There are certain realities to living in Maine. One is that spring begins promptly at 11:08 p.m. on June 20 and ends promptly at 2:46 a.m. on June 21.

Another reality that is beginning to settle in is that the population here is shifting southward, and it ain’t turning around and heading north any time soon, at least not north of the state capital.

The consequences of this shift are numerous. For high schools, athletically speaking, it means that the Big East isn’t so big anymore. The number of Class A teams in the proud conference has shrunk faster than the Red Sox’ winning percentage.

The KVAC, recognizing a friend in need, last week agreed to include five Big East/Penobscot Valley Conference schools in its schedules for basketball, soccer, baseball and softball over the next two years.

Bangor, Brewer, Hampden, Nokomis and Old Town will be added to the docket beginning next fall, along with Erskine Academy, which is moving up from Class B.

The league will be divided into two divisions of nine teams, with Erskine acting as a floater in soccer and basketball that will play all of the teams in both divisions once. The five Big East/PVC teams will be in the North, along with Lawrence, Messalonskee, Mt. Blue and Skowhegan. Edward Little, Leavitt Lewiston and Oxford Hills will be in the South, along with Cony Gardiner, Brunswick, Mt. Ararat and Morse.

Erskine will be in the North for baseball and softball, while Mt. Blue will retain its spring rivalries with Oxford Hills, Leavitt and other teams as a member of the South division. That means the KVAC South will have 10 teams, the North nine, during the spring, with no floater. The conference is still formulating the spring schedule.

The schedules for basketball and soccer have been worked out. In basketball, each team will play the others in its division twice, Erskine once, and one crossover game against a team in the other division. Waterville, which is dropping down the Class B in all of the affected sports but soccer, will be the 20th team in soccer, creating two 10-team divisions.

The new setup has met a lukewarm reaction from many KVAC coaches. Some are concerned about increased travel. Others worry about the competitive balance in some sports.

But give the KVAC athletic directors credit for knowing the real score. Something had to be done for the northern A schools, and not just to appease them for losing the basketball tournament.

This is what’s best for Eastern Class A. Period. If this arrangement goes beyond this initial two-year trial period, freezing out the Big East/PVC contingent would have hurt the KVAC in the long run. Forcing the northern schools to play each other three times a season and fill out their schedule with Class B teams not only hurts them competitively, but also leaves the KVAC teams in a no-win situation come tournament time. If the KVAC teams dominate, they were supposed to because the teams up north faced inferior competition during the regular season. If they lose, as they did in the boys’ basketball tournament less than three months ago, it’s because they either underestimated a Hampden or a Brewer or because they couldn’t play their style of ball.

At least this way, there won’t be any excuses. Yes, there may be a competitive imbalance, particularly in girls’ basketball, if this is just a two-year deal. Extend it out over a decade, though, and the cyclical nature of high school sports will play out as it always does.

The question is whether this setup won’t be obsolete a decade from now. Gardiner and Waterville are leaving. Who knows how much longer schools like Brewer, Hampden, Old Town, Nokomis, Erskine, Lawrence and Skowhegan will have the enrollment to be in Class A. There’s a good chance that they could all be in B in five years, leaving Bangor up there to stick out like a sore thumb.

If the KVAC abandoned Bangor, recently selected as the best high school program in the state by Sports Illustrated, it would be a travesty. Better to get them into the fold now, while they’ve got some friends to bring along.

As far as travel goes, well, I guess it’s the price you pay for playing Class A sports north and east of greater Portland.

Everybody’s going to be spending a lot of time on the bus regardless. As long as they’re not doing it in the spring, it will be worth the ride.

Randy Whitehouse is a staff writer. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]