BDGiant93

Here's the coaching rundown. Coach Cooper is the 17th BDHS head coach in the modern history of Ben Davis Football. (Bob Otolski was hired in 1973, but he left before coaching a game for a job as one of Lee Corso's assistants at Indiana.) Gold=Hall of Fame Purple=Ben Davis Alumnus 1 Bert "Red" Haviland 15-29-4 1937-1942 2 Leo Lentz 0-7-0 1943 3 Chuck Stuckey 1-7-0 1944 4 Ralph Crock 7-23-2 1945-1948 5 Lou Parnell 31-26-1 1949-1955 6 John Masariu 11-17-0 1956-1958 7 Woody Baker 4-14-1 1959-1960 8 Trent Gipson 2-18-0 1961-1962 9 Bill McClain 19-48-3 1963-1969 10 Bob Britt 6-23-1 1970-1972 11 Bob Wilbur 59-53 1973-1983 12 Dick Dullaghan 213-42-0 1984-2003 13 Tom Allen 25-12-0 2004-2006 14 Mike Kirschner 95-36-0 2007-2017 15 Jason Simmons 31-28-0 2018-2022 16 Russ Mann 21-14-0 2023-2025 17 Brett Cooper 0-0-0 2026-

BD hires Brett Cooper to lead the program. He's the 17th head football coach in Ben Davis history (18th if you count Bob Otolski who left for an IU assistant coaching job before ever coaching a game). https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bloomington-north-coach-brett-cooper-032957831.html

Ben Davis and Franklin Central have never played even though they were in the same Sectional for a couple of years.

Ben Davis already plays Avon week 2. Several of the other teams play HCC squads as well. BD used to open with Brownsburg and Avon until Brownsburg dropped the Giants.

It's been weird all around. I understand the reasons. There was a lot of drama when they were voted out. I guess it just took a while for everyone to realize they needed each other again. Carmel and Center Grove back in raises the level for the entire conference, and it eases the scheduling woes for CG and Carmel.

So, Carmel and Center Grove were exploring other options. The MIC voted them out. The other options fell through. They existed apart. Things changed at most of the institutions from an administrative standpoint in that some of the players moved on, got new administrators, etc. There was a mending fences period that culminated in the reunification. The MIC and Carmel and Center Grove realized they all needed each other again.

Not a new story.

Per Neddenriep, they become full members in 2026/27.

Of course, all that came in before the $$$ crunch, so we'll see if it continues. Attucks is supposed to finally get a real gym at some point. They play in a middle school gym. Seems like IPS could crowd fund that gym given the historic nature of Attucks and the 100th anniversary of the school's opening in 2027.

Mt. Vernon is the site of one of the strangest sports broadcasts of which I've been a part. Back in the days when we'd use an actual landline phone to connect, we were broadcasting a basketball game from Mt. Vernon. During the first quarter and through the first half, we kept having people pick up a receiver somewhere. Schools at this time often maintained a courtesy phone line for broadcasters. Turns out, the courtesy line at Mt. Vernon doubled as the pay phone line. The AD at the time put a big sign on the pay phone line that it was out of order. Don't know why I just thought of that.

Yes they did. Coach Lidy took them there in his first year.

Remarkable run.

1990-1995 Warren Central Assistant 1996-1999 Cascade HC 2000-2006 Ben Davis Assistant 2007-2017 Ben Davis HC 2018-2020 Mt. Vernon HC 2021-2024 Warren Central HC 2025-Hamilton Heights Assistant 2026-Pres Mt. Vernon HC --- Tod Windlan has been to 12 different schools as a HC alone. I get your comparison though. I know Mike was looking for things to do because he called some basketball on WBDG this year 😂. He'll have his hands full rebuilding Mt. Vernon.

Bravo to Perry Township Schools. That's balanced. Southport at 2398 and Perry at 2397.

I believe this was part of a multi-year plan to upgrade facilities across the district. I know new stands were planned at Tech, too.

I remember what a novelty that turf seemed like on a high school field. Now, it's the norm in the bigger classes. Weird how times change so fast. I miss the old Ben Davis grass field. They used to maintain it so meticulously.

Indiana high schools are the IHSAA. That's the membership of the organization. The NFHS is actually the National Federation of High School Associations. So, the IHSAA is a member of the NFHS. Unless schools decide to quit the IHSAA, it's not going to disband...nor should it. I think NIL is going to be adjudicated in court in Indiana at some point. The IHSAA will be forced to act or there will be a reluctant rule made to avoid action by the General Assembly or the Courts forcing them to act. It's best that they think about it now, and they probably are. Commissioner Neidig is no dummy. Just my two cents.

https://indyencyclopedia.org/ben-davis/

Silly me looking for the real school name of BEN Davis instead of the ridiculous "DAVIS" that this list is calling it. BEN DAVIS is the school name. It's named after a place that was named after a person. The place was known as Ben Davis.

There's a certain NFL Hall of Famer from Ben Davis missing from the list.

I have joked with Mike Kirschner, Jason Simmons and Russ Mann over the years that I'm going to sneak into the locker room and dispose of the Ben Davis black jerseys with purple numbers. Purple and white are great colors. When the black pants or those black jerseys get mixed in, that's not Ben Davis to me...and it's annoying to broadcasters, PA announcers or anyone who needs or wants to see jersey numbers. That's my two cents anyways.

Finances will be the problem with this. I'm not sure there's an appetite to spend whatever it would cost to build a new building, hire teachers, etc.

"The schools in Indy" are losing or maintaining enrollment levels. It's the suburban schools that are growing.

Are we sure that most outside the Central Indiana area see a difference between Indy and the donut counties?