Northwest Ohio Realignment

I’ll be honest, other than Maumee and Woodmore I don’t get why anyone wants out truly. Maybe Clay has a case for the big sports but Stritch is going to poach players from them for basketball for years to come.

Findlay and Whitmer joining a big school NLL is just plain dumb. You’re still going to have to beat the D1 Private schools in the tournament. The TRAC is a great league in many sports, it would be a damn shame to see that get knocked down.
 
RollingTrain said:
You can...that's why I said typically. USV, Hardin Northern and Holgate also had did something to make the leagues ask them to leave - they dropped football. They could have just as well voted them out for cause. Actually I think Hogate was voted out if I think about it.
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What do you think "asked to leave" means?
 
smurfyeah19 said:
I’ll be honest, other than Maumee and Woodmore I don’t get why anyone wants out truly. Maybe Clay has a case for the big sports but Stritch is going to poach players from them for basketball for years to come.

Findlay and Whitmer joining a big school NLL is just plain dumb. You’re still going to have to beat the D1 Private schools in the tournament. The TRAC is a great league in many sports, it would be a damn shame to see that get knocked down.
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You just answered your own question with the poaching comment. Findlay and Whitmer are doing this because of personal distaste for having to deal with teams who play by a different set of rules, also because women's sports matter too, and NDA and SUA don't give anyone else a chance. I think it is a tremendous move for all four of those schools in the TRAC. For Clay and Ross you get out from underwater competitively, which culturally will have a positive impact up and down their athletics departments, for Whitmer and Findlay you create a conference with the only other D1 team in the area (Perrysburg), and add in teams who will give you great games while being held to the same standards and removing your longest drive (Lima) and not having to deal with teams who have free reign of the city when you can only work your own area. The TRAC isn't a "great conference" for 4 of the teams involved in it (Lima Senior, Findlay, Ross, and Clay) because they've been miserable in it for years. All four of those schools have made no qualms about wanting to leave (Findlay and Clay to the NLL, Ross to anywhere that will have them, and Lima Senior to the City League). Toledo is the only large city in the state where the privates and publics still play in a similar league, and there is a reason why no one else does it...Toledo, as always, is just late to the game.

I don't think this is about any of the smaller teams "wanting out". It is far more about the small teams needing a place to call home. If Maumee doesn't leave the NLL, then the NBC will be at 6 teams, which is nearly unsustainable from a scheduling perspective in all sports (as our Findlay, Fremont Ross, Napoleon, and Lima Senior brethren can attest). If they go to six, it would be far easier for the former NLL 4 to jump back into a conference they know.
 
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smurfyeah19 said:
Findlay and Whitmer joining a big school NLL is just plain dumb. You’re still going to have to beat the D1 Private schools in the tournament.
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The earliest they would play a D1 private is in the state semi-finals. Both schools are a long way from making it there.
 
CC Track Fan said:
The earliest they would play a D1 private is in the state semi-finals. Both schools are a long way from making it there.
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Agreed, which is why you go to a conference you have a higher likelihood of winning, because that in itself is more noteworthy than your achievements in a long time in the primary sports (Findlay far longer than Whitmer obviously).
 
CC Track Fan said:
The earliest they would play a D1 private is in the state semi-finals. Both schools are a long way from making it there.
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I would guess by tournament, he meant basketball.

But because I was curious, it looks like there's only 5 private D1 football schools? Is that right? Unless I'm missing someone: St. Ed's, Iggy, Moeller, St. X, and Elder
 
dappling said:
I

have asked this and no one seems to answer. Why would defiance want to leave a stable league where they have long standing relationships? They play Napoleon already non-league. Seems silly. If I was in defiance, I would advocate against this.
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Again...it isn't all about wanting to go...sometimes you HAVE to go. If the conference you're in loses stability, then you need to find one that doesn't have that problem. Obviously the WBL will never have a problem with stability, but Defiance MAY want to play in a conference because Wapak, St. Marys and Celina are hikes, and being in a conference with Napoleon, Maumee, and Bowling Green cuts your travel fairly considerably. Then again, all that I've heard from certain folks who would most definitely be privy about conversations within the NLL could be lying.
 
*67 said:
I would guess by tournament, he meant basketball.

But because I was curious, it looks like there's only 5 private D1 football schools? Is that right? Unless I'm missing someone: St. Ed's, Iggy, Moeller, St. X, and Elder
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Makes sense, although with CB, I'm sure Lasalle is close nowadays. They're getting the private schools off their schedule for as much as they can, and giving themselves a chance to win a conference championship, which in every women's sport and most men's sports is a near impossibility when you're playing teams who can bring students in from literal hours away.
 
dappling said:
I

have asked this and no one seems to answer. Why would defiance want to leave a stable league where they have long standing relationships? They play Napoleon already non-league. Seems silly. If I was in defiance, I would advocate against this.
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For me it would all be about getting Bryan back. Whether that's non league or league, that's a rivalry that needs to happen.

Also have you ever driven from Defiance to Kenton on a Tuesday night in January? It's not fun. 24 is a huge positive. We have historical ties with BG, Bryan, Wauseon, obviously Napoleon. We play Maumee in multiple sports. I'm not 100% FOR a move, but I can see why we'd want to if we went for it.
 
