Conference realignment has hit even the NJCAA. Due to several Jayhawk East teams moving from division 1 to division 2, Butler moves from the Jayhawk West to the Jayhawk East next season. This move is for men’s and women’s basketball only.
The move helps ensure some semblance of parity between the east and west. Had Butler stayed in the west, there would be nine Jayhawk West teams and six Jayhawk East teams. Instead there will be eight in the west and seven in the east beginning next season.
The Jayhawk West teams will remain the same other than Butler with Barton, Cloud, Colby, Dodge City, Garden City, Hutchinson, Pratt, and Seward. The Jayhawk East division 1 will be Allen, Butler, Coffeyville, Cowley, Independence, Labette, and Neosho. Highland, Fort Scott, Johnson, and Kansas City will form a Jayhawk East division 2.
Northwest Technical College in Goodland is not part of the Jayhawk Conference but the NJCAA ruled they are still part of the Region 6. So Northwest Tech will compete at the end of the season with the eight Jayhawk West schools and the seven Jayhawk East schools for the Region 6 title and a birth into the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson.
The Saints host Butler January 26 and play in El Dorado February 23.
