Rensselaer Moving On

[littledog]

32 minutes ago, coachH said:

I don't get a vote, but I'd welcome the Bombers into the HNAC.  They have a historic rivalry with the Jays, and all the coaches I know over there are good people.  Their kids play hard and we've never had an issue, even being on the bad end of a couple of blowouts.  I think it would be a good fit, but again, I don't get a vote lol.  

I too would welcome them and would love having them in the conference. 2000-2009 they became Judsons main rival (outside of knox). It felt like every sport we were meeting them in the sectional championship.

If Knox and LaVille did not leave the conference i feel they would of been a much better fit. Now, they may feel too big for the HNAC.

[Coach Nowlin]

School Board approved Rensselaer to leave the Hoosier Conference, I believe this will take place as the by laws state

So Rensselaer is what is known as a Free Agent 

Who is gonna wine and dine us?  🙂 

NIL money ? 

 

[foxbat]

21 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said:

School Board approved Rensselaer to leave the Hoosier Conference, I believe this will take place as the by laws state

So Rensselaer is what is known as a Free Agent 

Who is gonna wine and dine us?  🙂 

NIL money ? 

 

Or some Salisbury steak perhaps?

[Coach Nowlin]

Exactly 

[CoachSnyder]

Whoever forks over the money for Wagonmasters will win the prize!!

 

[hondo17]

9 hours ago, Muda69 said:

Ohh, are we talking about the old Mid-Indiana Conference rising from the dead?   When I was growing up in Miami County the MIC was:

Maconaquah

Lewis Cass

Northwestern

Taylor 

Western

Eastbrook

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Indiana_Conference

Oak Hill, Eastbrook, Tipton, Northwestern, Cass, Peru, Maconaquah and maybe add Eastern?

 

[hondo17]

9 hours ago, littledog said:

I too would welcome them and would love having them in the conference. 2000-2009 they became Judsons main rival (outside of knox). It felt like every sport we were meeting them in the sectional championship.

If Knox and LaVille did not leave the conference i feel they would of been a much better fit. Now, they may feel too big for the HNAC.

Carroll, Delphi, Winamac, Pioneer, North Judson and Rensselaer....find a 7th school and make this a conference 

Peru, Maconaquah, Cass, Northwestern, Tipton, Eastbrook, Oak Hill and Eastern

Caston and North Miami join a conference with Southwood, Northfield, Wabash, Manchester and Whitko

Rochester and Triton join the Indiana Northern State conference with Valley, Jimtown, Glenn, Bremen, LaVille and Knox. 

Sorry Culver, Argos, Oregon-Davis and South Central.  

Edited October 17, 2024 by hondo17

[cpg1970]

8 hours ago, hondo17 said:

Carroll, Delphi, Winamac, Pioneer, North Judson and Rensselaer....find a 7th school and make this a conference 

Peru, Maconaquah, Cass, Northwestern, Tipton, Eastbrook, Oak Hill and Eastern

Caston and North Miami join a conference with Southwood, Northfield, Wabash, Manchester and Whitko

Rochester and Triton join the Indiana Northern State conference with Valley, Jimtown, Glenn, Bremen, LaVille and Knox. 

Sorry Culver, Argos, Oregon-Davis and South Central.  

Add Benton Central to this group Carroll, Delphi, Winamac, Pioneer, North Judson and Rensselaer

[Coach Nowlin]

10 hours ago, hondo17 said:

Carroll, Delphi, Winamac, Pioneer, North Judson and Rensselaer....find a 7th school and make this a conference 

 

A tremendous issue with this alignment is again we would be the only school on Central Time Zone while the rest of the conference is on Eastern, this is an actual issue for many reasons.   

[foxbat]

41 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said:

A tremendous issue with this alignment is again we would be the only school on Central Time Zone while the rest of the conference is on Eastern, this is an actual issue for many reasons.   

Need to have a Prairie Farms Conference, sponsored of course by Prairie Farms, which would be RCHS, KV, the Newton Brothers and toss in Knox and NJSP. 

[hondo17]

49 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said:

A tremendous issue with this alignment is again we would be the only school on Central Time Zone while the rest of the conference is on Eastern, this is an actual issue for many reasons.   

