Elkhart High School - Last Hope for the Great White North?

[NLCTigerFan07]

@DT

[vito]

1 hour ago, DACNUT said:

Move them in for everything, not just for football. These schools  play each other at a high level in many sports, mainly Penn, but I'm sure Elkhart soon, at the regional levels and it only makes sense to do more than football. 

As for East West, Michigan City and LaPorte were long time members of the NIC with Penn and Elkhart before the DAC was formed. 

Lake Central to Penn is 85 miles.  LC to Elkart is over 90.  That sounds like loads of fun for a mid-week swimming or wrestling meet. The kids can do their homework on the way there since it will be too dark on the way back....

I bet the many LC parents who work in Chicago will love the drive after commuting through city traffic.

[NLCTigerFan07]

@DT @DACNUT

Just out of curiousity, I was looking at all time NIC membership. Crazy to look at! There have been 35 different schools that at one time or another were in the conference. At various times during from the 1940s through the 1960s, there were as many as 20 schools in the conference at one time that spanned from Whiting to Fort Wayne North! If they could figure out the distance thing back then, no reason to think the DAC could make it work adding Penn and Elkhart.

[Guest DT]

The North needs to get creative.

How about a Saturday afternoon doubleheader in Michigan City?

Elkhart vs Valpo

Penn vs Michigan City

[Bobref]

5 minutes ago, DT said:

The North needs to get creative.

How about a Saturday afternoon doubleheader in Michigan City?

Elkhart vs Valpo

Penn vs Michigan City

Sign me up for this!

[Guest DT]

1 minute ago, Bobref said:

Sign me up for this!

Saturday at Demaree

Elkhart vs Portage

Penn vs Merrillville

 

Saturday at LC

Penn vs Crown Point

Elkhart vs Lake Central

[DACNUT]

10 minutes ago, vito said:

Lake Central to Penn is 85 miles.  LC to Elkart is over 90.  That sounds like loads of fun for a mid-week swimming or wrestling meet. The kids can do their homework on the way there since it will be too dark on the way back....

I bet the many LC parents who work in Chicago will love the drive after commuting through city traffic.

Don't they do that now? Parents all over the Region to LaPorte, South Bend, and Elkhart who commute to the city for work on a daily basis. They also just do not play conference foes during the week, these teams travel all over during the regular season, especially for basketball.

Also on the parent side, there is no reason the DAC could not start sponsoring their live feeds to ensure all of the conference varsity events were live streamed if they add Elkhart and Penn. Now you have all the largest schools stretched across the north. 

[PDB26]

4 hours ago, DT said:

As a supporter of the Penn program, what is your sense regarding the level of support for a Penn football only move to The DAC?

Can't say for sure. I remember travel was the sticking point in '02, at least it was claimed, but I don't think that's the case. If Penn wants the program to be great they need the DAC. They've traveled more than ever in recent years, so I'd consider that encouraging.

Not sure what the structure of the new DAC would be, but I'd want the ability to get a game or two out of the conference and still see everyone within the league over a two to three season span. The point of this arrangement is to get these 6A and 5A schools competing to in a similar fashion to what you have in the MIC and HCC.

The Elkhart merger might be the last great hope for these teams even if Elkhart is not by itself. 

4 hours ago, SBFootball1 said:

WIthout destroying two conferences, could these two conferences do a split for football only? Bold teams one half, the rest in the other?

New NIC: SB Adams, 1913; SB Riley, 1148; SB Clay, 988; New Prairie, 961; St. Joe, 857; SB Washington, 778; Marian, 645; Jimtown, 595; John Glenn, 594; Bremen, 509

I think both conferences raise their profile in ways that matter to them. The NIC, with Marian remaining or moving to NLC, becomes better and wide open (maybe even gets some juice going in the SB schools with the chance for success), and the DAC gets two mega enrollment schools with football tradition and heritage (heard many Penn/Elkhart Central war stories in my time) that will challenge from day one of membership.

[oldunclemark]

16 hours ago, DT said:

The North needs to get creative.

How about a Saturday afternoon doubleheader in Michigan City?

Elkhart vs Valpo

Penn vs Michigan City

Define 'The North',  DT

[BTF]

26 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

Define 'The North',  DT

My guess is a horizontal line going right underneath Lafayette.

