Conference Reorganization

[LooseCannon]

Thoughts on some conference reorganization in Nebraska? With the landscaping changing with school co-ops, consolidations, population shifts and more. I think there should be some reorganization throughout the state. Thoughts on this list?

*New School
**New Conference

Capitol Conference: (13 teams)
Raymond Central
Syracuse
Logan View
Arlington
Fort Calhoun
Syracuse
Conestoga
Yutan
Louisville
NBC*
Auburn*
Malcolm*
Falls City*

Centennial Conference: (10 teams)
Aquinas Catholic
Archbishop Bergan
Bishop Neumann
Boys Town
Columbus Scotus
GICC
Hastings St. Cecilia
Kearney Catholic
Lincoln Christian
Lincoln Lutheran

Central Conference: (8 teams)
Adams Central
Columbus Lakeview
Schuyler
Seward
York
Aurora
Crete
Northwest

Crossroads Conference (13 teams, this could dwindle down in 5-10 years with co-ops/consolidations)
Cross County
Dorchester
Exeter-Milligan
Giltner
Hampton
High Plains
McCook Junction
Nebraska Lutheran
Osceola
Shelby-Rising City
East Butler
Heartland*
Friend*

East Husker Conference (13 teams)
Clarkson-Leigh
Howells-Dodge
Humphrey-LHF
Bancroft-Rosalie
Oakland-Craig
Pender
Stanton
Tekamah-Herman
Twin River
Wisner-Pilger
Lyons-Decatur
Madison
Guardian Angels Central Catholic*

Eastern Midlands (5 teams)
Elkhorn
Elkhorn North
Norris
Waverly
Bennington

Fort Kearny (11 teams)
Ansley-Litchfield
Amherst
Axtell
Bertrand
Elm Creek
Loomis
Overton
Pleasanton
SEM
Wilcox-Hildreth
Ravenna*

Frontier Conference (10 teams)**
College View Academy
Elmwood-Murdock
Johnson Country Central
Mead
Parkview Christian
Weeping Water
Cedar Bluffs
Cornerstone Christian
Omaha Brownell-Talbot
Omaha Christian Academy

Goldenrod Conference (11 teams)
Burwell
Central Valley
Elba
Fullerton
Heartland Lutheran
Humphrey St. Francis
Nebraska Christian
Palmer
Riverside
Spalding Academy
St. Edward

Heartland Conference (8 teams)
Fremont
Grand Island
Kearney
Norfolk
Columbus
South Sioux City*
North Platte*
Hastings*


Lewis & Clark Conference (12 teams)
Allen-Emerson-Hubbard
Hartington-Newcastle
Homer
Laurel-Concord-Coleridge
Ponca
Randolph
Wakefield
Walthill
Winnebago
Winside
Wynot
Omaha Nation*

Lou Platte Conference (8 teams)
Central City
Centura
Doniphan-Trumbull
Gibbon
Loup City-Arcadia
Ord
St. Paul
Wood River-Shelton*

Metro Conference (14 teams)
Bellevue East
Bellevue West
Creighton Prep
Omaha Benson
Omaha Bryan
Omaha Burke
Omaha Central
Omaha Marian
Omaha North
Omaha Northwest
Omaha South
Omaha Westside
OPS 156th and Ida*
OPS 60th Street*

Mid-Nebraska Athletic Conference (10 teams)
Anselmo-Merna
Arthur County
Cody-Kilgore
Hyannis
Sandhills Valley
Mullen
Sandhills-Thedford
South Loup
Brady
Twin Loup

Mid-State Conference (9 teams)
Battle Creek
Boone Central
Crofton
Hartington Cedar Catholic
Norfolk Catholic
O'Neill
Pierce
Wayne
West Point-Beemer*

Minuteman Conference (9 teams)
Banner County
Creek Valley
Garden County
Leyton
Minatare
Potter-Dix
South Platte
Kimball*
Bayard*

