Footballking16

Yes. I don't buy for one second that Valpo, Merrillville, Crown Point, and Michigan City would "struggle" fielding opponents with four open weeks. They already schedule two as is in the current DAC landscape. There would be four old DAC opponents who now have open weeks as well and a rotating scheduling of old DAC rivals/opponents would make sense in a worst case scenario. There's 250+ high schools in the Chicagoland area, would not be an extraneous task in the least. There's also a ton of Indy area schools who would be glad to schedule said schools as well.

Lol. I already went over this last night. Penn's 2021 schedule includes 6 teams that are better than any DAC team Penn stands to play under your new proposal with the exception of Elkhart and Valpo, who they already play every year anyway. Penn would only be able to keep one of: Cathedral/St. X/Mishawaka/Mishawaka Marian in your DAC expansion. All four of those programs are better than any team in Penn's new proposed DAC East alignment and under your crossover proposal would only play Merrillville every third year. Regardless of what you think, there's no way under any circumstance Penn benefits in your new DAC. None.

How? If you split up the current DAC there's going to be more open weeks in the new conference alignment. Merrillville would still be able to schedule Michigan City/Lake Central/Portage whomever as they now have open weeks as well.

There's no way you actually think expanding the DAC to more Northern schools better prepares them for better postseason results as was your original intent. Penn losing out on the opportunity to schedule both St. X and Cathedral (or likewise programs) does not better prepare them for a postseason run.

And it turns out that it is really about helping Penn (along with the rest of the 5A and 6A Northern Schools) in a quest for a state title. If we're talking about re-aligning conferences to the point it prepares them accordingly for a title run, conference expansion under this proposal makes very little sense. Take Merrillville, Valpo, Crown Point, and Michigan City, form a new six team new conference with Penn and Elkhart where you're playing five quality conference opponents in succession and it leaves you 4 open weeks. There's an open week or two to still schedule former DAC rivalries and then two to three open weeks to schedule regional powers from the Indy/Chicago/NW OH/Cincy area.

You still haven't answered how condensing schedules and subsequently limiting scheduling opportunities better prepares 5A and 6A Northern teams in a state title pursuit? Merrillville, Valpo, Penn, etc are better off playing powerhouse Chicago schools/Indy powers than they are fellow DAC opponents. Cathedral, Naperville Central, Homewood-Flossmoor are much more similar to the Carmel's, Warren's, Center Grove's of the world than they are Chesterton, Portage, La Porte.

That was no slight at Pioneer. But if you want to be in the conversation as a serious contender for a 6A title as DT put it, you need to beat schools with 250 students. Period. Chesterton hasn't won a sectional in 25+ years. They don't belong in the conversation as a legitimate threat in the North. Sorry.

He didn’t play a down last year. Highly rated recruit with some good offers out of HS, but no real way to say what impact he may have had as he literally never saw the field.

I said there was hope for Elkhart. Crown Point and Morton need to accomplish something before before joining the discussion. They aren’t in it right now. Didn’t Chesterton just lose to a 1A school? La Porte has a decent football program, but not one that’s in perennial title discussion. Valpo, Merrillville, Snider, Penn, and Homestead are the teams that belong in perennial title discussion and there’s a pretty significant gap between them and the Indy schools.

Realistically you have 4, maybe 5 on a semi-regular basis: Merrillville, Snider, Valpo, Penn, and Homestead, and you didn’t include Dwenger who is 5A due to the SF. Elkhart may get to that point but none of the other schools belong in that regular conversation. What gives those schools a better chance of making a deep post season run? Condensing their schedules and auto-locking them into 8-9 game conference slates or perhaps some flexibility to schedule Indy or out of state powers? You tell me?

Conference contraction is the only way that is going to happen. Too many 6A teams landlocked in dead weight conferences with little flexibility and in some cases no flexibility (SAC) in scheduling premier programs from the Midwest. It would make sense for the Big 4 SAC schools opting out (Dwenger, Snider, Homestead, Carroll) and joining up with Elkhart/Penn or a combination of Merrillville, Valpo, Michigan City joining up with Elkhart/Penn. A team 12 super conference of not so super teams doesn’t help anything.

You’re trying to convince people why Penn should move to the DAC. Penn already plays the best team in the DAC ever year anyway, and they play 5 other opponents who are just as good, if not better than any other team in the DAC. That’s 2/3rds of their schedule. What advantageous gain does Penn have moving to the DAC? None. Sure Penn and Elkhart moving to the DAC improves the DAC, but it does nothing for Penn and Elkhart.

