|
Post by gatordog on May 22, 2009 22:26:27 GMT -5
UEC opens door to Geneva, Batavia May 22, 2009By JIM OWCZARSKI jowczarski@scn1.com
Geneva and Batavia were not adrift for long, as two of the three remaining members of the soon-to-be-defunct Western Sun Conference were formally invited to join the ever-expanding Upstate Eight Conference.
All that remains for the move to be official is the go-ahead from both schools' administrations, and both Geneva athletic director Jim Kafer and Batavia athletic director Mike Gaspari feel that is a certainty.
"I was confident that there would be some place for us and there were a few alternatives out there," Kafer said. "For it to have happened this quickly, that was probably unexpected. But once everything was settled with the other schools (leaving the WSC), then things would start to fall into place and it looks like they are. Nothing's official yet but it does look like it will."
That leaves Glenbard South as the only team in the Western Sun without a league for 2010-11, but the move provides some comfort to Geneva and Batavia.
"We were looking at a pretty dire situation for our school and Geneva," Gaspari said. "I don't think too many people understand the seriousness of this type of situation. You certainly don't want to be left as a school with no place to compete. Being an independent is a pretty bleak situation to deal with."
The move will inflate the UEC to 14 teams, and they will be broken up into two, seven-team divisions based on enrollment. Metea Valley, which opens this fall to freshmen and sophomores, will field varsity teams starting in 2010-11.
"If the divisions do end up being set up that way, without a doubt we'll have the tougher division (in basketball)," East Aurora boys basketball coach Wendell Jeffries said. "The record over the last few years shows that, (especially) with Neuqua Valley and Lake Park winning it recently and Waubonsie Valley and East Aurora being strong."
The Tomcats have played both new additions to the conference on the basketball court in recent years. It is unlikely the Tomcats football program will add the new schools to its schedule, however.
"We've played Batavia several times (in boys hoops), twice in the regional and once in their shootout, over the past several years. And we've played Geneva, too," Jeffries said. "Both have a great basketball tradition and both will bring strong teams capable of competing for a conference title. They'll be there year after year."
The fact that Geneva and Batavia do not participate in some sports, such as boys volleyball and swimming, will not deter their entry into the UEC.
"Most of the sports, 95 percent of them do match and I don't know that I've ever been in a conference where everybody had everything," Kafer said. "With a grouping like (the UEC), there is enough to still form a very viable setup with everybody else."
Staff writer Rick Armstrong contributed to this report.
|
|
|
Post by gatordog on May 22, 2009 22:34:55 GMT -5
UEC opens door to Geneva, BataviaThe move will inflate the UEC to 14 teams, and they will be broken up into two, seven-team divisions based on enrollment. I thought, before these two were added, that it was going to be two six-team divisions based on geography....a north and south. I assume Geneva and Batavia will be in same division. A 14 team conference seems pretty tough for schedule. But that is ok...I very much like the idea of linking up closer with these two HS's.
|
|
|
Post by gatordog on May 22, 2009 22:43:10 GMT -5
the beacon article has enrollements in side table:
If Geneva and Batavia accept invitations into the Upstate Eight Conference, the league will include the following teams come the 2010-11 school year (2008-09 enrollments in parentheses):
smaller enrollment division
Elgin (2,210)
Larkin (2,193)
South Elgin (2,177)
St. Charles North (2,175)
St. Charles East (2,122)
Geneva (1,978)
Batavia (1,858)
larger enrollment division
Neuqua Valley (4,520)
Waubonsie Valley (3,719)
Lake Park (3,073)
East Aurora (2,892)
Bartlett (2,712)
Streamwood (2,382)
Metea Valley (N/A)
edit: these are "possible" division, if indeed they are done by enrollments.
|
|
|
Post by wvhsparent on May 23, 2009 6:45:24 GMT -5
So why does'nt Glenbard South join in too?
|
|
|
Post by gatordog on May 24, 2009 11:05:03 GMT -5
So why does'nt Glenbard South join in too? there enrollment is only 1421. Size-wise, they dont seem to be a good fit. I hope the Raiders find a new conference home. Maybe with Glenbard West--in West Suburban conference? Seems surprising that they arent in the same conference already.
