Having straightened out the nickname situation in the Ozarks (and honestly, you feel better for it don’t you) and with the fall sports season still a little way off, I felt the need to try to take on another project. Inspiration wasn’t too far away as the recent furor over college conferences brought to mind some issues with Ozarks schools and conferences. “What issues?” you ask. Here’s a few.
- Independent schools. Being an independent in the high school ranks is rough. No all conference teams. Much tougher to get support for all-district, all-state, etc. Dead zones in scheduling as well as just a tougher time scheduling. Five Ozarks schools are currently independent. El Dorado Springs, Greenwood, McDonald County, Nevada, and Springfield Central.
- Travel costs. Some conference teams have a lot of ground to cover which runs up high travel costs. And with the current economic environment, that can be brutal. Think West Plains & Rolla in the Ozark Conference, Lamar in the Big 8, or Thayer in SCA.
- Size issues. Looking at the enrollments within some conferences, you see some schools that are too big or small in relation to the rest of the conference, have outgrown the rest of the schools, etc. Carl Junction in the Big 8, and Golden City in the Spring River Valley are examples.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at all the issues that exist starting with the ones I won’t be addressing and why. Then we’ll get to the ones that we’re going to seek to fix.
- Marshfield too big for the COC-Small. The Blue Jays have almost 200 more students than the second biggest school in the conference, Bolivar. But, they also have around 200 students less than the smallest COC-Large school. We’ll leave them for now, but this bears watching.
- Alton too big for the Big Spring. 60% bigger than anyone else. But honestly, there’s just no where else to go.
- Ozark Conference travel. Camdenton, Rolla, and Waynesville we’ll leave alone for competition purposes. West Plains and Joplin will be resolved for other reasons.
- Dixon outgrowing Frisco League. Both Dixon and Licking were well ahead of the rest of the league in the last enrollment cycle. Now Dixon is 50 students ahead of Licking. Another one to watch, but let’s give it another cycle.
- Forsyth too big for SWCL. Almost 50% bigger than Blue Eye and growing. Easy fix if they had football. We’d move them to the COC-Small, but they don’t. They stay for now.
- Salem too big for SCA. Over 40% bigger than #2 Mountain Grove. But all SCA schools lost students in the last enrollment cycle. This is the best fit for them.
- SCA travel for Thayer. They’ve just moved back into the SCA for football. Who are we to question that?
- Hollister, the little brother of the COC-Small. Smallest by far in the conference, but grew more than any other school in the last enrollment cycle. Plus they start varsity football this year. We’ll give them a chance.
And here are the issues we are going to seek to correct.
- Independents. We have a plan for all of them.
- Top and bottom of Big 8. Carl Junction is almost 50% bigger than Cassville, the second biggest school. Lamar is at the bottom, over 20% smaller than Mt. Vernon. We have new homes for them both.
- Joplin outgrowing the Ozark Conference. Yep, they are. Almost 500 students bigger than Kickapoo and growing faster than any school in the Ozarks. Competition wise they’re fine. But I think we can do better.
- Golden City in SRVC without football. Smallest by far and no football. They need somewhere that fits them.
- New Covenant bigger by far in Mark Twain. Even allowing for MSHSAA’s 1.35 multiplier, they’re still 30% bigger than any conference school. They’re staying, but we’re going to make things more interesting.
- Mid-Lakes travel for Marionville. Smallest school in the Mid-Lakes with lots of travel. We’ve got a new home for them.
Alright. Let’s get this party started.
- Nevada. Enrollment 717. More has been written & said about Nevada being independent than any of the other five schools. Popular solutions quoted are being forced into the Big 8, and reforming the Southwest League. The Big 8 option involves a lot of travel but that will be the case with any option that allows Nevada to play comparable schools. But it would also make them easily the second biggest school in a conference that already has size issues so I reject that option. Reforming the Southwest league is interesting. But Nevada would be the smallest school by over 200 students even if you did include Carl Junction. That’s not fair to them either. But I did find a conference that would be a great fit size wise, has excellent competition, and would raise the profile of Nevada. The only downside is it would entail just as much travel as the Big 8. Overall, I think it’s the best choice for them. The Missouri River Valley Conference West. Inhabitants? Grain Valley, Excelsior Springs, Harrisonville, Odessa, Oak Grove, and Pleasant Hill. Nevada would be fourth in size, and would have some great competition in a number of sports.
