastructure available to host each event, and makes every attempt to choose centrally located venues when possible. Region 1 is the largest geographic area of any UIL region, which makes finding a centrally located site with the ability to host very difficult.”

Del Valle did host the Region 1 wrestling tournament this year and will again next year. EPISD officials told ABC-7 they have the facilities and would be willing to host Region 1 meets and tournaments