|
Post by momto4 on Sept 26, 2008 13:04:58 GMT -5
I just couldn't see one school in the district in a conference without the other (soon to be two) school(s). I agree. Though East and West Aurora are two separate districts, theirs is the oldest rivalry in the state and it really took away from this when WA left the UEC for the DVC. They still play, but they are non-conference games and for football they changed from the last game of the season to the first.
|
|
|
Post by gatordog on Sept 26, 2008 13:12:48 GMT -5
I also like the new realignment. One problem with the Upstate 8 I have always felt is there is a group of strong schools, (NV, WV, the two St Charles), and a group of really weak schools. (East Aurora, Streamwood, Elgin, S. Elgin, Larkin) with Lake Park and Bartlett in the middle. In this new realignment the weaker schools will have a better shot at winning records. It is just two bad East Aurora isn't with the North. They will continue to get killed in most everything. Incidently I always wondered if NV ever considered going into the DuPage Valley? They are certainly more then able to compete with Naperville Cent and North and the Wheatons and would be a good fit. I just couldn't see one school in the district in a conference without the other (soon to be two) school(s). Actually I think there could be VALUE in having them separate. Have each district school be able to compete for a conference championship. Really foster more of a "cheer for the other school" mentality. Are there other IHSA conferences where same SD has schools is diff conferences? I dont know, maybe somebody knows? I am sure its not common, i give you that. And it probably could only be pulled off in the Chicagoland area because you probably need a densely populated region (like ours). Very unlikely this would happen with downstate schools. But my bottom line is: I would welcome consideration for NV to move to DVC. I personally wouldnt want to rule it out. Have the similarly sized MV and WV stay together in U8. Have NV show some of those schools (I am thinking our 203 neighbors ) how its done! I would be very happy with NV staying in the U8, too. I just wonder if they could gain more "prestige" (not sure if that is the right word) in DVC. Maybe what I am saying is really from a "competive level" point of view. NV may be a better competive match with 203 schools? I cannot speak really with authority on other sports, but a big one we do know about is football. Yes, WV is on a (unprecedented) two game win streak in football. But the series has been lopsided historically, as we all know. For example, maybe in football, Each yr NV plays an out of conf game with either MV or WV (alternates each yr). And each yr in basketball they play one non-conf game each with WV and MV (one at home, one on road each yr). Of course the conf rivals MV and WV would play every year in football, and have home & home in basketball. Actually, here is one area where it may logistically make sense. As it stands now, are we planning for three "Crosstown 204 Classic" football games at NC College? there will be three games a yr in football amongst NV, WV, and MV with all being in U8 South. Three seems to me to maybe be "too much"---reduces the specialness of it. With the model above, there would be only two 204 games at NCC....the WV vs MW annually, and the NV vs (WV or MV). As I type this, I actually thing a NV move to DVC would be a good thing. I know this isnt an original idea, it has been talked about I understand. (I have no idea where DVC schools stand on this).
|
|
|
Post by majorianthrax on Sept 26, 2008 15:46:16 GMT -5
Actually Gatordog there are several districts where schools are in different conferences. The Glenbard school district has East and North in the DVL, West in the West Suburban and South in the Western Sun. Several schools are in the same conferences but different divisions. West Suburban Gold, Proviso East, Hinsdale South, Downers Grove South- West Suburban Silver, Proviso West, Hinsdale Central, Downers Grove North. Though not common it has been done. I personally believe NV will be too strong for the Upstate with only a few schools able to compete.
|
|
|
Post by gatordog on Sept 26, 2008 17:55:49 GMT -5
Thanks for the info, major. I did not know any of those conference breakdowns.
So NV to the DVC does seem plausible (in that certainly there is precedent). It could be considered as "on the table" for future perhaps.
|
|
|
Post by justvote on Sept 27, 2008 8:22:45 GMT -5
I don't understand why West Aurora is in the DVC. They skipped over East Aurora and went into Kane county to bring them in? That doesn't make sense.
I've always thought it would be a good idea to bring NV into the DVC. This was discussed once a long time ago, and some posters pointed out that by doing s0 you would create more of a perception issue between WV & NV (this was before MV), because the DVC was regarded as more competitive and a more desirable division to be in. They're probably right to some extent, but the thing is that NV, due its sheer size, is able to field more competitive teams (now & in the future after MV opens) making them a better fit for DVC than U8.