North Judson is on Central.  

730 starts (which is what Winamac did w Knox/South Newton/Tri County) and currently does w South Central and Judson.

Why not play basebal/softball conference games on Saturday?

There's definitely ways around to soften the blow. 

[Coach Nowlin]

19 minutes ago, foxbat said:

Need to have a Prairie Farms Conference, sponsored of course by Prairie Farms, which would be RCHS, KV, the Newton Brothers and toss in Knox and NJSP. 

Fair Oaks you mean?    which btw:  you all hear about the HUGE news that dropped about a month ago:   Check this out:

https://www.insideindianabusiness.com/articles/women-focused-98m-sports-campus-in-fair-oaks-to-include-vip-leadership

 

 

12 minutes ago, hondo17 said:

North Judson is on Central.  

730 starts (which is what Winamac did w Knox/South Newton/Tri County) and currently does w South Central and Judson.

Why not play basebal/softball conference games on Saturday?

There's definitely ways around to soften the blow. 

not saying EVERYONE has to be CENTRAL, but yeah, don't see that sort of thing shaking out 

I cannot stress enough......we are going into this literally as an independent and see what shakes.   No offers, no conversations being had but status quo was not the best for our student athletes moving forward.  

[foxbat]

1 hour ago, Coach Nowlin said:

Fair Oaks you mean?    which btw:  you all hear about the HUGE news that dropped about a month ago:   Check this out:

https://www.insideindianabusiness.com/articles/women-focused-98m-sports-campus-in-fair-oaks-to-include-vip-leadership

 

 

not saying EVERYONE has to be CENTRAL, but yeah, don't see that sort of thing shaking out 

I cannot stress enough......we are going into this literally as an independent and see what shakes.   No offers, no conversations being had but status quo was not the best for our student athletes moving forward.  

My bad, Fair Oaks.  Fair Oaks was my first introduction to the wonkiness of two time zones in Indiana as we had an event for a scout troop at Fair Oaks and left Lafayette in time to make the opening of Fair Oaks only to arrive and find out we were an hour early.

 

The idea of that facility looks pretty cool.  It'd be nice if it has turf baseball/softball fields too.  Grand Park and Championship Park in Kokomo are nice, but it'd be nice having a place right up 65 from Lafayette that could host tournaments too.

[Muda69]

40 minutes ago, foxbat said:

The idea of that facility looks pretty cool.  It'd be nice if it has turf baseball/softball fields too.  Grand Park and Championship Park in Kokomo are nice, but it'd be nice having a place right up 65 from Lafayette that could host tournaments too.

Be nice if this Banderas Point development at I-65 & SR28 in Clinton County would have some athletic fields as well.  Groundbreaking of the project was in early August:   

 

[First_Backer_Inside]

13 hours ago, hondo17 said:

Carroll, Delphi, Winamac, Pioneer, North Judson and Rensselaer....find a 7th school and make this a conference 

Peru, Maconaquah, Cass, Northwestern, Tipton, Eastbrook, Oak Hill and Eastern

Caston and North Miami join a conference with Southwood, Northfield, Wabash, Manchester and Whitko

Rochester and Triton join the Indiana Northern State conference with Valley, Jimtown, Glenn, Bremen, LaVille and Knox. 

Sorry Culver, Argos, Oregon-Davis and South Central.  

Looks good on paper but won't happen. 

First group of teams I don't really see any problems there other than what was mentioned previously with the time difference causing issues which is why it sounds like RC is out in the Hoosier conference anyway, so not sure what problems you solve with that.

Second group a lot of problems. Cass has been in the TRC for 2 years and I think they are more than happy to be there. Northwestern just joined the TRC. Eastern left the old MIC because they didn't want to play any of the teams that are listed in this group. Don't know where Oak Hill and Eastbrook are with their conference, but they are usually at the top most years, and are very competitive. Peru and Mac left the old MIC because they wanted to be in the TRC especially when Taylor and Eastern were leaving and the thought was to just bring in Tipton to replace them.