- McDonald County. Enrollment 1,054. Existing in the extreme SW corner of the state and being the size they are leaves us no choice in order to find a conference for the Mustangs. They’re far too big for the Big 8. Travel for the COC-Large or Ozark Conference would be impossible to absorb. So, we reform the Southwest League. McDonald County, Neosho, Carthage, and Webb City. But now watch as I kill a couple of other birds with this stone. Let’s add in Carl Junction, enrollment 948. They would be the smallest school in the league, but they’re growing while Carthage, Neosho, and Webb lost students in this cycle. And now let’s throw in Joplin. Enrollment 2,223. I know what you’re saying. How can I add one of the largest schools in Missouri to a conference of schools with between 1,250 and 950 students? Easy. We’re going back to two high schools in Joplin. We’ll bring back Joplin Memorial and Parkwood, divide them as evenly as possible, and we end up with a seven team conference that should be excellent. Strong top tier, growing lower tier, built in rivalries, lighter travel. I love this move.
- El Dorado Springs. Enrollment 363. They have a similar problem to Nevada in that they’ll have to travel to find comparable schools. Their nearest leagues are the WEMO, SRVC, and Polk County but they dwarf almost all of the schools in those three. They’re too small for the Big 8 and the travel would be terrible. We’ll send them to the closest conference that fits their size, the Mid-Lakes. They would become the biggest school there, but not by a huge amount. And I think they would fit in great from a competition standpoint.
- Greenwood. Enrollment 142. This is actually a pretty easy move. From an athletic standpoint, they fit in pretty well in the Mark Twain. Except for soccer and they are playing an independent schedule already. It also takes care of the big bully syndrome for New Covenant, their natural rival.
- Springfield Central. Enrollment 1,509. The Bulldogs have finally got out of the football district with the Kansas City schools, now it’s time to get them back where they belong. Among their Springfield brethren in the Ozark Conference. Although football is still struggling, other sports have become more competitive in recent years including tennis, swimming, and both boys and girls basketball. And they would replace Joplin when they move to the Southwest. Perfect.
Now that the independents are taken care of, let’s tidy up on the rest of our issues.
- West Plains. Enrollment 1221. Having moved Carthage, Neosho, and Webb City back to the Southwest, the COC-Large becomes a five team league. Can’t have that. West Plains is a perfect fit. Their size is perfect. Their level of competition is perfect. And it would reduce their travel tremendously. As well as reducing travel for the other 5 members. Perfect.
- The Big 8. We’ve got rid of the big and small problem by moving Carl Junction and Lamar. But now the Big 8 is the Big 6. We need the Big 8 around so let’s add a couple of teams here. First is Springfield Catholic. Enrollment 441. Very familiar opponent to all the remaining conference teams except Seneca so they’re a natural. And they bring good competition to the table. My other choice isn’t so natural. It’s Strafford. Enrollment 408. That would make them the smallest school in the conference, but they grew by over 22% in this enrollment cycle. With adding El Dorado and Lamar to the Mid-Lakes, it now has ten teams so moving Strafford brings them closer to a natural eight also. More traveling for the Indians, but with good scheduling and the addition of Catholic, it would be less than you think. The only downside would be having two Indian teams in the conference.
- Marionville. Enrollment 225. The Mid-Lakes still has nine teams, Marionville is the smallest school, and creates excess travel all the way around. We’re moving them to the Spring River. Excellent fit for rivalries, location, and size. Who can’t like a football conference with Marionville, Miller, Pierce City, Greenfield, Lockwood, etc. It’s like a class 1 Big 8.
