Conference Realignment: Mid-State

[Indiana Fan]

With continued talks of conference realignment and the ramifications of Carmel and CG exiting the MIC, the Mid-State Conference is one of the best growing athletic conferences in the State. Great schools and great competition in not only football, but in every sport. Sure it is not as big as the MIC or HCC in terms of enrollment and product of play, but it is turning into one heck of a conference. There was an article from the Daily Journal that came out not too long ago about the future of the Mid-State and you have to think there are schools who would like to join. Although the conference is already at 8 schools, does not mean they are set. It would not surprise me if they look to expand and grow into an even bigger conference.

There are 4 schools that should immediately be banging on the door for an entrance in. These 4 schools are Southport, Columbus North, Bloomington North, and Bloomington South. These schools are members of the dying Conference Indiana and need to find a home quickly. This will obviously help with scheduling stability, which these 4 schools struggle each year with, but also be a great fit with competition and distance to games/events. This would place 12 schools in the Mid-State. For football, they could definitely come up with a 2 division scenario for games.

Mid-State West- Plainfield, Decatur Central, Mooresville, Martinsville, Bloomington North, Bloomington South

Mid-State East- Southport, Perry Meridian, Greenwood, Whiteland, Franklin, Columbus North

1 Nonconference, 5 Inter division games, 2 games from other division, Championship week 9 (1vs1, 2vs2, 3vs3, 4vs4, 5vs5, 6vs6).

 There are some different sizes of schools in the Mid-State, but I do not think the difference in sizes is too much for a sport like football. All these schools would benefit from many factors, especially the proposed new schools from CI. I am not sure if Mid-State members are open to expansion, but I do think this would be one heck of a new conference and push to being one of the best in the state. There would be so many great matchups and rivalries with great crowds and exposure. 

[temptation]

Great content but I thought DT was the only one allowed to create talking points like this.

I’ll watch this one play out and take notes on the stark differences in how this topic is received because of who you aren’t.

[Indiana Fan]

2 minutes ago, temptation said:

Great content but I thought DT was the only one allowed to create talking points like this.

I’ll watch this one play out and take notes on the stark differences in how this topic is received because of who you aren’t.

I will as well

[oldtimeqb]

14 minutes ago, Indiana Fan said:

I will as well

Forgive my ignorance, but why is Conference Indiana dying? I’m not really familiar with those schools.
 

Is that fact or just rumored? 
 

 

[HoopsCoach]

2 hours ago, Indiana Fan said:

Mid-State West- Plainfield, Decatur Central, Mooresville, Martinsville, Bloomington North, Bloomington South

Mid-State East- Southport, Perry Meridian, Greenwood, Whiteland, Franklin, Columbus North

1 Nonconference, 5 Inter division games, 2 games from other division, Championship week 9 (1vs1, 2vs2, 3vs3, 4vs4, 5vs5, 6vs6).

 There are some different sizes of schools in the Mid-State, but I do not think the difference in sizes is too much for a sport like football. All these schools would benefit from many factors, especially the proposed new schools from CI. I am not sure if Mid-State members are open to expansion, but I do think this would be one heck of a new conference and push to being one of the best in the state. There would be so many great matchups and rivalries with great crowds and exposure. 

There is already a growing enrollment disparity between the 4 largest and 4 smallest of the 8 current Mid-State members.  The addition of Southport and Columbus North would only escalate it.  I would expect Greenwood and possibly Martinsville to consider leaving if this became a reality.  Greenwood is a landlocked school district that relies on out-of-district transfers for any growth.  Martinsville continues to lose enrollment to families leaving for Center Grove.  Greenwood’s application to the Hoosier Heritage Conference would probably be submitted immediately after the approval of what you are suggesting.  If new membership requires unanimous approval from current members, I would expect Greenwood and Martinsville to block these additions.