Third group if North Miami wanted to be in a conference with Southwood, Northfield, Wabash, Manchester, and Whitko they would have never left the TRC. I don't see why Caston would stop playing Pioneer and Winamac, and have to travel to the Wabash schools.

Fourth group if Rochester and Triton would have wanted to join the INSC they would have done it last year(or for this year, however you want to look at it). Both schools would be competitive in the conference for football this year, but you have to look at it from all the sports views too. Not sure how competitive they would be in the other sports, as well as football moving forward. Also being smaller schools would mean trying to survive the year without injuries. If you do, sure you would be prepared for the playoffs, but would be tough to challenge for a conference championship in most sports. Speaking for Rochester, we like what the TRC provides. A mix of 1A, 2A, and 3A schools that will get us ready for the playoffs without it being a bruiser schedule that when multiple players go down, we are in trouble come playoff time. As long as there is a TRC conference(which I don't see there ever not being one for the foreseeable future) Rochester will be in it.

 

[Julio]

Rochester and Rensselaer would be welcomed into the INSC with open arms.

[Offintheyard]

44 minutes ago, Julio said:

Rochester and Rensselaer would be welcomed into the INSC with open arms.

Would be great to see but man, that drive from RC to Jimtown would be brutal.

[hondo17]

5 hours ago, Coach Nowlin said:

Fair Oaks you mean?    which btw:  you all hear about the HUGE news that dropped about a month ago:   Check this out:

https://www.insideindianabusiness.com/articles/women-focused-98m-sports-campus-in-fair-oaks-to-include-vip-leadership

 

 

not saying EVERYONE has to be CENTRAL, but yeah, don't see that sort of thing shaking out 

I cannot stress enough......we are going into this literally as an independent and see what shakes.   No offers, no conversations being had but status quo was not the best for our student athletes moving forward.  

I get you my guy. 

Rensselaer is in a good spot to go the independent route. Vball, b and g girls basketball definitely can probably keep some of the schools in the Hoosier they already play and definitely enough games out there to find some new teams (illinois) or region schools. 

Football will be tricky but I bet just for an instance Knox probably doesn't wanna play Bowman week 9 very long, that'd be a cool match up... Region schools and Illinois schools and maybe 1 or 2 old Hoosier Conference foes. Endless possibilities for bomber nation. 

[HoopsCoach]

Conferences exist for ease of scheduling (especially in football), moral victories (we didn’t win anything in the state tournament, but we did win our conference), and in some cases where the majority of conference members are competitive, preparation for the post-season tournament.  Conference affiliation has no impact on the state tournament since Indiana has an all-in tournament in every sport.  Schools can remain very competitive without a conference, it just comes with some challenges that are different from being in a conference.  If it’s a good fit, a conference can be beneficial.  If it’s not a good fit, and there don’t appear to be any good fits for the Bombers, then it can be better to go independent.

[gonzoron]

This popped up in my Facebook memories from 11 years ago. I'm sure @Coach Nowlin remembers this night. Same kid blocks 2 punts on the same play. 

 

[Coach Nowlin]

2013 semi state Bomber team.   JR year for #83.  what a time !!!   Was on ESPN #1 for like a month     Appreciate MTC sports for their help there.  

Our Defenses in 2013 and 14 were pretty nasty.  Scored a lot of points.   

[Coach Nowlin]

2013 Defense:    https://www.maxpreps.com/in/rensselaer/rensselaer-central-bombers/football/13-14/stats/#Totals

This team I believe had 9 defensive touchdowns and 2 return tds.   

2014 Defense:  https://www.maxpreps.com/in/rensselaer/rensselaer-central-bombers/football/14-15/stats/#Totals

This team had 5 safeties on the year and 2 pick 6s 

 

[Coach Nowlin]

 

 

 

[CB123]

On 10/16/2024 at 1:14 PM, Coach Nowlin said:

School Board approved Rensselaer to leave the Hoosier Conference, I believe this will take place as the by laws state

So Rensselaer is what is known as a Free Agent 

Who is gonna wine and dine us?  🙂 

NIL money ? 