|
|
|
Post by title1parent on May 28, 2009 4:49:39 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1595921,2_1_AU28_BATSKL_S1-090528.article Rivals will still face off• Conference switch: Batavia welcomes Upstate Eight invitation May 28, 2009 By DENISE LINKE For The Beacon News BATAVIA -- School District officials are lining up behind a plan to join the Upstate Eight Conference next spring after the Western Sun Conference officially folds. "This is the only viable option that has come to fruition," admitted Batavia High School Principal Doug Drexler. "But it's a very good option for our kids. Several coaches have said they wish we could be in (the Upstate Eight) this year." Five of the eight high schools that formed the Western Sun Conference in 2006 announced this month that they will withdraw from the conference next spring to form a new conference with schools in Dixon, Morris, Ottawa, Geneseo, Streator, Sterling and LaSalle-Peru. Officials at all five schools -- Kaneland, DeKalb, Rochelle, Sycamore and Yorkville -- have said they feel their smaller, more rural schools are not compatible with larger, more suburban Batavia, Geneva and Glenbard South high schools. "It's no wonder they want us out (of their conference)," said board member Jayne Resek. "Geneva took first place in every sport last fall. Our girls soccer team had to invoke the slaughter rule for every conference game except our game with Geneva." Drexler said he thought the other schools would have caught up to Batavia, Geneva and Glenbard South in a few more years. "I'm disappointed that it's coming to this. I think more time should have been given for the conference to mature," he said. The breakup is forcing Batavia, Geneva and Glenbard South to scramble for new conferences in which to compete. Usually it takes two years or more to enter a new conference, noted Athletic Director Mike Gaspari. "I spent a sleepless weekend last week wondering if we would even be in a conference in 2010. It's very important for our school and our community to be in a conference," he said. Unaffiliated schools' teams have no way to enter post-season competitions in the Illinois High School Association. Upstate Eight officials last week invited Batavia and Geneva high schools to join as part of an expansion plan that also would add Metea Valley High School in Aurora. The conference would split into two seven-team divisions that would separate the smaller schools and the larger schools. Batavia and Geneva would join St. Charles North and St. Charles South high schools in the small schools division, putting all four Tri-Cities high schools in the same conference. "It's very fortunate that we can keep Batavia and Geneva in the same conference," board President Ron Link said about Batavia's traditional archrival. Joining the Upstate Eight also would let Batavia and Geneva expand their athletic and academic competition programs, adding a junior varsity level to football, basketball and soccer and starting new teams, such as speech, debate and bowling, that the Western Sun doesn't offer, Drexler said. "We're going to look back on this as a godsend for Batavia and Geneva," Gaspari said. The board probably will vote on the invitation in June. comment at beaconnewsonline.com
|
|
|
Post by gatordog on May 28, 2009 9:02:00 GMT -5
"We're going to look back on this as a godsend for Batavia and Geneva," Gaspari said. I think he is right.
|
|
|
Post by brant on May 28, 2009 13:39:54 GMT -5
I wonder if there will be more "tinkering" with the Upstate 8. It is no secret West Chicago has been trying to get out of the DuPage Valley. The Upstate 8 would be the only viable option for them as well as possibly Glenbard South. Don't be surprised if NV eventually moves to the DuPage Valley and is in the same conferance with Naperville North and Naperville Central. This has also been seriously talked about.
|
|
|
Post by gatordog on May 28, 2009 14:00:24 GMT -5
DVC from Wikepedia. I added enrollments from ihsa.org.
Glenbard East High School, Lombard 2625 Glenbard North High School, Carol Stream 2765 Naperville Central High School, Naperville 3107 Naperville North High School, Naperville 3148 West Aurora High School, Aurora 3353 West Chicago High School, West Chicago 2163 Wheaton North High School, Wheaton 2216 Wheaton Warrenville South High School, Wheaton 2423
|
|
|
Post by gatordog on May 28, 2009 14:03:41 GMT -5
I wonder if there will be more "tinkering" with the Upstate 8. maybe more than just tinkering?. 14 teams, in two seperate divisions....that sounds like two different conferences to me. EDIT: I guess a disadvantage of a smallish 7 team conference is if a school or two leave for greener pastures, you can find yourself below the number threshold for a viable conference for good scheduling. This is what happened in the first place, in an extreme way, to Batavia and Geneva. Also, smallish numbers can be a disadvantage if there are some schools not fielding teams in certain sports.
|
|
|
Post by gatordog on May 28, 2009 14:13:03 GMT -5
.... Don't be surprised if NV eventually moves to the DuPage Valley and is in the same conferance with Naperville North and Naperville Central. This has also been seriously talked about. Would 204 want their HS's in separate conferences? Would that be a good thing or a bad thing? What are the pros and cons?
|
|
|
Post by brant on May 28, 2009 22:06:06 GMT -5
.... Don't be surprised if NV eventually moves to the DuPage Valley and is in the same conferance with Naperville North and Naperville Central. This has also been seriously talked about. Would 204 want their HS's in separate conferences? Would that be a good thing or a bad thing? What are the pros and cons? Having schools from the same district in different conferences is not new. Take the Glenbard schools. West is in the West Suburban Silver, East and North are in the DuPage Valley and South was in the conference that just broke up.
|
|
|
Post by sardines on May 29, 2009 15:54:02 GMT -5
Would 204 want their HS's in separate conferences? Would that be a good thing or a bad thing? What are the pros and cons? Having schools from the same district in different conferences is not new. Take the Glenbard schools. West is in the West Suburban Silver, East and North are in the DuPage Valley and South was in the conference that just broke up. Can't say I would blame them. Lake Park, Larkin and Elgin are BRUTAL drives for a Friday afternoon/evening game!!! Well over an hour. Naperville and Wheaton schools are SO much closer.
|
|
|
Post by gatordog on Jun 19, 2009 8:28:30 GMT -5
Trib article;
Glenbard South needs a home as Western Sun Conference fades in economic eclipse Athletic conference doomed by slowed community growth
By Mike Helfgot | Special to the Tribune June 12, 2009
You can blame the economy if Glenbard South High School doesn't have a full football schedule in fall 2010.
