A Look at the Western Buckeye League…a study on
athletic conference expansion
By Dave Schmidt – www.theseniorreports.com
DISCLAIMER – The following is a proposal and study done by THE SENIOR REPORTS. No school or the WBL asked us to compile or do this study for them. Schools and the WBL Commissioner were invited to comment on the study.
Todd Walker, Sports Director WIMA Radio
updated
I'm happy to give you my thoughts on
this subject...
I think it would be a tremendous idea for
the WBL to do what you are suggesting.
The WBL is a great league, partially because
of its stability and tradition. However, we are in changing times and it is
incumbent upon the schools to look to the future.
I think the ability to split the league into
divisions allows many advantages, for football in particular. You can adjust
the schedule to avoid the worst teams playing the best teams. Also, as you
suggest, moving to an 8-game league schedule will also provide a better
opportunity to qualify for the postseason.
It also would allow for flexibility in
scheduling the "lesser" sports to cut down on travel as
well. This primarily effects
This move would provide the WBL more
stability moving forward.
I'd be very interested in the negatives
people can come up with on this issue. I'm sure there are some that I haven't
considered but it seems obvious that the positives are much greater.
Feel free to use my comments in any
publication.
Hopefully this sparks some serious
discussion and consideration.
Lima
updated 11-5-12
from LCC AD Ron Williams
Lima Central Catholic made a proposal similar to this to league commissioner Bob Askins in 2011, asking for the opportunity to make the proposal directly to the conference ADs. Commissioner Askins informed LCC a month later that the proposal was presented to the ADs, but because they had no plans for expansion, they decided against allowing LCC to formally present the proposal. While LCC would obviously love to enter into discussions with the WBL, we fully respect the decision of the conference ADs that they have no plans for expansion. The WBL has been an extremely stable league, as Mr. Schmidt's story shows, and it takes a majority of schools to want to take these steps. Hopefully in the future the landscape will change so the administrations and communities of the WBL schools will see a true benefit to expansion, and if this were to happen, LCC would jump at the opportunity to be a part of those discussions.
More details on the conference history can be found at the WBL web site - http://www.ihigh.com/wbl/custompage_9398.html
The WBL has a diverse size membership –
Enrollment Used by
OHSAA for 2012-13
Boys - Girls
Wapakoneta 359
- 304
Celina 328 - 306
Elida 316
- 272
St Mary’s 285 - 255
Van Wert 233 - 240
Kenton 226
- 206
O-G 208
– 203
Not many conferences in any state have such a wide range of
enrollments.
Another issue that seems to affect many school systems is
the rise of gas cost. Travel is an issue
for schools outside of the
Divisional play could be the answer for both issues listed
above. Many mega-conferences that seem
to work consist of 12 or 16 members.
This cut outs numerous crossover games that a 10 or 14 member conference
would create on a weekly basis. One
concern of divisions in football, the opportunity of having division champs
playing at the end of the season is not approved in
Below is a statement on this issue from the OHSAA’s Tim Stried –
The answer is no. That scenario isn’t possible because
schools are required to finalize their football schedules with the OHSAA before the season starts. I suppose if
conferences work that out in other sports, there’s nothing preventing them from
doing so, but they would still need to have a contest entered into the myOHSAA system so officials can be contracted, site(s)
reserved, etc.
With many conferences looking at
expansion this issue could be something the OHSAA considers in the future. The marketing of a game like this in football
would create a great atmosphere for any conference. Other sports that can have championship match-ups
will make for some exciting championships that are actually decided on the
field or court.
How does the WBL get to 12
members? We see Lima Senior and Lima
Central Catholic as the perfect additions.
Enrollment Used by
OHSAA for 2012-13
Boys - Girls
Wapakoneta 359
- 304
Celina 328 - 306
Elida 316
- 272
St Mary’s 285 - 255
Van Wert 233 - 240
Kenton 226
- 206
O-G 208
- 203
LCC 132
– 124
This would allow the WBL to add a large member and a small school member. It also permits for many travel issues to be dealt with. Football can still be worked with and divisions can still be created. 6 members in each division would allow for 5 conference games, plus as many crossover games that members decide on. The WBL can also add 1 or 2 additional non-conference games for harvesting computer points. The divisions for each sport could change for each sport as well to help with travel issues.
Now the two expansion members we see as a possible fit –
Lima Senior after
several years as an independent is currently a member of the Toledo-based Three
Rivers Athletic Conference. This is a
quality conference with some very well respected members. In football the Spartans are struggling and
the gas cost must be one of the highest in
Lima Central Catholic
by far would be the smallest member of the WBL.
The WBL has had one private school in the past – Delphos St. Johns. LCC was recently asked by the Northwest
Conference to leave, which they did after working out a scheduling agreement to
help them during the early departure time from the NWC. At this point in time LCC is still looking
for a suitable all sports conference.
LCC would be very competitive in most sports in the WBL despite the
smaller enrollment. The “rap” in the
past and in the –present – “private vs public” situation in
The addition of these two schools in our look at the
situation is a great fit. Five
Who would this expansion and divisional play help the most in the long run? Yes, Lima Senior and LCC would most likely have the most to gain from this, by becoming members of a solid and long lasting athletic conference. The 10 current WBL will also see some benefits that solidify the future of the conference for years to come. This includes more teams qualifying for football playoffs and financial benefits from cutting down on some of those very long road trips. Scheduling will also become a strong point for conference members. The key in all of this is all of the student-athletes at all of these schools, what is best for them. Plus, how would this benefit area sports fans? This change would help gate receipts due to new rivalries created by a backyard neighbor.
How can this help your conference?
How does your conference look? Is it a good time to evaluate the future makeup of membership? What can you do as a member to make your conference strong? Those are items that it is helpful to evaluate on a regular basis. Don’t take your conference for granted, to many times things can fall a part, but if you have a plan in place it is less likely to cause a disaster for your athletic conference.
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Western Buckeye
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Three Rivers Athletic
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http://www.ihigh.com/midwestathleticconference
Northwest Conference
Lima (Ohio) Central Catholic AD Ron Williams talks about the Private vs Public issue LCC faced this year...