crimsonace1

Great hire. Nick's an up and coming outstanding coach, was assistant HC at New Pal, ran an incredible special teams while being involved in everything. You're going to have someone who believes in accountability, who is young and eager, and who has won state championships as both a player and a coach.

This is why the PBA thing was created - the IHSAA knew the legislature was going to force its hand, so it wanted to get in front of the issue before the legislature screwed it up and wrote the rules (which would be tilted toward certain favored schools' desires). Same with the transfer rule.

Merrillville did move up due to enrollment.

Here are the sectional alignments in visual form. Each sectional is its own color, each class its own layer. https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1k2u-A78p_SsvD9pLgQb2WNQtN-xHkHI&usp=sharing

Lawrence County has seen a bit of a dip in population, like many rural counties, but it seems the people who are there either aren't having as many kids, or they're home schooling/sending them elsewhere.

The teams that struggled to compete - Shelbyville & New Castle - have left the conference. Pendleton Heights was ranked most of last year. Yorktown gave Roncalli its best game of the tournament until Thanksgiving weekend. Mt. Vernon had a lousy year last year but has a state championship this decade. Greenfield-Central has consistently put up winning seasons of late. And new additions Brebeuf, Guerin Catholic and Lebanon are all solid programs.

There are 6A programs who have said no. They don't want to be embarrassed by losing to a "small school." Thankfully, Westfield and Center Grove have not been among them ... each has played a home-and-home with New Pal, which kinda blows holes in the "New Pal doesn't play anybody" theory. (Every non-conference opponent NP has scheduled in the Kyle Ralph era has played on Thanksgiving weekend in the last decade).

No, but New Pal streams all of its home games on IHSAAtv.

Remember that DC goes back to 5A if it doesn't win a regional this year ... so I wouldn't be surprised to see them be in the 5-team sectional just in case that adjustment needs to be made.

Thanks for weighing in. 🙄 One of the reasons a conference exists is to aid in scheduling. An independent team has to fill nine weeks - and fit those in against other teams. And when you are a top program, a lot of schools *will not play you*, making scheduling even more difficult. When you're playing out-of-state teams, it's usually because there were no in-state options. The HHC is fine, especially with the new additions. It's a competitive league with really good communities, programs and coaches. And it still gives teams the freedom to schedule two more games (and, for New Pal, East Central will be one of those two going forward).

This past season, there were 17 New Pal alumni on college rosters, including seven playing Div. I, and one on the Super Bowl champions' practice squad.

There are a LOT more 3A schools in the northern half of the state than the southern half.

To my knowledge, the majority of the conference decided to invite Guerin and Brebeuf (instead of Roncalli and Chatard). Not sure diocesan affiliation (or lack thereof) had to do with it as much as other factors, travel distance for the northern schools Lebanon/Pendleton Heights/Yorktown being one.

Guerin *is* a diocesan school, it's just in the Diocese of Lafayette (as Hamilton County is in the Lafayette diocese) and not the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. Was there for basketball last week and there was a banner celebrating the schools in their diocese that feed Guerin. Brebeuf's affiliation is with the Jesuits - an order of priests that operates a number of high schools and colleges in the country. Like Cathedral, it is Catholic, but does not have affiliation with the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

https://www.ihsaa.org/sites/default/files/documents/011526 Executive Committee.pdf

Executive Committee meets Friday (but the IHSAA comms staff will be at the wrestling State Finals that day), so there's a good chance we'll see something announced early next week.

Yes, that's all correct. The boundary between the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and the Diocese of Lafayette is the Marion/Hamilton County line (and basically follows the contiguous county boundaries from the IL to OH borders). Cathedral was founded by the Archdiocese of Indianapolis (or probably more accurately, by Bishop Chartrand), but was run by the Brothers of the Holy Cross (or CSC) for years until it became fully independent.

The mayor and city-county council have been trying to take over the IPS school board since I was in high school in the 1990s. At the time, there was a proposal to consolidate ALL of the Marion County schools into IPS (including the township schools) and have an appointed board.

What's the backstory here?

