(4-17-20) The first year of competition in the Midwest Athletic Conference was in 1973-74. Eight teams formed the the new boys only athletic conference sponsoring five sports.
The eight founding MAC members included:
- Mercer County – Coldwater, Marion Local, Parkway and St. Henry
- Auglaize County – Minster and New Bremen
- Darke County – Ansonia and Bradford
Coldwater came from the Western Buckeye League and the other seven came from the Tri-County League. It would be the start of one of the most respected small school conferences in Ohio.
The first MAC boys basketball champions in 1973-74 would produce co-champions… Coldwater and St. Henry, both teams went 6-1.
Coldwater, was coached by Charlie Maier, who would later build the Cavaliers into a State Champion. The Cavs went 10-10 in 1974 on the regular season. The only MAC loss was to St. Henry who beat the Cavs 65-64.
St. Henry‘s loss was to Marion Local, who the Redskins lost (68-64, 67-64) to twice during the season. But results online did not say which game was the MAC game. The Redskins were led by Hall of Fame Coach Fran Guilbault.
Did you know….
- Two players from these teams, Mike Kanney (Coldwater) and Joe Niekamp (St. Henry) have had successful careers at coaching over the years in Mercer County. They coached together in Celina for several seasons.
- St. Henry has 13 overall championships and Coldwater has 8
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