Fort Wayne Concordia to ACAC

[adambetz]

Concordia pulls the plug on the SAC, bringing the ACAC to 8 teams and a much more solid foundation to build from should Jay County or Southern Wells decide to bolt as rumored/discussed over the past few years.

 

With Bluffton and Adam Central's growth, this gives the ACAC a strong group of 5 or 6 like sized schools with the exceptions being the aforementioned Raiders and the solid athletic department of South Adams.

 

Adding Concordia also gives the ACAC a full 7 game football schedule, making it so that they won't have to have an odd week for a non-conference game.

 

Had it on good faith that the ACAC was saving that 8th spot for Blackhawk, will be interesting to see what happens with that now.

[23andCounting]

Although it's hard to deny that Concordia is a good fit for the ACAC, Tim Mannigel posted a 34-33 record in the SAC the eight years prior to him taking a year off from coaching. Playing in the competitive SAC helped propel them to four sectional titles during that time.   They went 4-26 the four years after his return. I'm wondering why the Cadets are having so much difficulty returning to form. If they do get back on track, Adams Central's stronghold on the ACAC could be in jeopardy. That being said, I'm in favor of the move. I'm looking forward to seeing a third non-conference game for the rest of the SAC. 

[Komets2727]

1 hour ago, 23andCounting said:

Although it's hard to deny that Concordia is a good fit for the ACAC, Tim Mannigel posted a 34-33 record in the SAC the eight years prior to him taking a year off from coaching. Playing in the competitive SAC helped propel them to four sectional titles during that time.   They went 4-26 the four years after his return. I'm wondering why the Cadets are having so much difficulty returning to form. If they do get back on track, Adams Central's stronghold on the ACAC could be in jeopardy. That being said, I'm in favor of the move. I'm looking forward to seeing a third non-conference game for the rest of the SAC. 

Hopeful that this is the beginning of a domino effect for the SAC. Wayne and South Side should be next

[jakone]

5 minutes ago, Komets2727 said:

Hopeful that this is the beginning of a domino effect for the SAC. Wayne and South Side should be next

You probably like LIV golf right. 

[Jays]

11 minutes ago, jakone said:

You probably like LIV golf right. 

LMAO... It's the shorts 

[23andCounting]

24 minutes ago, Komets2727 said:

Hopeful that this is the beginning of a domino effect for the SAC. Wayne and South Side should be next

I'm betting against that. I think this is a Concordia thing. Either way, it will be good for fan attendance. Concordia vs Carroll, Homestead, Snider, and Dwenger just isn't a good draw. 

[Komets2727]

1 hour ago, jakone said:

You probably like LIV golf right. 

Never watched it

[Komets2727]

43 minutes ago, 23andCounting said:

I'm betting against that. I think this is a Concordia thing. Either way, it will be good for fan attendance. Concordia vs Carroll, Homestead, Snider, and Dwenger just isn't a good draw. 

Why bet against that? Nostalgia? South and Wayne are competitive in what sports besides boys basketball? One of the problems with the SAC currently is a huge disparity amongst teams.

[adambetz]

25 minutes ago, Komets2727 said:

Why bet against that? Nostalgia? South and Wayne are competitive in what sports besides boys basketball? One of the problems with the SAC currently is a huge disparity amongst teams.

South and Wayne should join the North Central Conference.

[23andCounting]

53 minutes ago, Komets2727 said:

Why bet against that? Nostalgia? South and Wayne are competitive in what sports besides boys basketball? One of the problems with the SAC currently is a huge disparity amongst teams.

Just a hunch, that's all. South and Wayne have been a member of the SAC for decades. Not an easy decision to opt out. Kudos to Concordia for pulling the trigger. 

[adambetz]

45 minutes ago, adambetz said:

South and Wayne should join the North Central Conference.

Its more about demographics and money and less about location. Marion plays Southside in almost every sport, especially the ones where both programs are lagging. Both schools would fit perfectly with strongest basketball and okay football and bad everything else.

[adambetz]

I don't think the ACAC is done adding/subtracting

[Frozen Tundra]

7 hours ago, adambetz said:

South and Wayne should join the North Central Conference.

 

6 hours ago, adambetz said:

Its more about demographics and money and less about location. Marion plays Southside in almost every sport, especially the ones where both programs are lagging. Both schools would fit perfectly with strongest basketball and okay football and bad everything else.

