Football board has an interesting thread on SWMO realignment happenings.
Thread 'BIG 8'
https://mosports.forums.rivals.com/threads/big-8.56650/
Thread 'BIG 8'
https://mosports.forums.rivals.com/threads/big-8.56650/
Conference Realignments!?!?
- Thread starter bigcats05
- Start date
Hollister, Reeds Spring & Springfield Catholic to join Mid-Lakes Conference
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter RELEASE – During a special session Mid-Lakes Conference Meeting on Friday, September 22, 2023, the Mid-Lakes Conference voted in favor or adding Hollister, Springfield Catholic, and Reeds Spring to the Mid-Lakes
www.ozarkssportszone.com
Strafford AD on Sports Talk last night said that was the only three schools joining the Mid Lakes.
I’d be curious to know how skyline feels about the “expansion”… travel times are going to be rough, not to mention the bump up in competition in most sports.
Honestly do they have a choice?
if the other schools are all for it, what does their one dissenting vote matter.
Face it, these realignment deals are all about revenue sharing agreements and TV packages. No one is taking into consideration the tennis player that has to ride a yellow dog from Greene to Dallas county on a fall Tuesday afternoon for a match, only to have to make the long trek home that evening (after stopping at Braum's, of course, for a medium sundae) and then study for a pre-algebra II quiz the next morning.
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No, their 1 vote wouldn’t matter.
I’m just curious if any skyline people on this site know if they;
A) didn’t mind the idea of tougher competitions and the extra travel doesn’t bother them so they are all for it.
Or
B) hate the new expansion, but don’t have any other options so they are going to live with it going forward.
Or..
C) hate it and are going to try real hard to find a new home..
We still need to find out what is going on with Marshfield and log rog. If they don't end up leaving then the Big 8 is still going to have to split into two divisions and I assume crossover?
Skyline looks to be staying in the Mid-Lakes. Saw where they dropped some of their non-conference opponents in football already to make space on the schedule.
If they stay that would put the Big 8 at 11...... (I really think they are gone.)
I doubt you would split into divisions with 11... or they could try to add a 12th then split..(It just feels like them leaving is a done deal)
On another Note; Do you guys like the "BIG8" name staying the same regardless of # of teams (Ala the way it has been with the current 14 team setup)
Or should they go to the "BIG9" or "Other" ??
You guys have a lot more goin on over there than we do in SEMO. I can't recall much shakeup in conferences around around here for many years. We have small schools that have been in the same conference forever and same with the large schools and a few in two conferences in a sport or two.
SEMO's conferences are setup geographically perfect for all-sports and by size in football. They got it right for the most part.
We have more small schools that don't play football over here but it seems to work well for them in other sports too.
I've always thought that some schools in SEMO in two conferences was crazy. Kind of takes the luster off of winning conference when you got two shots at it against many of the same teams.
Also I've always thought that they should blow up the Jefferson County Conference and Mineral Area Conference and form three new conferences -small, medium, and large school. Sure, they currently have large and small school divisions, but seriously how often is the smallest schools going to win conference tournaments. It would really make sense if a couple schools on the outer boundaries like Caledonia would join another conference better suited for them geographically.
Also I've always thought that they should blow up the Jefferson County Conference and Mineral Area Conference and form three new conferences -small, medium, and large school. Sure, they currently have large and small school divisions, but seriously how often is the smallest schools going to win conference tournaments. It would really make sense if a couple schools on the outer boundaries like Caledonia would join another conference better suited for them geographically.
I am so old I remember when Webb Carthage and Neosho were also in the Big 13, I remember playing them. We went thru so many name changes back then with teams coming and going it was crazy. If you look at the name Big 8 it has been around since the early 80's thinking around 81 82, when the Big 14 broke into the Big 6 and Big 8, so your talking 41 years of history under that name. I think just leave it why does the number matter after all this time. And who knows the way things are going we might be revisiting this conference realignment in a few more year.
That is what happened with the GRC. They are now GRC and GRC West, but are two separate conferences.
The Big 13 Conference last year was 81-82. The split was to the Big 8 and the Big 6 but after Memorial closed, beginning in 85-86 school year, the Big 6 became the Southwest Conference and stayed that way through 07-08.
Somebody mentioned earlier about putting West Plains in with other BFE schools and it was that way until 2000-2001 when the South Central Association booted them because of their size. The SCA is one of the oldest conferences in the state.
From the football Board…
An update to what I am hearing.
Branson/CJ officially out of the COC, and West Plains and Bolivar out of the OC. 8 schools left in each conference.
The remaining COC and OC schools will stay separate but they are looking into a partnership for football to fill the two non-conference games. These will be based upon winning percentage, matching up teams who have finished similar in standings in the past. So a team like Neosho can wind up with Hillcrest/Parkview on the schedule, while a team like Webb would get someone like Lebanon/Camdenton. They are still working out the details on this.
Not looking like any kind of a huge rearrangement of the OC and COC. Just a few defectors all starting something new.
Poor CJ and West Plains are going to have some LONG trips in store.
An update to what I am hearing.
Branson/CJ officially out of the COC, and West Plains and Bolivar out of the OC. 8 schools left in each conference.
The remaining COC and OC schools will stay separate but they are looking into a partnership for football to fill the two non-conference games. These will be based upon winning percentage, matching up teams who have finished similar in standings in the past. So a team like Neosho can wind up with Hillcrest/Parkview on the schedule, while a team like Webb would get someone like Lebanon/Camdenton. They are still working out the details on this.
Not looking like any kind of a huge rearrangement of the OC and COC. Just a few defectors all starting something new.
Poor CJ and West Plains are going to have some LONG trips in store.
West plains to CJ?? That has got to be one of the longest conference trips in the entire state??
Any good ideas for Names of the new conference? CJ, Bolivar, Rog, Marsh, WP, Branson??? (Will they add anyone else?)
The only reason CJ went to the COC in 2016 is there wasn't a class 4 football league then.
The old Southwest Inter-High League ran from 1919-1927 then split in two. The big schools were the Southwest Conference 1928-1953 but better known as Big 10 1928-1929. In Dec 1929 Springfield & Joplin were voted out and became Big 8 1930-1953, Big 9 1954-1962 Big 10 1963-1975, Big 13 1976-1978, Big 12 1979-1980, Big 13 1981, & Big 8 1982-. Was going to be Big 14 in 1982 with Joplin Memorial joining but league split with 6 biggest schools becoming the Big 6 1982-1984 and Southwest 1985-2007. A lot more tradition as Big 8 than as Southwest or any other number designation.