Niobrara Valley Conference (13 teams, steals teams from the Lewis and Clark)
Bloomfield*
Wausa*
Osmond*
Creighton*
Elgin-Elgin PJ
Elkhorn Valley
Neligh-Oakdale
Niobrara-Verdigre
Santee
Summerland
Lutheran High Northeast
Plainview*

Northern Nebraska Conference (8 teams)**
West Holt
Chambers/Wheeler Central
Stuart
St. Mary’s
North Central
Boyd County
Ainsworth
Valentine

Omaha Christian Conference (7 teams)
Mt. Michael
Omaha Duchesne
Omaha Gross
Omaha Mercy
Omaha Roncalli
Omaha Skutt
Omaha Concordia*

Panhandle Conference (6 teams)
Hay Springs
Sioux County
Crawford
Hemingford
Gordon-Rushville*
Morril*

Pioneer Conference (10 teams)
HTRS
Johnson-Brock
Lourdes CC
Southern
Tri-County
Diller-Odell
FCSH
Lewiston
Pawnee City
Sterling


RPAC Conference (14 teams)
Arapahoe
Elwood-Eustis-Farnam (Hi-Line)
Hayes Center-Maywood
Hitchcock County
Maxwell
Med Valley
Paxton
Wallace
Wauneta-Palisade
Alma
Cambridge
Dundy County-Stratton
Southern Valley
Southwest

South Platte Valley Association Conference (7 teams)
Chase County
NPSP
Perkins County
Sutherland
Hershey
Bridgeport
Mitchell*

Southern Nebraska Conference (10 teams)
Centennial
David City
Fillmore Central
Milford
Sandy Creek
Superior
Sutton
Wilber-Clatonia
Fairbury
Freeman*

Southwest Conference (8 teams)
Broken Bow
Cozad
Ogalalla
Gothenburg
Minden
McCook
Holdrege*
Lexington*

Star City Conference (9 teams)
Lincoln East
Lincoln High
Lincoln North Star
Lincoln Northeast
Lincoln Southeast
Lincoln Southwest
Lincoln Pius
Lincoln Airpark (LPS West)*
Lincoln Prairie (LPS South)*

Suburbs Conference (8 teams)**
Papillon La-Vista
Papillon La-Vista South
Millard North
Millard South
Millard West
Elkhorn South
Gretna
Gretna HS #2

Trailblazer Conference (9 teams)
Beatrice
Nebraska City
Platteview
Plattsmouth
Ralston
Wahoo
Ashland-Greenwood*
Blair*
DC West*

Twin Valley Conference (11 teams)
Deshler
Franklin
Harvard
Lawrence-Nelson
Red Cloud
Silver Lake
Blue Hill
Kenesaw
Thayer Central*
BDS*
Meridian*

Western Conference (5 teams)
Alliance
Chadron
Gering
Sidney
Scottsbluff

 

[hailvictors2]

I would love to see the Metro Conf get broken into 2. I didn't see Gretna (plus Gretna 2), Papio, PLV South, Mill No-SO-West, or Elk South on your list. The Metro conference is huge right now.

 

[LooseCannon]

I would love to see the Metro Conf get broken into 2. I didn't see Gretna (plus Gretna 2), Papio, PLV South, Mill No-SO-West, or Elk South on your list. The Metro conference is huge right now.

Ahh you are right! Sorry this took a long time to type up, I knew I would forget someone. I added them now; the Suburbs conference.

 

[GrizzzlyPanda]

I know there are some schools that are going to be miss fits regardless of what you do when it comes to conference alignment, and that can't be more true for anyone other than Valentine. Used to be in the Range Land conference and then the member schools got too small and the conference dissolved. They then have been a part of the Southwest conference since then and they are not a good fit in that conference logistically at all, but do fit in with the basis of school size. I like the proposal you make with the creation of a new North East Nebraska conference, but I struggle to see Valentine, a good sized C1 school, competing in a conference with pretty much all D1 and D2 teams with the exception of Ainsworth.

 

[Llama57]

Love the thinking! I can't see S Sioux & N Platte in a conference together though. SSC is in a bad spot with their size & location.

One other I'd like to see is Lakeview in the Mid-State making it a 10 team league.