Southport 2379

Perry Meridian 2373

Columbus North 2219

Whiteland 2012

Decatur Central 2001

Plainfield 1810

Bloomington South 1655

Bloomington North 1592

Franklin Community 1571

Mooresville 1391

Martinsville 1284

Greenwood 1186

[temptation]

31 minutes ago, HoopsCoach said:

There is already a growing enrollment disparity between the 4 largest and 4 smallest of the 8 current Mid-State members.  The addition of Southport and Columbus North would only escalate it.  I would expect Greenwood and possibly Martinsville to consider leaving if this became a reality.  Greenwood is a landlocked school district that relies on out-of-district transfers for any growth.  Martinsville continues to lose enrollment to families leaving for Center Grove.  Greenwood’s application to the Hoosier Heritage Conference would probably be submitted immediately after the approval of what you are suggesting.  If new membership requires unanimous approval from current members, I would expect Greenwood and Martinsville to block these additions.

Southport 2379

Perry Meridian 2373

Columbus North 2219

Whiteland 2012

Decatur Central 2001

Plainfield 1810

Bloomington South 1655

Bloomington North 1592

Franklin Community 1571

Mooresville 1391

Martinsville 1284

Greenwood 1186

Just throwing out there for conversation sake that Mooresville’s girls basketball took down two MIC powerhouse over the weekend with 3x their enrollment and the 4A girls southern semi-state is an all Mid-State affair with them and Franklin.

Probably irrelevant to the actual conversation here but cool nonetheless.

[DE]

1 hour ago, temptation said:

Just throwing out there for conversation sake that Mooresville’s girls basketball took down two MIC powerhouse over the weekend with 3x their enrollment and the 4A girls southern semi-state is an all Mid-State affair with them and Franklin.

Probably irrelevant to the actual conversation here but cool nonetheless.

Very cool. 

[Guest]

Excerpt from interview with Whiteland Coach Darrin Fisher ;

Question 3

Outside of a very down Perry Meridian program, the Mid State is a conference filled with smaller 4A and 5A schools. If your goal is to be a state championship contender in 6A, will Whiteland be exploring opportunities to move to another conference where it can find regular competition against 6A schools, instead of usually just once or twice per season?

Response

A wise coach once told me that the best way to prepare for the tournament is to be sure you practice well to improve daily and win all of your games to instill confidence and play your best in October and November. The Mid State Conference is a great place for us to work on getting this done.

[temptation]

2 minutes ago, HHF said:

Excerpt from interview with Whiteland Coach Darrin Fisher ;

Question 3

Outside of a very down Perry Meridian program, the Mid State is a conference filled with smaller 4A and 5A schools. If your goal is to be a state championship contender in 6A, will Whiteland be exploring opportunities to move to another conference where it can find regular competition against 6A schools, instead of usually just once or twice per season?

Response

A wise coach once told me that the best way to prepare for the tournament is to be sure you practice well to improve daily and win all of your games to instill confidence and play your best in October and November. The Mid State Conference is a great place for us to work on getting this done.

Not quite growing at the rate of the HCC but as flight to the suburbs continues, I could see a potential state champion from this conference in the next few years.

Mooresville, Decatur Central and Whiteland would be my first guesses, depending on where Cathedral falls in that particular year.

[Guest]

Excerpt from interview with Decatur Central Head Coach Kyle Enright ;

Question 4

The recent departures of Center Grove and Carmel from the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference are creating many scheduling issues for schools throughout the Indianapolis metro area. How is the Decatur Central scheduling strategy impacted by these changes and do you see any opportunities to improve future schedules as you look forward to the coming seasons?

Response

- We are very happy with the Mid-State Conference and the level of competition and coaching in all sports. It is a great mix of schools ranging from 1,200 students (4A Greenwood, Mooresville, and Martinsville) to 2,200 students (6A Perry Meridian) and four 5A schools in between (DC, Plainfield, Whiteland and Franklin). The 7 game conference schedule allows us to play 2 non-con games at the beginning of each season. Scheduling happens years in advance, but we like to play the best competition we can in those 2 games to prepare us for the season. We have played schools such as FC, Westfield, Center Grove and New Pal in past years. In 2022 we open up with Columbus North at home (6A) and then travel to New Pal (5A) week 2. We will continue to seek out opponents that challenge us and that help us prepare for the Mid-State Conference schedule.

