Niles North To Join CSL North, Glenbrook North To Join CSL South

GLENVIEW, IL — The Central Suburban League announced its first realignment under a new point-based system. Based on data collected during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years, divisional results and enrollment figures tabulated at the end of this spring season, a pair of teams will swap between CSL North and CSL South beginning with the 2019-20 school year.

Niles North will move to CSL North, while Glenbrook North will move to CSL South for a three-year cycle ending with the 2021-22 season, according to a press release from the president of the league's conference of athletic directors Chris Livatino. The news comes after the final meeting of league administrators of the school year.

The new alignment, approved last year, is intended to make for a more competitive and equitable athletic experience for student athletes, according to the release. Enrollment and divisional results are considered equally to consider school placement in multi-year cycles:

Divisional results across the 20 sports that all 12 schools compete in are tabulated for two years. This data is then combined with each school’s enrollment data to determine the total divisional points for each school in the north and south divisions. The school with the highest divisional points in the north division becomes a member of the south division and the school with the fewest divisional points in the south division becomes a member of the north division after the 3rd year of the 3-year cycle to provide time for scheduling contests.

"The underlying expectation is that the more competitive contests your kids are involved in, the better that's going to help them improve – as competitors and as athletes," Livatino told Patch earlier this year. "If you're always winning by large margins that's not making your team better, but when you have those more competitive games it's making you a stronger program."

Central Suburban League Divisions for 2019-2022

South:

• Evanston
• Glenbrook North
• Glenbrook South
• Maine South
• Niles West
• New Trier

North:

• Deerfield
• Highland park
• Maine East
• Maine West
• Niles North
• Vernon Hills

» Earlier: Narrow Vote Approves Central Suburban League Team Swap