I don’t know how long the contracts with St. X and Cathedral are scheduled, but Penn would have no problem replacing them with likewise programs when they end, something that would no longer be an option if they joined the DAC. Same with Mishawaka and their rival status. I don’t think you realize how bad the DAC is once you get past Merrillville, Michigan City on occasion, and Valpo who they play every year anyway. Penn doesn’t need the DAC and play a tougher schedule under their current alignment now that they would ever stand to play under your DAC proposal. You let me know when scheduling becomes a problem for Penn, because it’s never been a problem before.

Without question a massive demotion and a huge disservice to a team trying to win 6A. Giving up Cathedral, St. X, Mishawaka, and Marian to play Lake Central, Chesterton, La Porte doesn’t make any sense.

Penn plays one 3A opponent and that one 3A opponent finished higher rated in Sagarin than any team Penn would stand to play in your new proposed alignment, with the exception of Valpo and Elkhart who they play annually anyway. Penn in their current conference playing: St. X Cathedral Valpo Elkhart Mishawaka Marian Is a tougher schedule than Penn stands to play in any year under your DAC proposal without question. No contest.

Penn plays Valpo, Cathedral, and St. X next year. Those 3 games alone prepare Penn better than any year they stand to be in the DAC under your proposal. Your proposal has Penn in a division with all 5A teams with the exception of Elkhart who they already play anyway and a guaranteed crossover game with 6A Lake Central who wouldn’t beat most 4A teams. It’s a huge demotion and disservice to Penn under that alignment.

Why would Penn join that conference under that scenario? They already play Valpo every year anyway, joining the DAC to gain a new opponent in Lake Central and play Merrillville/Crown Point every 3 years doesn’t prepare them for any Indy teams. Sorry.

DAC teams already have to find two non-conference opponents as is. Adding two more isn’t nearly as difficult as you think considering most the current DAC schools are located in a metropolitan area with nearly 10 million people. I think you’re just arguing for the sake of argument at this point. There’s no logical reason where joining a 12 team conference with the intention of never scheduling a fourth of the members makes any sense. A 6 team conference of: Penn Elkhart Valpo Michigan City Merrillville La Porte is just as strong as a 12 team conference (with those 6 included) minus the deadweight.

What is the point of being in a 12 team conference if you’re never going to play 3-4 of the teams then lol? Quality over quantity in this scenario. You’re better off forming a 6 team conference in which you’re playing quality opponent week in and week out.

I’m not overthinking anything. How does DT’s new DAC alignment benefit a school like Merrillville? None of Merrillville’s DAC East divisional opponents prepare Merrillville for a 6A Indy team and given there’s only 3 crossover games, there’s no guarantee Merrillville plays Valpo/Elkhart/Penn in any given year and in certain years may miss all three together. Take DT’s DAC East proposal and replace Chesterton with Merrillville, and you still have 3-4 LOS hopefuls but in a conference with half the teams. Gives you 4 open weeks to schedule better opponents. It really is that simple.

You can do a DAC contraction and say the same thing. It’d actually be true. Valpo, Merrillville, MC, and let’s say Crown Point would all be better off leaving the DAC and joining Penn and/or Elkhart to make a 5-6 team conference. Would give each school much more flexibility at adding quality opponents to the schedule. I see no advantageous gain being in a conference in this day and age given our postseason format. Being in a conference is nothing more than a schedule placeholder. Winning your conference doesn’t reward your seeding, opponent, or venue location come tournament time. Unless you play in a conference that has decent parity (MIC/HCC/SIAC), expansion makes little to no sense.

The ACC plays a championship game at the end of the year between the two division winners that crowns a true conference champion. I don’t think adding Penn to the DAC does anything to raise the DAC’s profile. There’s 2-3 teams in the DAC that in any given year has a rays chance of making it to LOS, that doesn’t change adding Penn. Play your 7 game DAC schedule if you’re Merrillville, Valpo, or Michigan City and then add Penn and/or Elkhart as one of your non-conference opponents. Valpo essentially already does this.

Seems compelling for football but don't see the need for expansion if a) you don't play everyone in your conference on a yearly basis b) a true conference champion isn't crowned. Would the new scheduling format with the newly formed divisions be that more advantageous?

They call those "reefers" in the logistics industry, but I could see why that may not fly lol. George Hammond also ran one of the largest meat packing pants in the Midwest at the time with the largest plant being in Hammond although Hammond Packers isn't that innovative.

Most can't. 2/3 of the school is on some kind of financial aid.