[Guest]

Excerpt from interview with Martinsville Head Coach Brian Dugger ;

Question 4

The Midstate has become one of the more balanced and highly competitive conferences in the entire state. What are your thoughts on the overall level of play and coaching in the conference and do you feel that your team is in position to compete for a conference championship in the near term ?

Response

The Midstate is a great conference top to bottom. The coaching in the conference is top notch. The thing about our conference is there are no off weeks. We have multiple Hall of Fame worthy coaches in our conference, along with some very talented players. Honestly it’s been a lot of fun competing every week in our conference and going against some of the best around. We finished 3rd this year with a 4-3 record, and had our chances to be in a better spot. We were down 16-14 to Decatur Central at Halftime, before Javon Tracy made about 3 or 4 plays that just broke our back. We had a chance to win the game against Plainfield when we went for 2 with 1 minute to go and didn’t execute. So, honestly I felt like we competed this year for one. We just didn’t get it done. Obviously, to compete for a Midstate Championship we will have to get over the hurdle of Decatur Central and Mooresville. When you think of the top 3 teams in the Midstate its’ been Decatur Central, Mooresville, and Whiteland. We played our best game of the year and beat a good Whiteland team, so I know we’re capable of winning against the top echelon of our conference. To win the title, you have to find a way to get over all 3 of those teams.

[temptation]

2 minutes ago, HHF said:

Excerpt from interview with Decatur Central Head Coach Kyle Enright ;

Question 4

The recent departures of Center Grove and Carmel from the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference are creating many scheduling issues for schools throughout the Indianapolis metro area. How is the Decatur Central scheduling strategy impacted by these changes and do you see any opportunities to improve future schedules as you look forward to the coming seasons?

Response

- We are very happy with the Mid-State Conference and the level of competition and coaching in all sports. It is a great mix of schools ranging from 1,200 students (4A Greenwood, Mooresville, and Martinsville) to 2,200 students (6A Perry Meridian) and four 5A schools in between (DC, Plainfield, Whiteland and Franklin). The 7 game conference schedule allows us to play 2 non-con games at the beginning of each season. Scheduling happens years in advance, but we like to play the best competition we can in those 2 games to prepare us for the season. We have played schools such as FC, Westfield, Center Grove and New Pal in past years. In 2022 we open up with Columbus North at home (6A) and then travel to New Pal (5A) week 2. We will continue to seek out opponents that challenge us and that help us prepare for the Mid-State Conference schedule.

I think this is spot on.  Know your place. No disrespect to DC but they can’t compete in most sports were they to move to a larger conference.

[Guest]

Excerpt from interview with Perry Meridian Head Coach Brett Cooper :

 

Question 4

The Mid State is widely considered one of the most balanced and competitive conferences in the state, with plenty of high quality athletes and some great coaching staffs. Perry is still relatively new to the conference, having joined for the 2019 season after many years in Conference Indiana. What were the driving forces behind the desire for PM to pursue membership in The MSC, which is mostly 4A and 5A schools while Perry is 6A, and how would you describe your collective PM experience since joining the league in terms of overall quality and style of play, development of rivalries, and a general feeling of acceptance and inclusion?

Response

- The MSC is no joke. It is some of the best football, top to bottom, in the state of Indiana. The decision to go to the MSC was decided before we arrived at PM and from my understanding there were several reasons for us to join and think it was the right decision. As mentioned, the coaching in this conference is top notch and a majority of these programs have operated under the same leadership for 10+ years and are very well established programs. Although we are a 6A program in a 4A/5A conference, in the past several years every program has made a deep playoff run in their respective division. One of my favorite parts of the MSC is the level of coaching you are surrounded by on a weekly basis. It challenges you as a staff every week to put the best possible game plan together in order to compete on Friday night. There are a variety of styles played in our conference, we see almost every scheme of offense and defense available. We have not set any rivalries in the MSC as of yet but we basically border a majority of these schools which gives us an opportunity to grow these as the years move on.

