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Hanover Central to the NCC in 2023/24


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It is being reported that Hanover Central will leave the Greater South Shore Conference and join the Northwest Crossroads Conference after the 2023 school year. They will be the 7th member, replacing Griffith who left after 2017.

Hanover is 3A in football, but is in one of the fastest growing districts (composed of Cedar Lake and parts of St. John and Crown Point) in the state.

Frozen 2019-2020 enrollment data:

Munster - 1521

Hobart - 1282

Highland - 1122

Lowell - 1118

KV - 1041

Hanover - 709

Andrean - 414

I think Hanover will make a good fit. They just restarted their football program in 2014 after not fielding a varsity team from 1972-2013. They’ve had some success in the GSSC and will be a great, natural rival for Lowell. Makes me hope Griffith will rejoin as well and the NCC can be an 8 team league. 

I know some pundits on here (DT) were calling for Hammond High and Morton to join, but the NCC has decided to go in this direction. I think the Hammond consolidations are going to be problematic and maybe if they can straighten things out, they can join in a few years. 

Edited by region
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More up to date enrollments for context: 2020-21

(both Hammond Central and Morton are expected to be about 1700 each)

Munster 1572
Hobart 1264
Lowell 1092
Highland 1055
Kankakee Valley 1015
Hanover Central 748
Andrean 384

GSSC enrollments from 20-21:
Calumet 660
Griffith 660
River Forest 500
Whiting 486
Wheeler 485
Hammond Noll 466
Illiana Christian 414 (no football)
Lake Station 389
Boone Grove 495 (football only)
South Central 320 (football only)

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43 minutes ago, region said:

It is being reported that Hanover Central will leave the Greater South Shore Conference and join the Northwest Crossroads Conference after the 2023 school year. They will be the 7th member, replacing Griffith who left after 2017.

Hanover is 3A in football, but is in one of the fastest growing districts (composed of Cedar Lake and parts of St. John and Crown Point) in the state.

Frozen 2019-2020 enrollment data:

Munster - 1521

Hobart - 1282

Highland - 1122

Lowell - 1118

KV - 1041

Hanover - 709

Andrean - 414

I think Hanover will make a good fit. They just restarted their football program in 2014 after not fielding a varsity team from 1972-2013. They’ve had some success in the GSSC and will be a great, natural rival for Lowell. Makes me hope Griffith will rejoin as well and the NCC can be an 8 team league. 

I know some pundits on here (DT) were calling for Hammond High and Morton to join, but the NCC has decided to go in this direction. I think the Hammond consolidations are going to be problematic and maybe if they can straighten things out, they can join in a few years. 

I also like the move.  The Cedar Lake community supports their teams well.  

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1 hour ago, region said:

More up to date enrollments for context: 2020-21

(both Hammond Central and Morton are expected to be about 1700 each)

Munster 1572
Hobart 1264
Lowell 1092
Highland 1055
Kankakee Valley 1015
Hanover Central 748
Andrean 384

GSSC enrollments from 20-21:
Calumet 660
Griffith 660
River Forest 500
Whiting 486
Wheeler 485
Hammond Noll 466
Illiana Christian 414 (no football)
Lake Station 389
Boone Grove 495 (football only)
South Central 320 (football only)

Griffith was Class 4a with enrollment of 823 in most recent IHSAA classification.   Where did you find the 660 for GHS?

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11 minutes ago, DT said:

Why does Griffith make more sense than Morton?

 

 

Because Griffith was a conference mate with Munster and Highland for over 50 years. There is fimilairty and history there. They have competed annually against Lowell in football since I believe 1934. They have good rivalries with Hobart and Andrean. They belong in the NCC culturally and historically. They have no business playing Lake Station, Boone Grove and Whiting. It’s funny how they have added Lowell, Highland and now Hobart back on the non-conference schedule. 

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Add griffith and 2 Hammond schools then divide north south and have a conference championship game like the big ten

north-Hammond central, Morton, highland, Munster, and griffith.

South- Andrean, Hobart, KV, HC, and Lowell.

Edited by Whiting89
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11 minutes ago, Whiting89 said:

Add griffith and 2 Hammond schools then divide north south and have a conference championship game like the big ten

north-Hammond central, Morton, highland, Munster, and griffith.

South- Andrean, Hobart, KV, HC, and Lowell.

The LAC Black/Blue was already tried. 

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44 minutes ago, region said:

Because Griffith was a conference mate with Munster and Highland for over 50 years. There is fimilairty and history there. They have competed annually against Lowell in football since I believe 1934. They have good rivalries with Hobart and Andrean. They belong in the NCC culturally and historically. They have no business playing Lake Station, Boone Grove and Whiting. It’s funny how they have added Lowell, Highland and now Hobart back on the non-conference schedule. 

https://valpo.life/article/a-valpo-life-in-the-spotlight-stacy-adams/

It was Stacy Adams, then Griffith AD, who drove the initiative to take GHS out of the NCC.  Population projections for Griffith looked very bleak as many residents have left the city and those remaining are aging rapidly.  Blacks and hispanics now make up over 50% of the student population.  Griffith has changed and it has happened very quickly.

I was shocked by the move when it happened, buit looking at it now 5 years later, it seems to make sense.  Griffith appears to compete more at the GSSC level than the NCC.  I think they will stay put.  

Morton has enjoyed a very good relationship with all NCC schools, especially Highland, Munster and Lowell, for many years.  There is clearly an anti Hammond bias that exists at the top administrative level of the NCC, and thats too bad because that philosophy holds the conference back from a competitive standpoint.  

I would add HC. HM and ECC to the NCC and expand to 10 schools.  Let Hanover grow into the competitive level it needs to compete.  

