Before the start of the 1999 fall season, league officials entertained adding Versailles, Sidney Lehman, and Lima Central Catholic to the league. Following a vote, Versailles was the only school accepted, and they began competition in the fall of 2001.

(2-7-22) The Midwest Athletic Conference (MAC) in 1999 considered three schools for expansion, at that time they had 8 football schools (9 members with New Knoxville). So why did the MAC add just one school (Versailles) and not two? A known fact is that an uneven number of football members makes scheduling very difficult, an even number makes it so much easier.

Versailles and Lehman Catholic at the time were both members of the Southwestern Rivers Conference (SWRC) which would completely dissolve in 2001.

After the vote a Lehman Catholic school administrator was disappointed and shocked. After all it took some convincing (at the time) from this individual to get Versailles to even consider the move to the MAC.

‘They took them and not us.’

The administrator assumed from previous talks that expansion would also include the Cavaliers. It was also passed on to the administrator that the MAC had decided it was not interested in adding another Catholic school member…leaving them out of the mix.

Move ahead to present day…

As for LCC they continue to look for a conference home, after a short time as a member of the Northwest Conference (NWC) they were asked to leave…they did. Today…since leaving the NWC they are an independent.

Lehman Catholic over the past years have bounced around conference, but this past year they became charter members of the new Three Rivers Conference.

Recently the Three Rivers Athletic Conference (TRAC) had a mass exodus of public schools to the Northern Lakes League (NLL). The departure of those schools left the six Catholic schools out of that mix (plus Lima Senior) and are now searching for answers for the future-

  • Toledo Central Catholic
  • Toledo Notre Dame Academy (Girls)
  • Toledo St. Francis de Sales (Boys)
  • Toledo St. John’s Jesuit (Boys)
  • Toledo St. Ursula Academy (Girls)

Actions taken by high school athletic conferences have not changed much over the last twenty years. Accountability from athletic conferences, as a group, has always been very sketchy. Sharing details of decisions made over the years, including vote counts and minutes (if they even keep them) from meetings is never shared publicly.

The information on the MAC adding Versailles in 1999 came from the digital library of the Mercer County Chronicle (no longer in business) from a member school’s BOE meeting. The lack of communication has not changed, asking a conference or individual school updates on status of membership…sometimes (if any) gets you a polite reply with no details.

Additional Mercer County Chronicle details from 1999 –

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