*67 said:
What do you think "asked to leave" means?
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big difference between a “hey, this isn’t a good fit, interested in leaving?” and being forced out by vote. That being said, again, a few of those schools did something that warranted dismissal.
 
ToledoGuy said:
Exactly...Maumee could leave for the NBC tomorrow according to some reports. I think if you pull in Eastwood, Genoa, Lake, and Rossford while keeping the other four small schools, you do it in a heartbeat to make everyone happy and keep the identity of the conference (a suburban-ish conference) there. Defiance would be a no-brainer to me as well though, they support their teams, have great facilities, and travel well from everything I can remember about them.

If the NLL did not do this, they knew they were at least losing one team...and a 7-team conference is infinitely worse than two 8 team conferences.
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If maumee left for the nbc, the nll would have invited clay
 
ToledoGuy said:
You just answered your own question with the poaching comment. Findlay and Whitmer are doing this because of personal distaste for having to deal with teams who play by a different set of rules, also because women's sports matter too, and NDA and SUA don't give anyone else a chance. I think it is a tremendous move for all four of those schools in the TRAC. For Clay and Ross you get out from underwater competitively, which culturally will have a positive impact up and down their athletics departments, for Whitmer and Findlay you create a conference with the only other D1 team in the area (Perrysburg), and add in teams who will give you great games while being held to the same standards and removing your longest drive (Lima) and not having to deal with teams who have free reign of the city when you can only work your own area. The TRAC isn't a "great conference" for 4 of the teams involved in it (Lima Senior, Findlay, Ross, and Clay) because they've been miserable in it for years. All four of those schools have made no qualms about wanting to leave (Findlay and Clay to the NLL, Ross to anywhere that will have them, and Lima Senior to the City League). Toledo is the only large city in the state where the privates and publics still play in a similar league, and there is a reason why no one else does it...Toledo, as always, is just late to the game.

I don't think this is about any of the smaller teams "wanting out". It is far more about the small teams needing a place to call home. If Maumee doesn't leave the NLL, then the NBC will be at 6 teams, which is nearly unsustainable from a scheduling perspective in all sports (as our Findlay, Fremont Ross, Napoleon, and Lima Senior brethren can attest). If they go to six, it would be far easier for the former NLL 4 to jump back into a conference they know.
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Have to disagree man. Clay actually has won the most league titles for a public school in the TRAC in All Sports. Great Wrestling, Baseball/Softball program. Lima Senior are kings of the TRAC in basketball. Findlay is basically a bigger Perrysburg and balanced/competitive in a lot of sports. The only ones who really struggle to be honest are Fremont Ross.

What about Woodmore to somewhere else, Maumee to NBC, Ross to NLL, Bedford to TRAC. Could work without disrupting everything, although as I stated yesterday, Ross demographically doesn't fit in terrifically with the NLL the way Clay does.
 
I would think that a league as good as the NLL doesn`t decide to add 8 teams and then just put out an announcement asking if anyone is interested. I`m thinking that they have talked to enough schools that they are sure they can fill 8 spots. Why would any league risk being shot down and embarrassed in front of God and everybody?
 
jafo said:
I would think that a league as good as the NLL doesn`t decide to add 8 teams and then just put out an announcement asking if anyone is interested. I`m thinking that they have talked to enough schools that they are sure they can fill 8 spots. Why would any league risk being shot down and embarrassed in front of God and everybody?
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Maybe, but why announce you are looking after you're done looking?

Why not just announce that they have a new 16 team conference?

Who would they be trying to fool, and why?
 
ToledoGuy said:
I agree, which is why I think it is far more likely that Eastwood, Genoa, Lake, and Rossford end up dumping the NBC when Elmwood and Woodmore leaves and they can't find replacements.
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Fostoria and Otsego aren't going anywhere. So there are still six. I've heard Northwood wants back in and we've all heard Maumee wants in. That's eight. Done.

ToledoGuy said:
That would be 4 schools who started the NLL coming back into the fold with 2 other charter members and there wouldn't be a huge enrollment difference throughout that division. I think that would be a VERY fun conference to watch every year, especially once Maumee kids start realizing they're not going to get completely steamrolled every year and have a reason to play again.
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Southview and BG are twice the size of Eastwood, Genoa, Lake, and. Otsego. Those four are not joining SV &BG. I know people at Eastwood & Otsego. Zero chance.
 
smurfyeah19 said:
Have to disagree man. Clay actually has won the most league titles for a public school in the TRAC in All Sports. Great Wrestling, Baseball/Softball program. Lima Senior are kings of the TRAC in basketball. Findlay is basically a bigger Perrysburg and balanced/competitive in a lot of sports. The only ones who really struggle to be honest are Fremont Ross.

What about Woodmore to somewhere else, Maumee to NBC, Ross to NLL, Bedford to TRAC. Could work without disrupting everything, although as I stated yesterday, Ross demographically doesn't fit in terrifically with the NLL the way Clay does.
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NLL would go Clay all day over Ross if that was the only choice, but I think Findlay would Trump both of them as far as fit is concerned. I agree, I think your overall scenario is what would make the most competitive sense...but as was stated, the NLL wouldn't say "we're looking for 8 more teams" if they didn't already have 8 more teams interested and the 8 teams in their conference ok with the plan.
 
