UPDATED: 3-29-25

The demise of the new conference started in February…

From Columbus Dispatch – 2-17-25

DeSales, Hartley and Watterson remain in the fledgling Ohio Catholic Athletic Conference with Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit and Youngstown Ursuline, but Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, Cleveland Villa Angela-St. Joseph and Youngstown Mooney have backed out.

In backing out,DeSales assistant principal Jim Jones said that Mooney, STVM and VASJ “cited concerns over cost and travel,”

“All (of this) happened within the last month. We’re working through things, seeing what we can do, just trying to make sure we can get off the ground and get things running. We have five teams very much wanting to do this, but we have to make sure that it’s sustainable.”

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

(7-9-24) The Ohio Catholic Athletic Conference (OCAC) will debut its inaugural season in the fall of 2026 with competition in varsity football only. The conference will initially compete in football only, but future plans will include all Ohio High School Athletic Association sanctioned sports.

Charter members include—

  • Columbus schools – DeSales, Hartley and Watterson, while St. Charles declined to join the new conference
  • Cleveland area – Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, Cleveland Villa Angela St. Joseph and Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit
  • Youngstown Cardinal Mooney and Youngstown Ursuline.

The conference will include all sports in the fall of 2027 as bylaws for the league are being written this summer.

Over the years in Ohio private schools and public schools have had issues on several different fronts. Recently Toledo catholic schools were left without a conference when public schools in the Three Rivers Athletic Conference (TRAC) left the conference…forcing the catholic schools to join a Detroit, Michigan area Catholic conference.

According to a Toledo Blade story the Toledo Catholic schools were not contacted about the new league.

Toledo St. John’s Jesuit athletic director Bob Ronai told the Blade –

“They never contacted us. It wasn’t on our radar. But that doesn’t surprise me. They had a set number of schools.”

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