The basketball factor is a real thing. There just isn't as much of a football culture established at any of those schools. Kickapoo and Glendale have been pretty good at times but I don't know that I would say there is a big football culture. People in general care more about winning on the court than the field.
Nixa is the "webb city" of the Springfield area, the district people move to, typically has very high participation in most activities, often loads of athletes, and their fans show up at twice the rate of other schools for every sporting event from football to volleyball, to basketball. That school was ripe for someone to start building a football program and I think Perry is doing that.
I suspect Nixa's increasing interest and success may bleed into other nearby COC schools if not some of the SPS as well in much the same way I credit Webb City for making Carthage and now Joplin what they are. I believe there is plenty of talent in most of those schools to succeed at a higher level than what you see right now.
May or may not be related but I will say that those springfield COC schools other than Willard brought significantly larger crowds to Carthage than I've ever seen before. Big student sections too.
