Some local high school sports squads may see a shift in their competition beginning during the 2026-27 school year.
Per San Marcos Athletic Director Aaron Solis, the CIF-SS Northern Area has voted on league shifts impacting the Channel Association and Tri-County Association, which features the majority of the local schools.
More information will be released in the coming months, and the 2025-26 school year will feature the same leagues used during the 2024-25 year. Here are the changes to come.
Non-Football Sports
The Channel Association, formerly the Channel League, will now be split up into the Channel League and the Pacific View League.
The current 8-team Channel League of Santa Barbara, San Marcos, Dos Pueblos, Ventura, Buena, Pacifica, Oxnard and Rio Mesa will be joined by Channel Islands and Del Sol.
Cate, Thacher and Nordhoff will also be members of the Channel Association for lacrosse only.
The division of the Channel and Pacific View Leagues will be decided based on competitive equity on a sport-by-sport basis. It is still to be determined.
Meanwhile, the Tri-County Athletic Association will feature Bishop Diego, Cate, Laguna Blanca, Providence, Dunn, Grace, Malibu, Santa Clara, St. Bonaventure, Thacher, Villanova Prep and Foothill Tech.
The Tri-County Athletic Association will be split between the Frontier League and Tri-Valley League, which will also be decided at a later date based on competitive equity in each sport.
The Citrus Coast League rounds out the local area leagues, where Carpinteria High will be joined by Fillmore, Hueneme, Nordhoff and Santa Paula.
Football
On the gridiron, local teams may see some shake-up in their league competition as well. None of the newfound leagues have been named.
In the top league in the area, Bishop Diego has been slotted alongside fellow strong programs Newbury Park, Oaks Christian, Pacifica, Simi Valley and St. Bonaventure.
Santa Barbara High was placed in the ‘B’ League, where it will compete against Moorpark, Rio Mesa, Westlake, Thousand Oaks and Ventura.
San Marcos and Dos Pueblos will remain in the same league and build rivalries with Fillmore, Hueneme, Royal and Santa Paula.
Finally, Carpinteria High will compete against Channel Islands, Del Sol, Grace, Nordhoff and Santa Clara.