[PDB26]

1 hour ago, oldunclemark said:

Define 'The North',  DT

 

31 minutes ago, BTF said:

My guess is a horizontal line going right underneath Lafayette.

It depends on how far north and exactly where you are when you're looking south.

[PDB26]

This is how I envision the expanded DAC.

There are divisions only serve the purpose of mitigating travel concerns. 

Membership: Penn, 3338; LC, 3316; Elkhart, 3185; CP, 2855; Portage, 2436; Merillville, 2187; Chesterton, 2063; Valparaiso, 2054; LaPorte, 1819; Michigan City, 1611

Penn, 3338; Elkhart, 3185; LaPorte, 1819/Michigan City, 1611; Valpo, 2054; Portage, 2436/Chesterton, 2063 + 2 interdivision play, 3 non-conference

Lake Central, 3316; Crown Point, 2855; Michigan City, 1611/LaPorte, 1819; Merillville, 2187; Chesterton, 2063/Portage, 2436 + 2 interdivision play, 3 non-conference

Or the DAC structures it so each school has a team they play every year and it’s a reasonably close game. Then the conference decides how many league games to schedule with teams rotating on and off. I still would want to see 2 or 3 non conference games. Nothing would preclude league members from scheduling each other in off years either. 

Penn, 3338; Elkhart, 3185

LaPorte, 1819; Michigan City, 1611

Valpo, 2054; Chesterton, 2063

Lake Central, 3316; Crown Point, 2855

Merillville, 2187; Portage, 2436

The final piece would be to establish some sort of long term arrangement or relationships with schools in the HCC, Jeff and Harrison, while still maintaining any other Region specific relationships and special games that are in place now. Looking Hobart for wish fulfillment.

Two Fun facts:

The first story I ever heard about Hobart was that my grandfather (allegedly) punched a guy out in the bathroom at the Brickie Bowl in '79, and the first time I encountered anyone from Hobart was when I went to the state finals for the full day as a kid in '96. I was standing in line with my mom, grandma, a couple other Penn old-timers and some dudes from Hobart. They were a little older, wearing letterman jackets, and awesome. We still talk about those two at family gatherings, partly because they were friendly, but mostly because they were talking about guys biting off fingers in fights. 

My guess is you had to punch the other guy out to keep all of your fingers.

 

[Guest DT]

1 hour ago, BTF said:

My guess is a horizontal line going right underneath Lafayette.

Agree

42 minutes ago, PDB26 said:

This is how I envision the expanded DAC.

There are divisions only serve the purpose of mitigating travel concerns. 

Membership: Penn, 3338; LC, 3316; Elkhart, 3185; CP, 2855; Portage, 2436; Merillville, 2187; Chesterton, 2063; Valparaiso, 2054; LaPorte, 1819; Michigan City, 1611

Penn, 3338; Elkhart, 3185; LaPorte, 1819/Michigan City, 1611; Valpo, 2054; Portage, 2436/Chesterton, 2063 + 2 interdivision play, 3 non-conference

Lake Central, 3316; Crown Point, 2855; Michigan City, 1611/LaPorte, 1819; Merillville, 2187; Chesterton, 2063/Portage, 2436 + 2 interdivision play, 3 non-conference

Or the DAC structures it so each school has a team they play every year and it’s a reasonably close game. Then the conference decides how many league games to schedule with teams rotating on and off. I still would want to see 2 or 3 non conference games. Nothing would preclude league members from scheduling each other in off years either. 

Penn, 3338; Elkhart, 3185

LaPorte, 1819; Michigan City, 1611

Valpo, 2054; Chesterton, 2063

Lake Central, 3316; Crown Point, 2855

Merillville, 2187; Portage, 2436

The final piece would be to establish some sort of long term arrangement or relationships with schools in the HCC, Jeff and Harrison, while still maintaining any other Region specific relationships and special games that are in place now. Looking Hobart for wish fulfillment.