Roncalli has announced that the Circle City Conference - down to two members - will dissolve. Roncalli will go forward as an independent while seeking a conference fit. Presumably, Bishop Chatard will do the same.

BREBEUF JESUIT, GUERIN CATHOLIC TO JOIN HOOSIER HERITAGE CONFERENCE Braves, Golden Eagles will become full members of HHC in 2027-28 The Hoosier Heritage Conference is proud to announce the addition of Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School and Guerin Catholic High School. Their full participation in the HHC begins in 2027-28, forming an eight-team conference with Greenfield-Central, Lebanon, Mt. Vernon, New Palestine, Pendleton Heights and Yorktown. The addition of Brebeuf Jesuit and Guerin Catholic reinforces the HHC’s commitment to fostering competitive and academic excellence, while emphasizing sportsmanship. Both schools already compete against multiple HHC teams in several sports. Brebeuf Jesuit and Guerin Catholic both have a history of athletic success and a commitment to academics. They also have a similar enrollment to existing HHC schools. Brebeuf Jesuit has won 22 IHSAA state championships across 10 different sports, most recently the 2024 boys tennis title. Guerin Catholic has eight IHSAA state titles in four sports, including this year’s boys soccer state championship. Founding members Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon, New Palestine and Pendleton Heights formed the HHC in 1993 with two other schools. Yorktown joined the conference as a full member in 1999. As one of the premier academic and athletic conferences in Indiana, the HHC is poised for continued success. The addition of Brebeuf Jesuit and Guerin Catholic add to an already-great league and expand the membership to eight schools. “We are excited to enter a new chapter for Brebeuf Jesuit athletics by joining the Hoosier Heritage Conference. The conference's values around sportsmanship and the role of athletics in a well-rounded education are a great match for Brebeuf, and our students will benefit from the new opportunities that the conference will provide. We are especially looking forward to developing relationships among our schools and learning from one another,” Brebeuf Jesuit principal Greg VanSlambrook said. “We are grateful for the opportunity to join the Hoosier Heritage Conference and for the many benefits this partnership will provide for our students, programs, and broader community. “We look forward to building strong relationships and working closely with fellow member schools in the years ahead,” Guerin Catholic principal Christine Williams said. With the addition of Brebeuf Jesuit, Guerin Catholic and Lebanon in 2027, the HHC’s eight members will have a combined 58 IHSAA state championships in 13 different sports. About the HHC Since its founding in 1993, the Hoosier Heritage Conference has built a reputation for competitive excellence, strong academics, a commitment to developing the whole student, sportsmanship, integrity and mutual respect. The HHC sponsors championships in 20 varsity sports (10 boys and 10 girls), as well as three academic competitions, and recognizes students and athletes who excel in the classroom and on the athletic fields.

He'll start next year for GT. And then, maybe, be back at IU as a junior in two years?

Bingo. When I coached girls basketball 20 years ago, that was when club sports were just starting to take root. We had A LOT of 2-3 sport athletes when I started. We have two volleyball players on the basketball team - but they're basketball-first kids. Otherwise, if you're a volleyball kid, you don't play basketball because the club season just conveniently happens to run from December-February (and, IMO, that's intentional). But even then, kids began to view it as an insult to be on JV. They were varsity players on the soccer team (e.g., they dressed and played a few minutes in blowouts) as sophomores and freshmen, so if I'm not varsity by my sophomore year, I'm quitting. And because basketball doesn't have the "thou shalt play club or thou shalt get cut/passed over" culture, kids view it as a lesser sport because they're not sucked into a year-round club, and they just quit basketball. The numbers and quality of girls basketball, especially, has declined markedly in the last 15 years.

From last year, all 5 OL, the starting RB, 3/4 of the starting WRs, the entire DL, half of the linebacking corps (the other half was from the same family that has a New Pal connection) and 4/5 starting DBs played in New Pal's youth football league. The ones who weren't - four were from two families, one that had a New Pal connection, the other a military family who moved to Indiana from out of state. Another moved over from Triton Central.

They've only earned 4 points in 5A, because they've only been in 5A for one year. Points reset at zero when you move up a class.