Good job!

 

[saluno22]

Love the thinking! I can't see S Sioux & N Platte in a conference together though. SSC is in a bad spot with their size & location.

One other I'd like to see is Lakeview in the Mid-State making it a 10 team league.

Good job!

I agree with the size/location issue with South Sioux City. I wonder if they would consider joining a conference in Iowa of similarly-sized schools? I know Council Bluffs St. Albert used to do that with the Centennial Conference in Nebraska before joining their current Iowa conference.

 

[PowerTfootball]

Falls City in the Capitol makes no sense. It would make more sense for Auburn and Falls City to be in the Southern one with Fairbury and everyone else.

 

[LooseCannon]

Love the thinking! I can't see S Sioux & N Platte in a conference together though. SSC is in a bad spot with their size & location.

One other I'd like to see is Lakeview in the Mid-State making it a 10 team league.

Good job!

Thanks, South Sioux is just in such a tough spot. I feel like they fit the demographics of the communities of Fremont, Norfolk, Columbus, Hastings etc. Maybe they have an East and West division. And only play the west schools one time? No matter what league they go in, they will have to travel.

 

[LooseCannon]

Falls City in the Capitol makes no sense. It would make more sense for Auburn and Falls City to be in the Southern one with Fairbury and everyone else.

Capitol Conference: (Majority of schools are the same size)
Falls City to Auburn: 35 miles
Falls City to Syracuse: 72 miles
Falls City to Conestoga: 76 miles
Falls City to Louisville: 93 miles
Falls City to Fort Calhoun: 114 miles
Falls City to Malcolm: 116 miles
Falls City to Raymond Central: 123 miles
Falls City to Yutan: 125 miles
Falls City to Arlington: 133 miles
Falls City to North Bend: 153 miles
Falls City to Logan View: 157 miles

Southern Nebraska: (Majority of schools are C2 or smaller C1)
Falls City to Freeman: 78 miles
Falls City to Fairbury: 98 miles
Falls City to Wilber-Clatonia: 98 miles
Falls City to Milford: 124 miles
Falls City to Fillmore Central: 135 miles
Falls City to Centennial: 142 miles
Falls City to Superior: 149 miles
Falls City to David City: 153 miles
Falls City to Sutton: 154 miles
Falls City to Sandy Creek: 156 miles

 

[LooseCannon]

I know there are some schools that are going to be miss fits regardless of what you do when it comes to conference alignment, and that can't be more true for anyone other than Valentine. Used to be in the Range Land conference and then the member schools got too small and the conference dissolved. They then have been a part of the Southwest conference since then and they are not a good fit in that conference logistically at all, but do fit in with the basis of school size. I like the proposal you make with the creation of a new North East Nebraska conference, but I struggle to see Valentine, a good sized C1 school, competing in a conference with pretty much all D1 and D2 teams with the exception of Ainsworth.

I just think they don't really have another option. Ainsworth definitely does not fit in with Southwest Conference anymore. I think where Ainsworth goes, Valentine follows. You could make the argument a few of those smaller schools could have played with or beat Valentine. (CWC, North Central girls basketball) for example.

 

[highschoolfootballnut]

Capitol Conference: (Majority of schools are the same size)
Falls City to Auburn: 35 miles
Falls City to Syracuse: 72 miles
Falls City to Conestoga: 76 miles
Falls City to Louisville: 93 miles
Falls City to Fort Calhoun: 114 miles
Falls City to Malcolm: 116 miles
Falls City to Raymond Central: 123 miles
Falls City to Yutan: 125 miles
Falls City to Arlington: 133 miles
Falls City to North Bend: 153 miles
Falls City to Logan View: 157 miles

Southern Nebraska: (Majority of schools are C2 or smaller C1)
Falls City to Freeman: 78 miles
Falls City to Fairbury: 98 miles
Falls City to Wilber-Clatonia: 98 miles
Falls City to Milford: 124 miles
Falls City to Fillmore Central: 135 miles
Falls City to Centennial: 142 miles
Falls City to Superior: 149 miles
Falls City to David City: 153 miles
Falls City to Sutton: 154 miles
Falls City to Sandy Creek: 156 miles

seems to make a lot of sense

 

[LooseCannon]

Made a switch. Swapped Bertrand to the FKC for Hi-Line in the RPAC.