- Golden City. Enrollment 83. Totally misplaced in the Spring River, the Mark Twain is a good fit for them. They would be middle of the pack in size, and have similar sports. Travel wouldn’t be bad either.
So where does that leave us at? Let’s review.
- Big 8 – Aurora, Cassville, East Newton, Monett, Mt. Vernon, Seneca, Springfield Catholic, Strafford
- Losing CJ & Lamar is not a huge loss. And adding Catholic and an on the rise Strafford makes up for it.
- COC Large – Branson, Nixa, Ozark, Republic, West Plains, Willard
- The conference that loses the most by far here. Especially in competition and prestige. But the travel was just too much.
- COC Small – Bolivar, Buffalo, Hollister, Marshfield, Reeds Springs, Rogersville
- They “take one for the team” with the loss of Catholic.
- Mark Twain – Chadwick, Everton, Golden City, Greenwood, Hurley, New Covenant, Niangua
- More balance, depth, and competition. A big win for the little Mark Twain.
- Mid-Lakes – Ash Grove, El Dorado Springs, Fair Grove, Lamar, Morrisville, Pleasant Hope, Skyline, Stockton
- Loses some football history, but picks up a couple of schools with real possibilities.
- MRVC West – Excelsior Springs, Grain Valley, Harrisonville, Nevada, Oak Grove, Odessa, Pleasant Hill
- Travel is a given to place Nevada in a conference. This would give them a big lift in exposure and competition.
- Ozark Conference – Camdenton, Glendale, Hillcrest, Kickapoo, Lebanon, Parkview, Rolla, Springfield Central, Waynesville
- Less travel, still a good level of competition, and Central in a conference with the other big Springfield schools. That works.
- Southwest – Carthage, Carl Junction, Joplin Memorial, McDonald County, Neosho, Parkwood, Webb City
- I love this. I think there’s real potential for a great league here. But I can’t see Webb, Neosho, and Carthage leaving the COC.
- Spring River Valley – College Heights, Diamond, Greenfield, Jasper, Liberal, Lockwood, Marionville, Miller, Pierce City, Sarcoxie
- Golden City for Marionville trade brings another football school, and some natural rivalries. Nice.
That’s not bad. The OC having nine teams bugs me. As does the Spring River having ten. But for Rolla to find a comparable conference, they’d have to go to St. Louis. And with Joplin and West Plains in other leagues, their travel decreases. If you’re not caught up in Springfield teams being together, you could move Hillcrest to the COC-Large, move Marshfield up to make an eight team league, then Forsyth could add football and move into a more balanced COC-Small. Everton and Lockwood are both a bit undersized for their conferences. But that’s about the best that can be done without drastically increasing travel.
Some of these moves I love. With the growth in the Joplin area, I think a reconstructed Southwest League would be phenomenal. But Carthage, Neosho, and Webb City probably love the Springfield exposure they get. I do think the Ozark Conference needs to change because the travel for Joplin, Rolla, and West Plains is horrible. It’s not much better for Camdenton and Waynesville. The Nevada, Lamar, El Dorado Springs, Catholic, and Strafford moves aren’t ideal. But I think they fit better than other alternatives.
A totally off the wall wild card that could really make things interesting would be if 8-man football ever caught on in the area. Currently 54 schools in the area qualify to field 8-man teams, meaning they have an enrollment of 200 or less. Of those, only 12 field 11-man teams. 42 schools fall in the prime 8-man area of 75 to 175 students. That includes the entire White River Conference, as well as most of the Polk County League, Ozark 7, Big Spring, and Mark Twain conferences. You can see the potential impact on conference affiliations if 8-man teams began to emerge. Just some fun food for thought.
Well, there you go. My common sense approach to Ozarks conferences. Will I be prophetic, or pathetic? Only time will tell and by then this article will be buried under a few thousand more. But rest assured, in fine American tradition, I’ll dredge it back up if I’m right, and destroy it if I’m wrong.
