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There’s a good chance, when the 2021-22 school year rolls around, that Davie will be a part of its biggest conference in 29 years.

The N.C. High School Athletic Association posted the first draft of the 2021-25 Conference Realignment Plan last week. Currently, the Central Piedmont 4-A Conference consists of six schools: Davie, East Forsyth, Glenn, Reagan, Reynolds and West Forsyth. Realignment has added Mt. Tabor and Parkland to the mix, although the final draft will not be released for a while.

The last time Davie was in an eight-team league was 1992-93, when the War Eagles were CPC rivals with Parkland, Dudley, Tabor, Reynolds, West Forsyth, South Rowan and Grimsley.

The CPC had seven schools from 1993-94 through 1996-97. It had six schools from 1996-97 through 1997-98. It had five schools from 1999-00 through 2000-01. It had six schools from 2001-02 through 2002-03. It had five schools from 2003-04 through 2004-05. It had seven schools from 2005-06 through 2006-07. It had six schools from 2007-08 through 2012-13. It had seven schools from 2013-14 through 2016-17. And it has had six schools in the latest cycle that began in 2017-18.

Per the Realignment Process and Procedures, the first draft was done by the NCHSAA staff. Staff made significant efforts to focus on factors the Realignment Committee indicated were most important to the membership.

“The number of ‘split conferences’ in this alignment draft represents the Realignment Committee’s desire not to limit those,” said Commissioner Que Tucker. “It also takes into consideration the protection of natural rivalries and strongly considers geography and travel time. This means the way of getting into the playoffs must be reviewed and updated. That will come later.

“I am grateful for the commitment and input of the Realignment Committee to faithfully represent the membership in their respective regions during this process. I am also thankful for the hard work of our Staff members who diligently worked to meet the established deadlines, while continuing to service the other needs of the membership.”

Member schools may submit those concerns or suggestions to the NCHSAA through an online form by Jan. 8, 2021. The Realignment Committee will reconvene on Jan. 13 to review submissions from schools and make adjustments as appropriate to the first draft.

The second draft of conference alignments will be sent to the membership on Jan. 14. Once the second draft has been posted, schools will have the opportunity to submit an appeal in writing by Jan. 21. All appeals will be virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.