A 400-pound bronze bulldog statue stands guard just inside the gates of the Kennison Field Complex at Hermiston High School.

HERMISTON — The Hermiston School District’s search for the best way to serve its athletes could lead to the Bulldogs leaving the Oregon School Activities Association altogether.

The district announced Monday it is exploring the possibility of joining the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) by the fall of 2018.

“Hermiston School District is facing a challenge as Hermiston High School’s enrollment continues to increase,” the district said in a press release. “The growth will move HHS to the state’s highest classification in the OSAA. This brings up the issue that there are no similarly sized high schools within 175 miles of Hermiston for competition.”

The current proposal before the OSAA has Hermiston joining the 6A Mt. Hood Conference with an average travel distance for league games of 179.25 miles. The average travel distance for Hermiston in the Columbia River Conference is 85.67.

Hermiston estimates its travel would top 3,000 miles per season for league games alone would it remain with the OSAA’s plan.

Hermiston Athletic Director Larry Usher, who voiced concerns over travel when interviewed for a story titled “Bulldogs eying move up” that ran by the Jan. 10 edition of the East Oregonian, took a harder stance in the district’s release.

“This could increase the school’s travel costs by up to 60 percent, and students could miss up to 30 percent of their classes in a given month for their athletic events, which is unacceptable,” he said.

The more attractive option for Usher is hitching Hermiston’s wagon to the WIAA’s Mid-Columbia League along with Kennewick, Kamiakin and Southridge — teams the Bulldogs regularly play in non-league competition already.

Which leads to Hermiston’s other main issue with the OSAA — it’s ranking system.

The OSAA’s Rated Percentage Index (RPI) determines postseason seeding, and in some cases even postseason berths. The RPI does not factor in out-of-state opponents, and favors teams that schedule games within their classifications.

It’s why Hermiston’s boys basketball team has taken four trips to the Portland area for games and tournaments this season, and dealt with multiple cancellations, rather than play smaller local teams like Umatilla and Stanfield.

Usher said the WIAA still needs to agree to the move, but the Bulldogs also have some outside backers in their corner.

“I believe we are still facing an uphill battle with the WIAA, and we completely understand if they are hesitant,” he said. “Something new is not always easy for any group, but this is about our kids in Hermiston and this uphill battle is certainly worth it. We have the full support of every school across the river in the Mid-Columbia Conference and certainly hope that pulls some weight with their association.”

Should Hermiston leave, the OSAA would lose one of its most successful programs of the last 10 seasons, which have seen the Bulldogs win 13 teams titles in wrestling (9), girls tennis (2), boys cross country and football.