New small school league in NW Ohio?

If you look at schedules for all sports there's a pool of small schools in Northwest Ohio that plays each other in just about everything. They might as well finally band together in one league. Again, I am typically not for bigger leagues, but with the 8-man thing gaining traction, it almost makes sense.
 
Figured this is a good thread to mention the Northern 8 Football conference has formed for 8-man football in Ohio.

The current teams are: Stryker, Toledo Christian, Holgate and Danbury. Probably a couple more coming.
 
Figured this is a good thread to mention the Northern 8 Football conference has formed for 8-man football in Ohio.

The current teams are: Stryker, Toledo Christian, Holgate and Danbury. Probably a couple more coming.

Which is why this thread started..... these teams have left holes in their current leagues.
 
Figured this is a good thread to mention the Northern 8 Football conference has formed for 8-man football in Ohio.

The current teams are: Stryker, Toledo Christian, Holgate and Danbury. Probably a couple more coming.

If the TAAC schools mentions pull out, pretty much guarantee Edon and Hilltop would go 8 man. There's no where else for them to go, unless the GMC suddenly got the urge to expand by more than a potential 1.

No clue what Montpelier would do.
 
Wonder if something like this has gained any ground not that the football season is about over and basketball is heating up here really soon. Guessing there will be a lot of talk at the games over a bag of popcorn.
 
So I had a chance to talk to someone in the know tonight......the SBC is indeed looking to expand and Elmwood, Woodmore and Northwood are all on the doorstep. Will have to see how it plays out, but seems to have some steam.
 
In the past week, I've been hearing similar things, from two SBC schools.

Personally, what I would like to see is honest conversation between the TAAC and SBC-R schools. If the NBC small-schools are ready to move, have them join either conference (probably TAAC, for reasons to be explained). Then, pool all of the 11-man football schools from the actual leagues: Ottawa Hills, Northwood, Stritch, Woodmore, Gibsonburg, Elmwood, Fremont St. Joe, Margaretta, Lakota, Calvert, Hopewell-Loudon, and have them play a rotating seven- or eight-out-of-ten opponents against each other, as a football-only conference, keeping either name or create a new one. I think that the problems arise only because of the declining football numbers, and the risk of one or two of this group to go to 8-man in the future. Obviously, this really scr*ws with the TAAC-affiliate schools to the west. The TAAC and SBC should try to help negotiate the long-standing impasse between those schools and the GMC, and have the western schools form a similar football arrangement, because I wonder how many more of those schools could be contemplating 8-man?

One of the options that I'm hearing is to add teams to the SBC. But, with seven 11-man teams there now, adding two or three is going to inevitably cause the SBC-B schools to want a rebalancing, to try to quell the ongoing dispute of forced, in law or in "highly recommended" suggestion, cross-overs with the SBC-L. I don't have the enrollment numbers in front of me, but that could end up with teams ending up somewhere other than what was promised. If the divisions are not rebalanced, Willard has every right to ask WTF? In general, outright adding schools to the SBC, like Woodmore or Elmwood, is problematic because ever-smaller teams are going to get bounced to the Bay.

So, I would rather see a football-only solution, rather than bumping D6 schools up into the SBC-B or by blowing up two conferences, taking the most stable members from each and leaving everyone else to fend for themselves. Leaving one or two TAAC teams and one or two SBC-R teams out just continues the cycle of instability. May as well get everybody in the same room, so there is plenty of time to reorganize schedules in the Spring if a school decides that they are going to go to 8-man.
 
In the past week, I've been hearing similar things, from two SBC schools.