Two Fun facts:

The first story I ever heard about Hobart was that my grandfather (allegedly) punched a guy out in the bathroom at the Brickie Bowl in '79, and the first time I encountered anyone from Hobart was when I went to the state finals for the full day as a kid in '96. I was standing in line with my mom, grandma, a couple other Penn old-timers and some dudes from Hobart. They were a little older, wearing letterman jackets, and awesome. We still talk about those two at family gatherings, partly because they were friendly, but mostly because they were talking about guys biting off fingers in fights. 

My guess is you had to punch the other guy out to keep all of your fingers.

 

Fantastic

[DACNUT]

47 minutes ago, PDB26 said:

This is how I envision the expanded DAC.

There are divisions only serve the purpose of mitigating travel concerns. 

Membership: Penn, 3338; LC, 3316; Elkhart, 3185; CP, 2855; Portage, 2436; Merillville, 2187; Chesterton, 2063; Valparaiso, 2054; LaPorte, 1819; Michigan City, 1611

Penn, 3338; Elkhart, 3185; LaPorte, 1819/Michigan City, 1611; Valpo, 2054; Portage, 2436/Chesterton, 2063 + 2 interdivision play, 3 non-conference

Lake Central, 3316; Crown Point, 2855; Michigan City, 1611/LaPorte, 1819; Merillville, 2187; Chesterton, 2063/Portage, 2436 + 2 interdivision play, 3 non-conference

Or the DAC structures it so each school has a team they play every year and it’s a reasonably close game. Then the conference decides how many league games to schedule with teams rotating on and off. I still would want to see 2 or 3 non conference games. Nothing would preclude league members from scheduling each other in off years either. 

Penn, 3338; Elkhart, 3185

LaPorte, 1819; Michigan City, 1611

Valpo, 2054; Chesterton, 2063

Lake Central, 3316; Crown Point, 2855

Merillville, 2187; Portage, 2436

The final piece would be to establish some sort of long term arrangement or relationships with schools in the HCC, Jeff and Harrison, while still maintaining any other Region specific relationships and special games that are in place now. Looking Hobart for wish fulfillment.

Two Fun facts:

The first story I ever heard about Hobart was that my grandfather (allegedly) punched a guy out in the bathroom at the Brickie Bowl in '79, and the first time I encountered anyone from Hobart was when I went to the state finals for the full day as a kid in '96. I was standing in line with my mom, grandma, a couple other Penn old-timers and some dudes from Hobart. They were a little older, wearing letterman jackets, and awesome. We still talk about those two at family gatherings, partly because they were friendly, but mostly because they were talking about guys biting off fingers in fights. 

My guess is you had to punch the other guy out to keep all of your fingers.

 

I agree with at least two out of conference games a year. I do believe that a couple DAC schools will be extending their out of conference geography to include schools outside of the Region, specifically Lafayette, not sure about the HCC yet. I do like this plan with the pairing of key rivals. My first thought was Merrillville and Crown Point are true border rivals, but then, Portage and Merrillville are longtime members and rivals so it makes sense to pair them together and then the most recent schools in Lake Central and Crown Point together. 

 

 

[temptation]

Excuse me for being naive and not very knowledgeable about The Region but have suburban Chicago area schools not a viable option for DAC schools to play in the non-conference in the past?  Seems closer than Lafayette in some cases.

Edited December 4, 2020 by temptation

[PDB26]

31 minutes ago, DACNUT said:

I agree with at least two out of conference games a year. I do believe that a couple DAC schools will be extending their out of conference geography to include schools outside of the Region, specifically Lafayette, not sure about the HCC yet. I do like this plan with the pairing of key rivals. My first thought was Merrillville and Crown Point are true border rivals, but then, Portage and Merrillville are longtime members and rivals so it makes sense to pair them together and then the most recent schools in Lake Central and Crown Point together. 

First, I keep copy/pasting from a misspelling of Merrillville, sorry to any Pirates out there. 

My main focus with the school pairings was to get about as short a trip as possible for each school. I figured sending LC and Portage back and forth to each other along 30 would be the least desirable of all trips. Again, there could be a lot of flexibility in the pairing or scheduling of any other needed rivalries, either through the open dates or something other flexible scheduling scheme. These were just the two most basic options that seemed to clear the supposed hurdle of travel. Plenty of evidence to suggest that Penn is comfortable traveling for competition IN ALL SPORTS.

