Time for MVC to get rid of 'Highway 20 Conference'

Around the Metro, it's mockingly referred to as the "Highway 20 Conference." And it's time to get rid of it.There long has been some sort of gentleman's agreement when it comes to Mississippi Valley Conference football that Cedar Falls, Waterloo East, Waterloo West and the three Dubuque schools play each other every season, even if they are not in the same division.Why? Not quite sure on that one.I get the whole rivalry thing. Yes, CF, East and West always should play one another. Yes, Dubuque Senior, Dubuque Wahlert and Dubuque Hempstead should get together every season.But why can't Dubuque Wahlert play a non-division game against Iowa City High? Why can't Waterloo East and Cedar Rapids Prairie play a non-division game? There is no good reason.If this is about travel, let's look at Mapquest quick. The Web site says it takes approximately an hour and 36 minutes drive time from Dubuque to Iowa City. From Waterloo to Iowa City, it's an hour and 22 minutes. Contrarily, it's an hour and 32 from Waterloo to Dubuque and an hour and 40 from Dubuque to Cedar Falls. All of the above is four-lane highway travel.The Class 4A state playoffs are seeded now, which is where I'm going with this. Every regular-season win helps your seed, every loss hurts it. Therefore, schedules need to be more equitable in the MVC than they are. Everyone should have the opportunity to play everyone else, regardless of division.Look at Cedar Falls this season, for instance. The Tigers have played two teams with winning records (Cedar Rapids Xavier and Dubuque Hempstead). The combined record of their opponents is 24-48.CF's three games against non-division opponents were against Wahlert (2-6), West (2-6) and Senior (0-8). They will go 9-0, meaning every postseason game they play will be at home in the UNI-Dome, which is as big a home-field advantage as there is in the state.Then there's Prairie, a member of the Valley Division like Cedar Falls. The Hawks also played Xavier and Hempstead, but their three non-division games were against Iowa City High (8-0), Linn-Mar (7-1) and Cedar Rapids Washington (5-3). Prairie is 2-6 and probably out of the postseason.Fair? You decide. And the above isn't a unique situation. Unfortunately.I say get rid of the "Highway 20 Conference." What do you think?