Personally, what I would like to see is honest conversation between the TAAC and SBC-R schools. If the NBC small-schools are ready to move, have them join either conference (probably TAAC, for reasons to be explained). Then, pool all of the 11-man football schools from the actual leagues: Ottawa Hills, Northwood, Stritch, Woodmore, Gibsonburg, Elmwood, Fremont St. Joe, Margaretta, Lakota, Calvert, Hopewell-Loudon, and have them play a rotating seven- or eight-out-of-ten opponents against each other, as a football-only conference, keeping either name or create a new one. I think that the problems arise only because of the declining football numbers, and the risk of one or two of this group to go to 8-man in the future. Obviously, this really scr*ws with the TAAC-affiliate schools to the west. The TAAC and SBC should try to help negotiate the long-standing impasse between those schools and the GMC, and have the western schools form a similar football arrangement, because I wonder how many more of those schools could be contemplating 8-man?

One of the options that I'm hearing is to add teams to the SBC. But, with seven 11-man teams there now, adding two or three is going to inevitably cause the SBC-B schools to want a rebalancing, to try to quell the ongoing dispute of forced, in law or in "highly recommended" suggestion, cross-overs with the SBC-L. I don't have the enrollment numbers in front of me, but that could end up with teams ending up somewhere other than what was promised. If the divisions are not rebalanced, Willard has every right to ask WTF? In general, outright adding schools to the SBC, like Woodmore or Elmwood, is problematic because ever-smaller teams are going to get bounced to the Bay.

So, I would rather see a football-only solution, rather than bumping D6 schools up into the SBC-B or by blowing up two conferences, taking the most stable members from each and leaving everyone else to fend for themselves. Leaving one or two TAAC teams and one or two SBC-R teams out just continues the cycle of instability. May as well get everybody in the same room, so there is plenty of time to reorganize schedules in the Spring if a school decides that they are going to go to 8-man.

I was told the overwhelming choice is to keep the SBC River together with expansion and continue to be part of the SBC due in part to sports other than football. It will be interesting to see if Ottawa Hills and Toledo Christian (obviously not in football) can find a way in as well.
 
Figuring the talking over popcorn at the basketball games should be bringing up some more details about the SBC and if they will be making the additions or not.
 
I think some of these solutions are relying to heavily on program history and not what schools have moving forward...is Northwood going to reload after losing about 6 200 pound athletes? Gibsonburg graduates a talented Senior class as well. I do believe some changes need to be made but I’m not sure a complete overhaul is necessary. TAAC and SBC combining, Woodmore (DVI) being replaced by Northwood (DV) may be all that’s needed but I don’t know a lot about the schools in the BVC either.

I think the NLL will stay out of this for now, I don’t see anything happening there until Perrysburg or Anthony Wayne start it. Maumee is and will always be too big for the NBC, some of their teams just aren’t very good right now but it’s cyclical.
 
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I think some of these solutions are relying to heavily on program history and not what schools have moving forward...

My understanding is that this is a defensive move, started even before the R18 and R23 situations became apparent the last couple of weeks of this season. The TAAC has already lost two football programs to 8-man, as has the SBC-R. The numbers in both conferences suggest that another couple could fall. While everyone prefers a league of eight, it is far preferable to have a few excess schools, with or without divisions, and be able to rework schedules almost annually, than to suddenly have too few, and have everyone scramble to try to schedule a non-league game in weeks 4 through 10.

The last of the original smaller-school SLL holdouts, Woodmore and Elmwood, would provide a geographic center between the two existing clusters of schools for a new league. A six-school NBC would be the latest evolution of a conference that has been trying to rebrand itself as a larger school league for twenty-plus years: replacing Northwood with Lake, replacing Lakota and Gibsonburg with Fostoria and Rossford. If this current "buzz" comes to be, would they choose to keep going up the escalator and look for larger schools to replace Elmwood and Woodmore, or would they be willing to hold at six, an even and relatively stable number? That would/should be the only way that the NLL could become involved with this scramble.
 
Paulding is leaving the NWC if Holgate leaves the GMC. This is from rumor only. However they have been trying for years to get in that league. Geographically it really makes sense.

If this happens who replaces Paulding in the NWC?
 
Paulding is leaving the NWC if Holgate leaves the GMC. This is from rumor only. However they have been trying for years to get in that league. Geographically it really makes sense.

If this happens who replaces Paulding in the NWC?