I think that starting with Lafayette makes a lot of sense. The goal is to mount a challenge to the HCC and MIC, and we'd eventually see those teams trying to schedule  DAC teams if that goal was met. 

 

Edited December 4, 2020 by PDB26

[scarab527]

8 minutes ago, temptation said:

Excuse me for being naive and not very knowledgeable about The Region but have suburban Chicago area schools not a viable option for DAC schools to play in the non-conference in the past?  Seems closer than Lafayette in some cases.

Michigan City played Homewood-Flossmoor a couple years back. Definitely a possibility for DAC teams and good competition as well. 

[temptation]

Just now, scarab527 said:

Michigan City played Homewood-Flossmoor a couple years back. Definitely a possibility for DAC teams and good competition as well. 

Just seems like a no-brainer to me...plus I think that Lafayette Jeff was sort of proven to be a paper tiger these last two seasons...they have problems of their own when it comes to scheduling.

Jeff needs the DAC schools more than the alternative.

[Guest DT]

2 hours ago, DACNUT said:

I agree with at least two out of conference games a year. I do believe that a couple DAC schools will be extending their out of conference geography to include schools outside of the Region, specifically Lafayette, not sure about the HCC yet. I do like this plan with the pairing of key rivals. My first thought was Merrillville and Crown Point are true border rivals, but then, Portage and Merrillville are longtime members and rivals so it makes sense to pair them together and then the most recent schools in Lake Central and Crown Point together. 

 

 

I would prefer to see a 10 team DAC including Penn and Elkhart and an 8 game conference schedule with one non con.  

[DE]

21 hours ago, Bobref said:

Sign me up for this!

Dusting off the whistle?

21 hours ago, DT said:

Saturday at Demaree

Elkhart vs Portage

Penn vs Merrillville

 

Saturday at LC

Penn vs Crown Point

Elkhart vs Lake Central

Boy.  Elkhart and Penn are going to be tired from playing 2 games in a day at 2 different locations.

[DACNUT]

4 hours ago, temptation said:

Excuse me for being naive and not very knowledgeable about The Region but have suburban Chicago area schools not a viable option for DAC schools to play in the non-conference in the past?  Seems closer than Lafayette in some cases.

Lake Central, which has been unbelievably bad these past few seasons and played Lincoln Way Central a few times and of course got whipped. Yes it would be much easier for the DAC to play teams in the south and southwest suburbs than it would be to go to Elkhart, Lafayette, and for sure Ft. Wayne.  The southwest suburban conference is somewhat similar to the MIC in terms of the diversity of the schools within the conference. 

[region]

9 hours ago, temptation said:

Excuse me for being naive and not very knowledgeable about The Region but have suburban Chicago area schools not a viable option for DAC schools to play in the non-conference in the past?  Seems closer than Lafayette in some cases.

One thing to keep in mind is that Illinois doesn’t start until week 2 in Indiana, so that limits opportunities to play suburban schools a little bit. As others have mentioned, there have been some attempts in recent years. Chesterton was supposed to play Chicago power St. Rita this year. 

I think I can be sold into the 10 team Duneland. I like the east-west idea. Fun hypothetical. 

[Lysander]

1 hour ago, region said:

One thing to keep in mind is that Illinois doesn’t start until week 2 in Indiana, so that limits opportunities to play suburban schools a little bit. As others have mentioned, there have been some attempts in recent years. Chesterton was supposed to play Chicago power St. Rita this year. 

I think I can be sold into the 10 team Duneland. I like the east-west idea. Fun hypothetical. 

Joliet Catholic was supposed to make the long trek to Indy to play at the end of August this past season.  Quite the haul for them.  The Region is like their backyard vs traveling to Indy.

[oldunclemark]

On 12/4/2020 at 8:01 AM, BTF said:

My guess is a horizontal line going right underneath Lafayette.

Marion, Kokomo and Fort Wayne are all 'north"?  Huntington North is 'north' ?

Just asking.

 

[oldunclemark]

On 12/3/2020 at 3:10 PM, DT said:

The North needs to get creative.

How about a Saturday afternoon doubleheader in Michigan City?

Elkhart vs Valpo

Penn vs Michigan City

DT, watch yourself.

As soon as you start suggesting Saturday afternoon football, Hoosier folks start calling you a communist.😼