ETA: I do feel that if WV had maintained its size (keeping its Freshman campus), they should be considered for the DVC as well.
|
|
|
Post by majorianthrax on Sept 27, 2008 13:28:04 GMT -5
I don't understand why West Aurora is in the DVC. They skipped over East Aurora and went into Kane county to bring them in? That doesn't make sense. I've always thought it would be a good idea to bring NV into the DVC. This was discussed once a long time ago, and some posters pointed out that by doing s0 you would create more of a perception issue between WV & NV (this was before MV), because the DVC was regarded as more competitive and a more desirable division to be in. They're probably right to some extent, but the thing is that NV, due its sheer size, is able to field more competitive teams (now & in the future after MV opens) making them a better fit for DVC than U8. ETA: I do feel that if WV had maintained its size (keeping its Freshman campus), they should be considered for the DVC as well. I never understood West Aurora switching to the DVC either. With the exception of basketball and wrestling WA is almost always in the bottom half of the league in most everything else. In football their only DVC wins generally come over West Chicago and sometimes Glenbard East. West Chicago is another school I cannot understand is in the DVC. They are the East Aurora of that conference. And West Chicago is closer to Elgin and would be more competetive with the Upstate schools in their area. Who knows why they choose to get beaten up year after year. I remember DeKalb was in the Upstate and for 30 years hardly had winning records in much of anything. They got smart a few years ago and left. NV I am sure has thought about moving to the DVC. Especially since WV will not be as strong after the split and MV just starting out.
|
|
|
Post by gatordog on Sept 27, 2008 16:41:41 GMT -5
Daily Herald columnist John Radke. Good perspective. And some interesting tidbits here.
Upstate Eight set to enter new era with divisional setup
It's a new era".
We hear that phrase more and more today throughout society, and the Upstate Eight Conference is not immune to it.
On Thursday, the UEC announced that beginning in the fall of 2010, the league will expand to 12 schools in varsity sports and create a North Division and a South Division.
"We've been slowly waiting for the 12th school to arrive," said Elgin High athletic director Art Rohlman, the dean of UEC ADs. "It's been a long hard process but you knew it was going to come at some point."
That point is here and with the addition of Metea Valley - the new school in Naperville scheduled to open next fall with freshmen and sophomores - that time is now here. The Upstate Eight, which will retain that name, will finally be 12 schools and all the craziness of scheduling an 11-team league will finally leave the plates of the conference's athletic directors.
"This should keep everybody happy," said Bartlett AD Dan Kallenbach of the new setup. "There are so many rumors out there about who is going here and there. Now we have our 12 and I think we're all happy."
The divisional setup was done geographically, and everyone in the UEC will admit that rising transportation costs were as much a factor in that decision as anything. For that, the UEC should be applauded.
Just for history's sake, the UEC was formed in 1963. The answer to the trivia question of the eight original members? Well, Rohlman and I both showed our age when we talked Thursday because we thought St. Charles was an original. It wasn't. The original eight were Elgin, Larkin, DeKalb, East Aurora, Glenbard East, West Aurora, Naperville, and the one we forgot - Wheaton. St. Charles joined in 1965 when Glenbard East left and over the years, the league added Lake Park, Streamwood, Waubonsie Valley, Bartlett, South Elgin and now Metea Valley, and lost West Aurora, DeKalb, Wheaton and Naperville. Of course, there was also the St. Charles split, creating St. Charles East and St. Charles North.
Now, beginning in the fall of 2010, the North Division will include Elgin, Larkin, Bartlett, Streamwood, South Elgin and Lake Park. The South will consist of St. Charles North, St. Charles East, Neuqua Valley, Waubonsie Valley, Metea Valley and East Aurora. Metea Valley actually opens in the fall of 2009 and will compete at the varsity level in some individual sports with its initial freshman and sophomore classes.
There is still much to be hammered out about how schedules will play out in the various sports. Some sports, like cross country and tennis among others, may not have divisions. Sports with divisions may have different scheduling setups.
One thing is for sure - the UEC will send two schools to the football playoffs every year no matter what, reducing the Class 8A at-large number statewide by one. The possible scheduling scenario in football will have two crossover games, with those opponents rotating on a two-year basis. That will allow for two nonconference games as well.
And while Rohlman said basketball isn't finalized yet, the possible scenario will have everyone playing everyone else in their division twice, with three crossovers that would not count in the conference standings. Again, the crossover opponents would rotate every two years.
"Each sport will have its own little tweaking to be done and we can't have blanket policies for every sport be the same," Kallenbach said. "We'll have to figure out how to keep everybody happy."
The UEC did toy with divisions in basketball back when there were 10 schools in the league in the mid-1990s, but as Kallenbach said, "the coaches really didn't like it a whole lot."
