February 13, 2012 -- Recently we have seen numerous membership changes in college athletic conferences and high school athletic conferences. You may need a scoreboard in the next couple of months to find out what conference your school is in or who is actually a member. Those changes most likely will continue to happen.
Lost in all of the changes is those sports that might still be looking for a home. There are numerous sports in HS athletics that are independents even though their school is in a conference. Smaller schools face this more then larger schools. A small school may be big enough to have wrestling while members of their conference have a limited slate of sports offered or not enough schools sponsor that sport. The Eastern Ohio Wrestling League has members from five different conferences and has been operating since the 1970’s…it works.
There is a lot of hard work involved in forming a single sport conference and a lot of issues you will face. One being the operation of the conference, usually by the coaches. Most AD’s time schedules do not work in operating it and devoting enough time to make it run properly. Another issue you might face is that your administration may not see the value and are not use to an “ot-of-the-box” solution to the problem you might be facing. I tell many folks, it may not be the “perfect” solution, but it is the best opportunity until that happens.
But the benefits are numerous and far outweigh being an independent. Student-athletes are now provided the opportunity to win a conference championship and the chance to be named all-conference. You will also create some great rivalries for the future that will add to the excitement of the season. Conference games have also created better gates in any sport.
D1 college sports has in place a conference of sports that are all basically single sport conferences under one umbrella.
Check the link above to see how it works in the MPSF.
There is also an effort in Ohio to create a high school version of the MPSF. This group is close to holding meetings around the state to talk with schools who might have a need for their independent sports.
Athletic Office: (740) 223-4635 - AD's Direct Line: (740) 223-4634
Another issue for high schools might be there is not enough schools interested to start a conference. This option is one worth trying. Some conferences, both college and high schools, accept associate members for a single sport to help in several areas. It is worth the time to ask the conferences in your area, it beats being an independent and it also allows your school in the future to make contacts with schools from another conference. That can lead to benefits in scheduling in the future.