Northwest Conference (after Ada leaves for BVC) – Allen East, Bluffton, Crestview, Columbus Grove, Delphos Jefferson, Leipsic, Lincolnview (no football) and Spencerville

(4-27-23) Last night the Northwest Conference (NWC) lost a long-time member when Ada’s BOE approved a move to the Blanchard Valley Conference Conference (BVC). With that move the NWC will have eight remaining members, seven of them play football.

The ‘domino effect‘ of recent area athletic conference changes could be starting again. The last member to leave the NWC was Paulding who left for the Green Meadows Conference (GMC). The newest NWC addition, who came from the BVC, was Leipsic. During all of this Liberty-Benton was politely asked to leave the BVC…plus several other changes including moves by member schools to the Northwest Central Conference (NWCC).

An uneven number of football schools is a problem for any league…so look for the BVC to add at lest one new football member.

Makes the most sense

Lima Central Catholic (LCC) will be the fastest addition and would also stop any dominoes from falling. BUT…if you remember the T-Birds were asked several years ago to leave the NWC after dominating several of the conference sports. The other factor they are a private school and in the past that has been another issue. But it makes the most sense…but making sense doesn’t always rule in a decision like this.

Who could benefit from a change

Parkway, which has a portion of its school district in Van Wert County, could benefit the most from any area school. The Panthers over the years have been very competitive with NWC schools. There are many positives for Parkway to remain in the very tough Midwest Athletic Conference (MAC), plus they are a charter member. One sore point over the years has been football, which the MAC is best known for around the state for the state trophies they all have. But the Panthers’ heart may overrule their heads…the MAC teams travel pretty well.

List of schools that might fit in the NWC

Wayne Trace might consider an offer and would fit into the geographic foot print.

Ft. Loramie, still an independent, would be happy to listen to the NWC. It might be only for football, but it would solve both sides problem. The Redskins are members of the Shelby County League in other sports.

Perry, a former of the NWC, helped to start the NWCC and was a charter member. During their time in NWCC they have seen constant changes…might be time to settle down for the Comodores.

Two Western Buckeye League (WBL) schools might at least consider a move…Kenton and Bath. Both schools, outside of league play,they now compete against more schools in the area then they both did in the past.

With the school year getting closer to the summer break, the move by the NWC might be held off until the next school year.

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