Odds are everyone will like this setup much better because it is for 12 schools and it is geographic. I can't see a lot of parents in Elgin complaining about fewer trips to Aurora and Naperville on school nights. It will be competitive, too, and I like the thought of Larkin playing South Elgin, or Bartlett taking on Streamwood, for a divisional championship. These divisions keep traditional rivalries alive and in today's world, that's more important than it might seem to the naked eye.
One thing I don't like is that the UEC decided not to have crossover championship games for an overall conference title. This is just one opinion, but I think having an overall UEC champion in the sports with divisions would peak fan interest. The Mid-Suburban League has a long-standing record of great crowds at its overall championship contests.
"At this stage there doesn't seem to be a lot of desire to do that," Kallenbach said.
Here's one voice that hopes there is - real soon.
jradtke@dailyherald.com
|
|
|
Post by gatordog on Sept 27, 2008 16:47:51 GMT -5
from daily herald archives
The year in preview: What will make news in DuPage Co. in 2008 1/1/2008
West Chicago
New conference
West Chicago Community High School will explore how best to leave the DuPage Valley Conference. The school board last year passed a resolution expressing its intent to investigate ways to join a smaller existing athletics conference in the area or to create a new conference.
|
|
|
Post by gatordog on Sept 27, 2008 16:52:41 GMT -5
beacon news story on the U8 alignment
UEC expanding to 12 members September 19, 2008By R.J. GERBER Sports Editor Font Size Email Bookmark Black Text White TextThe Upstate Eight Conference is changing with the times. Again.
UEC officials announced Thursday that the league will expand to 12 schools and compete in two divisions beginning in the fall of 2010.
UEC realignment The Upstate Eight Conference will realign and compete in divisions with the addition of Metea Valley beginning with the 2010-11 school year.
North Division Bartlett
Elgin
Lake Park
Larkin
South Elgin
Streamwood
South Division
East Aurora
Metea Valley
Neuqua Valley
St. Charles East
St. Charles North
Waubonsie Valley
The addition of Metea Valley High School -- the new school in Indian Prairie School District 204 -- necessitated the expansion.
Metea Valley opens in the fall of 2009 and will begin competing in varsity competition in 2010. It's the third high school in District 204, joining Waubonsie Valley and Neuqua Valley.
The six-school UEC North Division will be comprised by Elgin School District U46 schools Bartlett, Elgin, Larkin, South Elgin and Streamwood, as well as Lake Park.
The six-school UEC South Division includes East Aurora, Metea Valley, Neuqua Valley, St. Charles East, St. Charles North and Waubonsie Valley.
"It took a lot of years for this to happen," Larkin athletics director Jim Juliano said of the divisional setup. "And geographically this is the logical option."
The UEC had split into divisions in the past for boys and girls basketball, but never in football. In fact, the unbalanced schedule in football led to a four-way tie for the league title in 2002.
"I think it's great for everybody that we were able to keep Lake Park on our side," Elgin High principal Dave Smiley said. "(The U46 schools) have had a rivalry with them for a long time."
The divisional format will produce two automatic playoff bids for football and crossover competitions are part of the equation in all sports.
If all schools don't field teams in a specific sport, like boys volleyball for example, divisional competition will not be held and one champion will be crowned.
When South Elgin joined the UEC in September of 2004 that expanded the league membership to 12. But never before has the league competed at the varsity level with 12 schools. That's because DeKalb left for the Western Sun Conference following the 2005-06 school year, just as South Elgin arrived.
"It's a big relief for us to have 12 schools," Streamwood athletics director Steve Gertz said. "And I think this is a good thing for schools like Streamwood, Elgin and Larkin so that they're able to compete."
In recent months there had been talk of West Chicago possibly leaving the DuPage Valley Conference and coming aboard in the UEC. The southern-most schools in the UEC -- Neuqua and Waubonsie -- had also been mentioned as possible defectors to the DVC along with Lake Park.
But for the foreseeable future the UEC is 12 strong.
"Right now," said Smiley. "We are a family."
|
|
|
Post by wvhsparent on Sept 27, 2008 17:17:07 GMT -5
from daily herald archives The year in preview: What will make news in DuPage Co. in 20081/1/2008 West Chicago New conference West Chicago Community High School will explore how best to leave the DuPage Valley Conference. The school board last year passed a resolution expressing its intent to investigate ways to join a smaller existing athletics conference in the area or to create a new conference. Well maybe NVHS should see about swapping their spots in their current conferences....
|
|