I'm still saying the GMC needs to just take them anyway. It's so much easier to schedule with 9 in all sports than it is 7 in football. Unless they're worried Antwerp goes 8 man or Holgate somehow comes back in a few years, they desperately need that 8th football school.
 
Has Delphos St Johns fallen that far? They were always a contender or even a power up until a couple of years ago.
They're the smallest football playing school in the MAC now but I think the only way they leave is if the school closes which is something I dont want to see. They are too proud of a school to just duck and run to a new conference.
 
. They are too proud of a school to just duck and run to a new conference.

I am sure you know the history but if not at one time DSJ was in the WBL and the later years in the WBL they would be lucky to win three games and outside of basketball struggled to compete in most sports. This was largely due to the enrollment differences. So they left to a league to be with more comparable sized schools. They are currently in same situation at the late 70's, early 80's.

To me that is not duck and running to a new conference that is doing what is best for the students of the school. Could you imagine if they didn't "duck and run" from the WBL schools and still needed to compete again schools the size or Wapak, Celina and Defiance.
 
I am sure you know the history but if not at one time DSJ was in the WBL and the later years in the WBL they would be lucky to win three games and outside of basketball struggled to compete in most sports. This was largely due to the enrollment differences. So they left to a league to be with more comparable sized schools. They are currently in same situation at the late 70's, early 80's.

To me that is not duck and running to a new conference that is doing what is best for the students of the school. Could you imagine if they didn't "duck and run" from the WBL schools and still needed to compete again schools the size or Wapak, Celina and Defiance.
So was Coldwater.

Now If St John's had the record that Parkway has in the MAC historically then I can see it. But keep in mind, DSJ won a state championship game 77-6 in this very decade so it's not like it's been a long stretch in futility. Of course their enrollment has dropped since. Wouldn't Delphos Jefferson block any move of DSJ to the NWC anyway? I just dont see it. Now if their enrollment continues to fall, that'll be a discussion to have later.

As of the last enrollment check Delphos St John's had a boy enrollment of 71 in grades 9-11. Earlier in the decade, they probably had that many on their football team. For reference, New Knoxville had 52 in grades 9-11 and a resurgent New Bremen had 83 boys in grades 9-11.
 
As of the last enrollment check Delphos St John's had a boy enrollment of 71 in grades 9-11. Earlier in the decade, they probably had that many on their football team.
In 2001, when Marion Pleasant played DSJ in the regional semis, I counted 98 DSJ players on the field for pregame warmups. I'm sure that included freshmen. That was division V as well. Still, that is a big drop off for DSJ.
 
In 2001, when Marion Pleasant played DSJ in the regional semis, I counted 98 DSJ players on the field for pregame warmups. I'm sure that included freshmen. That was division V as well. Still, that is a big drop off for DSJ.
Yea I think their #'s were in the 40's this past season. Sad to see. But they still would've beat a few teams in the D7 R28 playoff field. Damn that's quite the drop in #'s.
 
So was Coldwater.

Now If St John's had the record that Parkway has in the MAC historically then I can see it. But keep in mind, DSJ won a state championship game 77-6 in this very decade so it's not like it's been a long stretch in futility. Of course their enrollment has dropped since. Wouldn't Delphos Jefferson block any move of DSJ to the NWC anyway? I just dont see it. Now if their enrollment continues to fall, that'll be a discussion to have later.

As of the last enrollment check Delphos St John's had a boy enrollment of 71 in grades 9-11. Earlier in the decade, they probably had that many on their football team. For reference, New Knoxville had 52 in grades 9-11 and a resurgent New Bremen had 83 boys in grades 9-11.
Yes the futility has not been long but unless enrollment goes up I just don't see it changing playing in the MAC. Their best hope is that since Delphos City schools will be classified as a failing school district all kids in the DCS district can get vouchers to cover tuition at DSJ HS starting next year.

I have no idea how welcoming the NWC and Jefferson would be DSJ but would guess most would welcome because they would bring a decent crowd to away games.
 
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