That's the long-story-short version of why the Western Sun Conference has decided to disband after just three years of existence, sending its eight schools in three different directions following the 2009-10 school year. Glenbard South's direction is, well, south: For now, it doesn't have a conference in which to compete.
When the housing bubble burst, the league's five smaller schools did not get the type of growth they anticipated when the Western Sun was formed in 2006. Batavia and Geneva, meanwhile, continued to blossom. Along with Glenbard South in Glen Ellyn, the three schools won 37 of the 41 team conference championships awarded from the fall of 2006 through the winter of '09, according to Kaneland High School athletic director Leigh Jaffke.
So Rochelle, DeKalb, Sycamore, Yorkville and Maple Park's Kaneland announced last month they were leaving for the level playing fields of the North Central Illinois Conference.
Batavia and Geneva then joined the Upstate 8, a highly competitive league where they figure to fit in nicely, considering their pre-existing rivalries with schools like St. Charles East and St. Charles North.
And Glenbard South, a thriving athletic program in the heart of a dense, suburban populous, faces the very real possibility of going homeless.
"It is kind of a nervous time. This caught us off guard, we had no idea this was going to happen," said Glenbard South athletic director John Treiber, a veteran of shuffling conferences that has accompanied the ever-changing demographics in the western suburbs over the last two decades.
A new conference would be Glenbard South's fourth in 15 years.
"Nobody wants to be an independent. That is the worst scenario for us," Treiber said. "Our biggest complaint is that we weren't given enough time. Obviously we are in the process of searching to see what is out there, but there are no strong leads yet. Most conferences require you give two years notice before breaking up, so that is making it difficult.
"The kind of school we are, athletically and academically, we are attractive, but we are kind of an oddity. We're in amongst a lot of giants around us, but we are a school of 1,400 kids. We are attractive to larger schools and I do think we play bigger than our size, but we can't get in over our head."
At least for 2010-11, the possibility of competing as an independent is very real. That means finding new opponents in sports like baseball, softball, soccer and basketball, where conference teams play each other twice each season.
In those sports alone, that's 84 games to schedule, a headache for sure but one Treiber said is manageable. If anything is causing him to lose sleep these days, it's the final five games of the 2010 football season.
"Football is the biggest concern," he said. "Football drives the decision because it is the hardest one to fill. It's not too hard to fill the first four games but to tough to fill the next five. That is when everyone is in their conference season. We don't want to be traveling to Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota."
Suddenly, the 58-mile ride from Glen Ellyn to Rochelle doesn't seem so bad. That trip was the only long one any of the Western Sun schools had to make for league competition, a major reason the league seemed like such a good idea in 2006.
There was an enrollment discrepancy, but real estate development was projected to take care of that. Then it stopped, and the five schools were stuck at around 1,000 students. Geneva and Batavia have nearly 2,000 each.
"It really isn't as complex as someone might think," Geneva athletic director Jim Kafer said. "The difference in enrollment was going to stay the same or get wider. All three of us (Geneva, Batavia and Glenbard South) were in the same boat. Our original hope was that the three of us could stay together.
"But as time progressed it started to become apparent that Glenbard South's enrollment and location wasn't going to necessarily make them compatible with schools that might be attractive to us. The Upstate 8 came forward for all of us. It wasn't, and I can understand why, a good fit for Glenbard South."
The expanded NCIC also offered Glenbard South a home, but some of its schools are so far away, they might as well be in Iowa.
"We feel bad for them," DeKalb athletic director Dan Jones said. "Actually, we were kind of stuck in the middle. We had to make a choice to stay or go with the teams that are leaving. We have close bonds with Sycamore, Rochelle; Kaneland is close. We made a choice for our students that we are better off going with those schools. We could have been left in limbo. We didn't know if another option was out there."
Treiber is working feverishly to find one. While he's got some leads -- he'd rather not discuss particulars because they could involve schools in existing conferences -- he said he is "not confident but hopeful" that the situation will be resolved before the summer is over.
The effect on student athletes may be slight. Since college recruiting has become so sophisticated, scholarship opportunities won't be lost if teams are not able to play full schedules. But students won't have the experience of playing organized sports with their friends.
"I would hope we can resolve this and find some similar schools in the south or west suburbs," Glenbard South football coach Dan Starkey said. "I'm concerned about getting a schedule year in and year out. We really could be playing some out-of-state schools. I've got my hands full just trying to manage my program and get my players ready to play.
"I thought it was going to be a great conference for us, and the fact that we only gave it three years is disappointing ... I think the economy is going to come back and they're going to get that growth they planned on and things would have evened out in the next couple years."
|
|