by SSN’s Dave Schmidt

(12-20-25) Let’s face it times have changed drastically in Ohio high school athletics. One recent change includes the NIL ammendment- OHSAA Member Schools Pass NIL Referendum Proposal  – that now allows athletes to earn financial compensation for playing in sports. OHSAA tournaments have seen divisions added…we now have seven in football and basketball. Over the years girls sports have exploded…the addition of flag football and wrestling in recent days.

Open enrollment, vouchers, relaxed transfer rules have changed the landscape.

50 years ago Western Buckeye League (WBL) schools, Celina, Wapakoneta and St. Marys competed very rarely with Mercer and Auglaize County schools. Push the way back machine to present day and that has changed how those schools schedule.

Below is this year’s schedules of the three WBL schools in boys and girls basketball as an example.

Most will laugh the idea off of even considering a new athletic conference that features the WBL and Midwest Athletic Conference (MAC) Mercer and Auglazie County schools.

Let’s face it the ‘three big boy‘ schools are having troubles in recent years competing with the ‘farm kids‘ schools.

Benefits for every school include…travel time and transportation costs would be cut down…the three WBL schools would benefit from gains in attendance.

You can hear it now...’we’ve never done it that way before’. In this fast changing world…at least do the research on what this could mean for every school…you might be surprised that this might just work.