 

Coach, based on what you’ve said in your posts here, I think there is really only one conference that suits your stated needs, and it’s the Greater South Shore Conference. There wouldn’t be any time zone issues—all GSSC schools are on Central Time—and the schools are all generally Rensselaer’s size. A few are a little bigger, but none of the league’s core members have more than about 600 kids, and nearly half are in the 400s or less.

Rensselaer would be a bit of a geographic outlier—after Illiana Christian leaves in 2026, there won’t be a single full member south of U.S. 30—but even so, Rensselaer’s longest trip in the GSSC (Whiting) would be 20 miles closer to Rensselaer than Tipton is.

In terms of competitiveness, there’s no doubt in my mind that Rensselaer’s strong 2A sports program would compete very well in the GSSC in all sports, but the league would not be a pushover, either. The GSSC has produced some very good football and basketball teams every year, and those have varied from year to year. There aren’t a lot of perennial bottom-feeders. There’s a lot of competitive and enrollment balance in the league, much like the old Northwest Hoosier Conference (pre-Lowell).

In football, the GSSC has two divisions, although I think those divisions really need to be realigned, and perhaps if Rensselaer joined the conference, that might facilitate the realignment. The divisions are called “North” and “South,” and those used to be geographically accurate, but they aren’t anymore. If Rensselaer came into the league, and they went back to a geographically accurate north/south split, or even based the divisions on competitiveness, the Bombers would be in a division with Boone Grove (a football-only member), Calumet, Griffith and Wheeler, who have the four best winning percentages in the conference over the last 7-8 years. All four of those schools have had some very good football teams in recent years, and although Calumet is struggling right now, it recently (2021, I think) won a 3A football sectional that included Knox and Hanover Central. In terms of scheduling, you’d have four division games, which would allow you ample opportunities to retain some of your longest-standing rivals in nonconference play.

If they went strictly on enrollment, it would be an easy split—all the 2A schools (Boone Grove, Lake Station, Rensselaer, Wheeler and Whiting) would be in one division, and the 3A schools, plus associate member Gary West Side (who plays in the GSSC in football and volleyball), would be in the other division. (I would hope they wouldn’t go that route because, with all due respect to Lake Station, nobody benefits from a Lake Station-Rensselaer football game at this point.)

None of the other nearby conferences fit. Although Rensselaer is smack in the middle of the Midwest Conference, your sports program is too strong for that league, and while the Bombers would rack up a lot of trophies, the competition would not prepare them for the postseason at all. The Hoosier North only has a couple of schools that aren’t on Eastern Time, and you’d have some road trips in that league that would make a trip to Whiting look like a short drive down the street. The Northern State Conference, except for LaVille, are all bigger schools, most of them are on Eastern Time, and again, the travel distances would be something else. The Northwest Crossroads Conference is all 4A/5A football schools except for Andrean, and they’re a 2A that plays like a 4A. While I think Rensselaer would compete pretty well with a lot of those teams in many sports (including football), if your enrollment trend is trending downward, that wouldn’t be a good long-term solution.

In short, I think the only existing conference that suits Rensselaer’s needs is the GSSC. The only other options are to go independent or try to cobble together a new conference, and given your stated time-zone issues, that would mostly involve picking off either the southernmost or smallest schools from the GSSC anyway, maybe along with North Judson to round it out. And honestly, I don’t think any of the GSSC schools would want anything to do with North Judson, both from a travel perspective and from the perspective of getting their football teams’ heads handed to them by a 1A school. And getting Boone Grove likely would not be possible because they have such strong ties to the PCC. The only reason they’re in the GSSC for football is because the GSSC doesn’t require them to join in any other sport.

No matter how you slice it, the only existing conference that works for Rensselaer is the GSSC. And if you approach them now—when they need a new member to get back to eight core schools and 10 football schools—the timing could be just right. Personally, I’d love to see it. I’m a River Forest alumnus, and I’m interested in what’s good for our conference. Rensselaer would absolutely be great for our league, and much like Rensselaer, the GSSC really doesn’t have any options that are quite as good. It could absorb the four-team Great Lakes Athletic Conference, but there are enrollment and competitiveness discrepancies involved in going that route.

I hope Rensselaer considers the GSSC as an option. I think it would be a good fit for everyone involved.