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3 minutes ago, DT said:

https://valpo.life/article/a-valpo-life-in-the-spotlight-stacy-adams/

It was Stacy Adams, then Griffith AD, who drove the initiative to take GHS out of the NCC.  Population projections for Griffith looked very bleak as many residents have left the city and those remaining are aging rapidly.  Blacks and hispanics now make up over 50% of the student population.  Griffith has changed and it has happened very quickly.

I was shocked by the move when it happened, buit looking at it now 5 years later, it seems to make sense.  Griffith appears to compete more at the GSSC level than the NCC.  I think they will stay put.  

Morton has enjoyed a very good relationship with all NCC schools, especially Highland, Munster and Lowell, for many years.  There is clearly an anti Hammond bias that exists at the top administrative level of the NCC, and thats too bad because that philosophy holds the conference back from a competitive standpoint.  

I would add HC. HM and ECC to the NCC and expand to 10 schools.  Let Hanover grow into the competitive level it needs to compete.  

Stacy Adams had NOTHING to do with Griffith’s NCC departure. It was all former Superintendant Peter Morikis’ doing. He dropped the order and Stacy was powerless.

ECC is a mess administratively top to bottom. They’d be an awful fit. Let’s see if the Hammond schools can field total programs with JV and Freshman teams, and then they can apply. They don’t fit outside of Morton football and Hammond High basketball. I’ve walked this through to you before.

The IHSAA froze enrollment counts for the 20-21 school year, but the IDOE (which still took enrollment this year) site lists Gtown’s 2020-21 enrollment at 667. The 660 I had above was a typo.

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19 hours ago, region said:

Because Griffith was a conference mate with Munster and Highland for over 50 years. There is fimilairty and history there. They have competed annually against Lowell in football since I believe 1934. They have good rivalries with Hobart and Andrean. They belong in the NCC culturally and historically. They have no business playing Lake Station, Boone Grove and Whiting. It’s funny how they have added Lowell, Highland and now Hobart back on the non-conference schedule. 

Tradition is a good thing--building a better mousetrap doesn't always work.

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I have been in public education for nearly 20 years.  I would think, and I could be way off here, it would be difficult for a school who left a conference on their own, to be voted back in.  

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12 minutes ago, DE said:

I have been in public education for nearly 20 years.  I would think, and I could be way off here, it would be difficult for a school who left a conference on their own, to be voted back in.  

Great point, but I think Griffith is doing themselves a disservice by playing in a much weaker league.  It doesn't prepare them for the tournament very well, or maybe they like getting bounced 56-0 in the first game.

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18 minutes ago, Gipper said:

Great point, but I think Griffith is doing themselves a disservice by playing in a much weaker league.  It doesn't prepare them for the tournament very well, or maybe they like getting bounced 56-0 in the first game.

As we all know, choices have consequences.

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47 minutes ago, DE said:

I have been in public education for nearly 20 years.  I would think, and I could be way off here, it would be difficult for a school who left a conference on their own, to be voted back in.  

I think they’d be welcomed back if they applied. It was odd and very surprising when they left and pretty much all Griffith coaches (Jennings, Geffert) were opposed to the change. Again, it was all orchestrated from the top and went down pretty unfavorably. 

They likely won’t come back, but Hanover moving could trigger further conference realignment in the Calumet Region.

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1 hour ago, region said:

I think they’d be welcomed back if they applied. It was odd and very surprising when they left and pretty much all Griffith coaches (Jennings, Geffert) were opposed to the change. Again, it was all orchestrated from the top and went down pretty unfavorably. 

They likely won’t come back, but Hanover moving could trigger further conference realignment in the Calumet Region.

You very well could be correct.

IC has joined the GSSC, correct?

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39 minutes ago, DE said:

You very well could be correct.

IC has joined the GSSC, correct?

Correct. Only a matter of time before they add football. They’re going to grow as well being in the Tri-Town area

Edited by region
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1 hour ago, region said:

Correct. Only a matter of time before they add football. They’re going to grow as well being in the Tri-Town area

I for one, do not see them adding football anytime in the near future, if ever.

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On 6/10/2021 at 11:11 AM, region said:

It is being reported that Hanover Central will leave the Greater South Shore Conference and join the Northwest Crossroads Conference after the 2023 school year. They will be the 7th member, replacing Griffith who left after 2017.

Hanover is 3A in football, but is in one of the fastest growing districts (composed of Cedar Lake and parts of St. John and Crown Point) in the state.

Frozen 2019-2020 enrollment data:

Munster - 1521

Hobart - 1282

Highland - 1122

Lowell - 1118

KV - 1041

Hanover - 709

Andrean - 414

I think Hanover will make a good fit. They just restarted their football program in 2014 after not fielding a varsity team from 1972-2013. They’ve had some success in the GSSC and will be a great, natural rival for Lowell. Makes me hope Griffith will rejoin as well and the NCC can be an 8 team league. 

I know some pundits on here (DT) were calling for Hammond High and Morton to join, but the NCC has decided to go in this direction. I think the Hammond consolidations are going to be problematic and maybe if they can straighten things out, they can join in a few years. 

   You gotta love the eyes of the Wildcat.

This is great news and the first Hanover-Lowell game (Hanover is Lowell's border neighbor to the north) will be standing room only. 

Hanover Central scoreboard - 2.jpg

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2 minutes ago, oldunclemark said:

   You gotta love the eyes of the Wildcat.

This is great news and the first Hanover-Lowell game (Hanover is Lowell's border neighbor to the north) will be standing room only. 

Hanover Central scoreboard - 2.jpg

My daughter, the Gipperette, will be a Junior at LHS then.

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