The HIADA conference is done, I'm back home from Waikoloa. I'll miss the turkeys on my patio, the goats along the road, the horses in pristine Kohala. But I still have yet to see a Nightingale donkey. Obviously, they have conspired to stay away from me.

Sorta like some athletic directors. Oh, they don't mind talking story, but once I pull out that trusty reporter's notepad, everything is off the table. Some folks don't mind speak out publicly, but some would rather stay back in the safety of anonymity. Who can blame them? Being an AD is a six-day-a-week, nine-months-without-stopping job. Does it push some folks to the edge? Physically and mentally, it can. No question. It's not an edge of lunacy. It's an edge of exhaustion.

That's why I talk with ADs who don't mind talking about key issues, and there were many at the HIADA conference. An issue like classification criteria -- a uniform set of criteria across the state -- clearly splits those who have an opinion and those who repress any opinion in favor of pushing the "company" line. That's the nature of voting at HIADA. Leagues often vote in blocks. Sounds political? Well, that's probably true, but it's always been the nature of a democracy. The alternative would be a monarchy or dictatorship. Take your pick.

So we still don't have a statewide set of standards to separate Division I from Division II. We may never get there. I do buy the notion that each league is unique and has different needs. After covering the BIIF for eight years, I can list a dozen factors that would make the average ILH or OIA fan think twice.

But the ILH has its own set of challenges. The vast majority of its 27 schools are medium or small compared to the rest of the state. The formula that used to be a hindrance now works in favor of the ILH thanks to the implementation of D-II.

That's why two proposals, in particular, put the ILH in the limelight more than other leagues over the three days of HIADA. One proposal, penned by Christian Liberty's Gary Oertel, was enlightening. If not for a 2.0 multiplier -- rather than the far more common 1.5 used on the mainland -- the proposal might have gained support in committee. Maybe. Instead, it was shot down early and stayed down. A 21-10 vote (with four abstentions) meant the proposal didn't have the 33-percent requirement to file for a minority report.

That's sad. I have to think that if the BIIF had used a 1.5 multiplier, at least one more voter would've voted in favor. Would it have passed at general assembly? Probably not, but the vote would've been somewhat close, and the concept of a common criteria would feel more comfortable for many ADs -- just my hunch.

For ILH schools, it wouldn't have made a huge difference. Mid-sized schools like Saint Louis and Damien prefer D-I anyway. The smaller schools like Hawaii Baptist are small enough not to be affected by 1.5 or 2.0 multipliers. What would've made Oertel's proposal significant was the simple primary criteria of enrollment. That would have knocked out more than two-thirds of OIA schools, right off the top.

Is that something the HHSAA really wants? Probably not. Look at the Farrington-Aiea D-II boys basketball championship game. Great game between a school with 2,600 kids (Farrington) and another with 1,100 kids (Aiea). The crowd those schools drew to Stan Sheriff Arena was healthy. The HHSAA can't afford to lose money. Ever. It is an independent entity with no funding from the state. The more fans they can draw to the arena, the better off for both the HHSAA and the health of state tournaments in general.

The OIA was never a fan of D-II in state tournaments, so don't expect the league to ever go along with common criteria or anything along those lines. You can't blame the OIA. D-II doesn't serve the needs of a majority of its teams.

As much as I like D-II and the balance it creates in coverage and opportunities for smaller schools, the bottom line will always be whether it can sustain itself. Sure, fans from the Neighbor Islands fly over for the finals on Saturday, but meager crowds on Wednesday and Thursday are tough to ignore. By playing in high school gyms, the basketball tournaments stay afloat.

The proposal that affects the ILH most out of this year's HIADA conference is another one from the BIIF. Though it's not final until the HHSAA executive board says so (tomorrow), the ILH would have to field three teams in a sport, in one division, to qualify for a state tourney. On paper, as University AD Jim Bukes said, it seems to make sense.

The reality for the ILH is, however, that the smaller schools aren't built to form three teams in some sports, and they certainly don't want to be lumped together with national powerhouses like Punahou. Talk about extremes. So, if this proposal passes the HHSAA, look for the ILH to take very creative steps to do what's best for its teams. As I've written before, the ILH is a very varied organism, practically two leagues within one.

The good thing for the league is that they've always had creative thinkers. The bad thing is, as long as they get hit with new proposals and rules, they'll keep finding solutions. That'll hold until the next curveball. It goes on and on. In the meantime, the smaller schools are treading water in this whole state-tourney berth ocean. Things seemed to be smoothing out until this proposal.

For the KIF, things were quite calm at HIADA. The MIL, though, could be in for some shaking up, somewhat like the ILH. St. Anthony is struggling to field a football team. Without the Trojans, only two teams would be left in D-II football -- no state berth. We'll see what the HHSAA decides tomorrow.

It's only fitting that HIADA often goes to the lava fields of Hualalai to make these decisions. After all, beyond the oasis of a resort -- a palace, really -- it's nothing but a'a lava fields almost devoid of foliage, where only the hardiest of animals can eke out a life. The rest simply perish.

As the state's high schools veer either toward an elite level of dominance or a stagnant threshold of budgetary struggles, a breaking point is coming. If you think the rest of the state will be fine as transportation costs soar -- in West Hawaii, gasoline was $4.25/gallon on Thursday, then $4.45/gallon on Friday -- think again.

For all its wonder and work ethic, Punahou's title spectacular in the 2007-08 school year may have done more harm than good. Love the kids, the coaches are terrific and public-school employees more often than not are happy to send their children there. But when the gap between the haves and have-nots grows this big, revolution is in order. That's human nature, and when the difference becomes painful enough, i.e. budget limitations of have-nots, we may see a brave new world.

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