I don’t understand this. Marion is the only school in the NCC within an hour of Wayne and South Side. I don’t care about the basketball thing. There are many other sports to take into consideration. Google Maps has the following travel times for Wayne and South Side to the NCC schools:

Wayne to Anderson - 1 hr 19 min
Wayne to Kokomo - 1 hr 30 min
Wayne to Lafayette Jeff - 2 hr 1 min
Wayne to Marion - 54 min
Wayne to Muncie Central - 1 hr 16 min
Wayne to Richmond - 1 hr 50 min
Average - 1 hr 28 min

South Side to Anderson - 1 hr 24 min
South Side to Kokomo - 1 hr 34 min
South Side to Lafayette Jeff - 2 hr 6 min 
South Side to Marion - 58 min
South Side to Muncie Central - 1 hr 20 min
South Side to Richmond - 1 hr 53 min
Average - 1 hr 33 min

Keep in mind, these are the times based on the current traffic conditions at midnight. It would be much worse between 3 and 7 PM. I don’t know the financial situation with Fort Wayne Community Schools but I can’t imagine they’d be in favor of Wayne and South Side having this much travel. This would be for every sport (boys and girls varsity, JV, and freshman teams).

If someone could prove me wrong, I’d be willing to concede. However, I can’t imagine this would work.

[HoopsCoach]

4 hours ago, adambetz said:

I don't think the ACAC is done adding/subtracting

Who else would try to join?  Blackhawk Christian was rumored when they transitioned to 11 man football, but their football program has not been competitive yet.

Who do you think would leave?  Southern Wells discussed it, and it is the right move for Southern Wells, but their leaders decided to give their community members what they wanted despite a majority of students and coaches favoring a change of conferences and committed to staying in (only) the ACAC.  Jay is unlikely to leave now that the ACAC has 8 members, including another 3A school.  Bluffton could get into the CIC tomorrow if they wanted to, but the travel is prohibitive.  Heritage and Woodlan just got a conference game in every sport with another Allen County school.  Adams Central and South Adams are landlocked and stuck in the ACAC unless they want to double their transportation budget.

[adambetz]

1 hour ago, Frozen Tundra said:

 

I don’t understand this. Marion is the only school in the NCC within an hour of Wayne and South Side. I don’t care about the basketball thing. There are many other sports to take into consideration. Google Maps has the following travel times for Wayne and South Side to the NCC schools:

Wayne to Anderson - 1 hr 19 min
Wayne to Kokomo - 1 hr 30 min
Wayne to Lafayette Jeff - 2 hr 1 min
Wayne to Marion - 54 min
Wayne to Muncie Central - 1 hr 16 min
Wayne to Richmond - 1 hr 50 min
Average - 1 hr 28 min

South Side to Anderson - 1 hr 24 min
South Side to Kokomo - 1 hr 34 min
South Side to Lafayette Jeff - 2 hr 6 min 
South Side to Marion - 58 min
South Side to Muncie Central - 1 hr 20 min
South Side to Richmond - 1 hr 53 min
Average - 1 hr 33 min

Keep in mind, these are the times based on the current traffic conditions at midnight. It would be much worse between 3 and 7 PM. I don’t know the financial situation with Fort Wayne Community Schools but I can’t imagine they’d be in favor of Wayne and South Side having this much travel. This would be for every sport (boys and girls varsity, JV, and freshman teams).

If someone could prove me wrong, I’d be willing to concede. However, I can’t imagine this would work.

You're 100% correct on all mentioned. I'm sure the kids would rather have a 2 hour bus ride home from competing for a conference title than getting blown out in their backyard every other night. Your point is about financials but my point is driven by cultural, demographical and competitive fit.

[Frozen Tundra]

7 hours ago, adambetz said:

You're 100% correct on all mentioned. I'm sure the kids would rather have a 2 hour bus ride home from competing for a conference title than getting blown out in their backyard every other night. Your point is about financials but my point is driven by cultural, demographical and competitive fit.

My point is if they want to compete for a conference title then there are conferences closer to home that won’t drain their finances. Money drives everything at the end of the day, for better or for worse. Considering money is harder to come by for public schools these days, it would be for the better in this instance.

[adambetz]

31 minutes ago, Frozen Tundra said:

My point is if they want to compete for a conference title then there are conferences closer to home that won’t drain their finances. Money drives everything at the end of the day, for better or for worse. Considering money is harder to come by for public schools these days, it would be for the better in this instance.

What conferences?

[Frozen Tundra]

4 hours ago, adambetz said:

What conferences?

Actually, upon further research, I need to retract that particular statement because there’s a bigger gap in the student numbers in comparison to the NE8 than I realized. Competitively, that would be a good fit for football but I’m not sure it would work out well for the other sports. I had surmised that Wayne and South Side would fit well in the NE8 because they were 4A football schools like most of the conference. I had forgotten, though, that both just got bumped up to 5A. Not to mention, the NE8 schools in 4A were on the lower side student population-wise.

