Click here to read League Shuffling Part 1: The I.V.C. and the P.A.C. 7
Click here to read League Shuffling Part 2: Dover, New Phila, and the E.C.O.L.
Click here to read League Shuffling Part 3: Dover, New Phila, and the N.B.C.
And now, for the (likely) FINAL CHAPTER of League Shuffling…
As stated in Part 3, I think the best fit for Dover and New Philadelphia would be in a two division Northeastern Buckeye Conference, but it could be a tough sell for N.B.C. schools.
One other league option that comes to mind for these Tuscarawas County titans is to head to the land of the giants: the Federal League. Initially, this might seem like a death mission, as the enrollment figures of those Stark County schools are enormous in comparison. But re-creating the league into two divisions makes for an interesting possibility.
Currently the league has seven teams, so at least 3 teams would need to be added to consider a two-division set-up. That is where Louisville would factor in. As described in Part 3, there is currently some discord in the N.B.C. due to Louisville’s dominance in football as well as its larger enrollment. That could possibly lead to the Leopards looking for a new home. Here is how the Federal League might look with these three additions:
**Enrollments are based OHSAA enrollment figures (based on boys grade 9-11 from this past school year). These figures were updated by the OHSAA in the past week, basically removing removing charter school, home school, and online students from the count.
Like the N.B.C., this line-up helps the Federal League ease enrollment discrepancies, primarily for its littlest brother, Lake, as well as its newest addition, Green.
But there are some definite concerns that come to mind:
1. Green has just joined the league after 67 years in the Suburban League. One reason might be to elevate its level of competition against bigger schools. Being dropped down to the smaller division might not be something they want to consider. Lake may not want this as well for the same reason.
2. Dover, New Philadelphia, and Louisville are by far the three smallest schools. That would be challenge enough against just Lake and Green. But cross-over games in the big division might be an unappealing challenge, considering GlenOak and Jackson are pretty much double in size, and newly consolidated McKinley is over triple in size.
I think a match-up against one or two of these big schools would be great as non-league games in their current E.C.O.L. and N.B.C. schedules. But playing these games week in and week out might likely wear out this trio with their smaller enrollments. Just ask the Quakers and Leopards about the difficulties of being the little brothers of the Federal League in the 1980s (and 1990s for the Phila).
Speaking of which, the Federal League expanded to an 11-team, two division set-up for two seasons in the late 1980s. Louisville and Canton South soon left for the N.B.C., while New Phila, Wooster, and Alliance eventually left for smaller conferences that allowed for a much better chance to be successful. That lesson would surely be remembered if a second try at a two-division Federal League is ever considered.
Overall, I think this move should be considered only if the situation arises that New Philadelphia, Dover, and Louisville are all left homeless by their current conferences. Time will tell how all of this shuffling plays out.
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