BGSUGrad said:
I was surprised my first time going to Ostego, the away bleachers maybe go up 7 rows, was just shocked they didn’t have more room for away fans. Perhaps other league schools don’t travel well. I can also say the goal posts and lighting system look like they were donated in about 1981 and have not been improved upon since. I have no idea how this matters as far as league affiliation, just an observations. Also not sure if they would want to make a jump, the current NBC is pretty much wood county schools, can’t get much more compact then that for travel.
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9 rows up to be exact. Lol. If you would have visited Eastwood, Elmwood or Genoa, the seating situation on the visitors side are very similar.
And yes, the goal posts need an upgrade. You could be right that they are as old as 1981. I know for a fact that they havent been swapped out since the mid 80s.
 
chs1971 said:
Fostoria and Otsego aren't going anywhere. So there are still six. I've heard Northwood wants back in and we've all heard Maumee wants in. That's eight. Done.

Southview and BG are twice the size of Eastwood, Genoa, Lake, and. Otsego. Those four are not joining SV &BG. I know people at Eastwood & Otsego. Zero chance.
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Very correct
 
smurfyeah19 said:
Ahh it wasn’t that long ago that Genoa was intentionally running out of bounds to set up for field goals against Otsego because they did not want to score 100 and wanted to keep the starters in as long as possible
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Ahhh how times have changed. Otsego has beat Genoa 4 out of the last 5 years.
 
ToledoGuy said:
NLL would go Clay all day over Ross if that was the only choice, but I think Findlay would Trump both of them as far as fit is concerned. I agree, I think your overall scenario is what would make the most competitive sense...but as was stated, the NLL wouldn't say "we're looking for 8 more teams" if they didn't already have 8 more teams interested and the 8 teams in their conference ok with the plan.
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Clay - 874 Oregon is a suburb of Toledo.

Findlay - 1175 Findlay is 34 miles south on the interstate.
 
ToledoGuy said:
Two Scenarios will play out:

NLL Big Division:
Whitmer, Findlay, AW, Perrysburg, Springfield, Northview, Clay, Ross
NLL Small Division:
Maumee, Southview, Napoleon, Defiance or Genoa, Eastwood, Lake, Rossford, Bowling Green (all former members of the NLL with the exception of Genoa)

Lima Senior joins the Toledo City League or goes Indy
Liberty Center, Patrick Henry, Swanton, Evergreen, Delta, Ottawa Hills, Northwood, Archbold, Wauseon, and Otsego create a new conference or consolidate under the TAAC or NWOAL
Hilltop, Edon, and Montpelier join the GMC or BBC
Fostoria, Elmwood [and Genoa if they aren't in the NLL Small] join the SBC
Woodmore ends up in the BVC
WBL stays pat at 7 or adds Bryan IF Defiance is picked

------OR------

NLL Big Division is the same
NLL Small Division:
Maumee, Southview, Napoleon, Bowling Green, Wauseon, Evergreen, Delta, Swanton.

Liberty Center and Patrick Henry join the NBC to replace Elmwood and Woodmore
Bryan and Archbold join the TAAC who goes back to a full 8 team football conference
Everything else stays as it is.


Either way, two conferences are dying here. It's definitely the TRAC, then it's either the NWOAL (oldest conference in Ohio) or the NBC (one of the newest conferences in Ohio).
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I dont see any this happening. I think Eastwood, Otsego, and Genoa will always be in a conference together.
 
BirdDog10 said:
Replacing Elmwood with Northwood immediately seems like it would be a good fit for all parties. The NBC gets a more competitive replacement (at least in football, not familiar with Northwood's other sports) for Elmwood that isn't that much smaller than the rest of the league, and Northwood gets a more competitive league and assuming they can win in the NBC shouldn't have to worry about making the D5 or D6 playoffs anymore. Getting Northwood involved sooner than later might hold Woodmore in too.
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Northwood does not have an overall better sports program than Elmwood. Football is the only program that comes to mind that has been consistently better, but could that be because of the level of competition? Northwood was once pushed out because they weren’t competitive.
 
I wonder if they only find six teams if would go with 2 7 teams divisions and for football play 3 non-conference games and 1 cross over game (biggest team in each division play, 2nd biggest play and so on) that doesn't count in conference standings. Not ideal but I think it could work.
 
Doesn't anyone get it, Nobody in the NBC wants Maumee in the league. They're to much bigger and bring nothing to the NBC.
And the problem with Northwood they're rebels with move ins living with the coach.
 
chs1971 said:
Clay - 874 Oregon is a suburb of Toledo.

Findlay - 1175 Findlay is 34 miles south on the interstate.
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Haha right? This isn’t college football where we’re putting West Virginia in the Big 12. Findlay is far as hell from Sylvania. Why do that if you don’t have to?

Also what’s all this nonsense about Genoa and Lake being in the same league as Southview. Lol that’s insane
 
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