 

[nenebskers]

I've always thought that Crofton and Hartington CC were more of a long term fit with the larger Lewis and Clark schools because of geographic reasons and just future enrollments. The L&C is too large currently to take anyone else in.

I'm not a fan of the mega sized Conferences and would like to see the L&C break apart to some degree and add a few of the smaller Mid-States and East Husker schools in the mix. Form something along the lines of Crofton, Cedar, Ponca, Laurel, Pender, Bago, Stanton, GACC, Wisner-Pilger, and LHNE. BRLD would have been a great fit previously. If Hartington Public and Wynot ever cooped throw them into the mix as well. There are so many schools in the area that jump back and forth from D1 to C2 but have a hard time staying firmly planted in C2.

Winnebago is a school that just keeps growing. They jumped up to C1 a few years back and with their current elementary numbers it looks like they will be a C1 for many years to come, not even close to C2 for the next 10-15 years.

Also, I agree that Columbus Lakeview and West Point Beemer makes sense in the Mid-States.

 

[PowerTfootball]

I guess you got me with the mileage. No rebuttal.

 

[GrizzzlyPanda]

I just think they don't really have another option. Ainsworth definitely does not fit in with Southwest Conference anymore. I think where Ainsworth goes, Valentine follows. You could make the argument a few of those smaller schools could have played with or beat Valentine. (CWC, North Central girls basketball) for example.

Oh I definitely agree that Ainsworth does not fit in the Southwest at all especially based off of enrollment. Also yes all the schools proposed in the new North East conference would have beaten Valentine in girls and boys basketball with the exception of probably CWC boys. Being in a conference that Valentine can be competitive in has never been part of their discussion when looking to switch I can tell you that.

 

[LooseCannon]

I've always thought that Crofton and Hartington CC were more of a long term fit with the larger Lewis and Clark schools because of geographic reasons and just future enrollments. The L&C is too large currently to take anyone else in.

I'm not a fan of the mega sized Conferences and would like to see the L&C break apart to some degree and add a few of the smaller Mid-States and East Husker schools in the mix. Form something along the lines of Crofton, Cedar, Ponca, Laurel, Pender, Bago, Stanton, GACC, Wisner-Pilger, and LHNE. BRLD would have been a great fit previously. If Hartington Public and Wynot ever cooped throw them into the mix as well. There are so many schools in the area that jump back and forth from D1 to C2 but have a hard time staying firmly planted in C2.

Winnebago is a school that just keeps growing. They jumped up to C1 a few years back and with their current elementary numbers it looks like they will be a C1 for many years to come, not even close to C2 for the next 10-15 years.

Also, I agree that Columbus Lakeview and West Point Beemer makes sense in the Mid-States.

There are so many schools north of Fremont and east of Norfolk that need to consolidate to form C1-C2 sized schools IMO.

I don't think Lakeview will ever leave the Central (I don't think I would have said that 10 years ago). They fit that conference pretty well demographically and their enrollment will always be at the top of C1. Very similar to Hastings Adams Central.

 

[ACICOD]

What'd you do with Creighton?

I don't know if Omaha Nation gets in the Lewis and Clark. They're currently 0-for-2 on that front when applying.

 

[LooseCannon]

What'd you do with Creighton?

I don't know if Omaha Nation gets in the Lewis and Clark. They're currently 0-for-2 on that front when applying.

Forgot about them thanks for the catch. They would be in the new Niobrara Valley league that would now be a 13 team league. Unless LHNE moved to the Mid-State which I can't see happening, because it probably would have happened by now right?

It's odd to me Omaha Nation doesn't get in to the L&C. Their schedule is all over the place.

 

[Bubman86]

Made a switch. Swapped Bertrand to the FKC for Hi-Line in the RPAC.

I like that move. I also think Alma in the FKC makes sense.