Edited February 13, 2022 by HHF

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, HHF said:

Excerpt from interview with Perry Meridian Head Coach Brett Cooper :

 

Question 4

The Mid State is widely considered one of the most balanced and competitive conferences in the state, with plenty of high quality athletes and some great coaching staffs. Perry is still relatively new to the conference, having joined for the 2019 season after many years in Conference Indiana. What were the driving forces behind the desire for PM to pursue membership in The MSC, which is mostly 4A and 5A schools while Perry is 6A, and how would you describe your collective PM experience since joining the league in terms of overall quality and style of play, development of rivalries, and a general feeling of acceptance and inclusion?

Response

- The MSC is no joke. It is some of the best football, top to bottom, in the state of Indiana. The decision to go to the MSC was decided before we arrived at PM and from my understanding there were several reasons for us to join and think it was the right decision. As mentioned, the coaching in this conference is top notch and a majority of these programs have operated under the same leadership for 10+ years and are very well established programs. Although we are a 6A program in a 4A/5A conference, in the past several years every program has made a deep playoff run in their respective division. One of my favorite parts of the MSC is the level of coaching you are surrounded by on a weekly basis. It challenges you as a staff every week to put the best possible game plan together in order to compete on Friday night. There are a variety of styles played in our conference, we see almost every scheme of offense and defense available. We have not set any rivalries in the MSC as of yet but we basically border a majority of these schools which gives us an opportunity to grow these as the years move on.

For the record, PM is 2-26 since joining the MSC, and 5-35 overall in the past 5 seasons.  Coach Cooper and staff have a HUGE rebuild ahead of them.  

Read the full interview to get an update on their strategy and their progress.  https://www.facebook.com/Hoosier-High-School-Football-107360041590757/

[temptation]

2 minutes ago, HHF said:

For the record, PM is 2-26 since joining the MSC, and 5-35 overall in the past 5 seasons.  Coach Cooper and staff have a HUGE rebuild ahead of them.  

Read the full interview to get an update on their strategy and their progress.  https://www.facebook.com/Hoosier-High-School-Football-107360041590757/

Based on folks in the know to whom I’ve spoken, Perry can’t keep in district kids from leaving long enough to buy into a rebuild.

Read into that how you wish.

[Indiana Fan]

23 hours ago, oldtimeqb said:

Forgive my ignorance, but why is Conference Indiana dying? I’m not really familiar with those schools.
 

Is that fact or just rumored? 
 

 

I believe it is only a matter of time. 6 schools remain. The outliers are the Terre Hautes. Which they are stuck in an odd situation with being that far west in the state compared to the other 4 schools. Southport attempted to leave a few years back with looking at a new conference. Columbus North has has fished around as well. I believe Columbus North and the Bloomingtons are probably wanting some stability and want a place that will help their strong athletic backgrounds grow. 

[BDGiant93]

On 2/13/2022 at 11:19 AM, oldtimeqb said:

Forgive my ignorance, but why is Conference Indiana dying? I’m not really familiar with those schools.
 

Is that fact or just rumored? 
 

 

Conference Indiana has just been kind of surviving for years. Just kind of going along with members peeling off slowly. It's just kind of a group of schools that don't have anywhere else to go right now. Big schools that have no other big schools really around them interested in forming a conference...

So, I think if a better offer comes along, I think you could definitely see some movement. As we saw with the departure of Carmel/CG from the MIC, rumors quickly can become reality.

I get the feeling that the Mid-State is happy where it is right now. It's a fantastic conference that's very competitive.

[ragdoll]

On 2/13/2022 at 5:00 PM, temptation said:

Based on folks in the know to whom I’ve spoken, Perry can’t keep in district kids from leaving long enough to buy into a rebuild.

Read into that how you wish.

last winning season was 2003 for Perry.