Nevertheless, I still don’t think it’s feasible for Wayne or South Side to join the NCC either. The only realistic options I see are for them to stay in the SAC, go independent, or try to gather a few regional schools in hopes of forming a new conference.

[23andCounting]

Probably a moot point. I don't see South Side and Wayne leaving. They've been part of the SAC since it's inception. 

[adambetz]

8 minutes ago, Frozen Tundra said:

Actually, upon further research, I need to retract that particular statement because there’s a bigger gap in the student numbers in comparison to the NE8 than I realized. Competitively, that would be a good fit for football but I’m not sure it would work out well for the other sports. I had surmised that Wayne and South Side would fit well in the NE8 because they were 4A football schools like most of the conference. I had forgotten, though, that both just got bumped up to 5A. Not to mention, the NE8 schools in 4A were on the lower side student population-wise.

Nevertheless, I still don’t think it’s feasible for Wayne or South Side to join the NCC either. The only realistic options I see are for them to stay in the SAC, go independent, or try to gather a few regional schools in hopes of forming a new conference.

Completely fair assessment.

7 minutes ago, 23andCounting said:

Probably a moot point. I don't see South Side and Wayne leaving. They've been part of the SAC since it's inception. 

100% is a moot point. No way FWCS splits their highschools.

[Irishman]

Add to it, Wayne is now a 5A school. They need to stay in the SAC. Another issue that is continuing to impact schools that would rule out a move to the NCC is travel expenses, especially the diesel fuel that school buses run on. 

[23andCounting]

2 hours ago, Irishman said:

Add to it, Wayne is now a 5A school. They need to stay in the SAC. Another issue that is continuing to impact schools that would rule out a move to the NCC is travel expenses, especially the diesel fuel that school buses run on. 

History also shows, that with the right coach, Wayne can tangle with anyone. I also like the upward direction that South Side seems to be going in. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Archers do this year. 

Edited June 9 by 23andCounting

[Komets2727]

4 hours ago, 23andCounting said:

History also shows, that with the right coach, Wayne can tangle with anyone. I also like the upward direction that South Side seems to be going in. I'm looking forward to seeing how the Archers do this year. 

Those Carroll vs. South, Wayne, and Luers matchups will be over by the 3rd quarter…

[HoopsCoach]

There are definitely some similarities between several of the NCC schools, FW North Side, South Side, and Wayne.  I think you can also include New Haven.  It’s too bad the geography and travel are prohibitive because a conference of these 8 schools could be pretty balanced in most sports.

Anderson 1693

Fort Wayne South Side 1419

Fort Wayne Wayne 1367

Fort Wayne North Side 1320

Richmond 1261

Muncie Central 1254

New Haven 1117

Marion 993

Another combination that could be a competitive mix is the larger SAC schools and the schools that formerly made up the western part of the NCC.  Kokomo has experienced a decline in their enrollment but they still compete pretty well.

Carroll (Fort Wayne) 2581

Homestead 2345

Harrison (West Lafayette) 2109

Fort Wayne Northrop 2069

Lafayette Jefferson 2008

Fort Wayne Snider 1854

McCutcheon 1823

Kokomo 1385

Neither of those conferences will ever happen.  I think some kind of scheduling alliance needs to happen between the SAC and NIC.  Homestead/Carroll should play Penn/Elkhart in every sport, and Dwenger/Luers should play St. Joseph/Marian in every sport.

[adambetz]

8 hours ago, HoopsCoach said:

There are definitely some similarities between several of the NCC schools, FW North Side, South Side, and Wayne.  I think you can also include New Haven.  It’s too bad the geography and travel are prohibitive because a conference of these 8 schools could be pretty balanced in most sports.

Anderson 1693

Fort Wayne South Side 1419

Fort Wayne Wayne 1367

Fort Wayne North Side 1320

Richmond 1261

Muncie Central 1254

New Haven 1117

Marion 993

Another combination that could be a competitive mix is the larger SAC schools and the schools that formerly made up the western part of the NCC.  Kokomo has experienced a decline in their enrollment but they still compete pretty well.

Carroll (Fort Wayne) 2581

Homestead 2345

Harrison (West Lafayette) 2109

Fort Wayne Northrop 2069

Lafayette Jefferson 2008

Fort Wayne Snider 1854

McCutcheon 1823

Kokomo 1385

Neither of those conferences will ever happen.  I think some kind of scheduling alliance needs to happen between the SAC and NIC.  Homestead/Carroll should play Penn/Elkhart in every sport, and Dwenger/Luers should play St. Joseph/Marian in every sport.

Finally, some imagination.