Gallipolis reportedly headed to OVC

[courier]

The SOC II needs another team....unless Oak Hill moves up... :12224 I like the addition of Jackson into the SOC II...

[moonshine]

It was just a matter of time until the ship sunk! Look for Logan to be accepted into the MSL within 2-4 years if not sooner! Our Supt. has been working behind the scenes on this for the last few years!

[niholly]

Jackson wouldn't be accepted into the SOC II. If Portsmouth wasn't accepted there's no way Jackson would be. Honestly for Jackson I do believe if it comes to it you'll see them as an independent. TVC already has one team that shouldn't be in there with Athens they're not going to allow, nor do I think Jackson would even apply, another team to run all over them.

[moonshine]

Jackson to the SCOL?

[courier]

I know it wouldn't happen and it was total b.s. Portsmouth wasn't allowed to join...for some the Trojans made that bed over 30 years ago..

[maniac66]

I called this a few years back and wouldn't be surprised to see Jackson join to and for the powers to be look to add a smaller team and make 2 divisions.
DIV 1
Gallia
Ironton
Portsmouth
Fairland
Jackson

DIV 2
Coal Grove
Chesapeake
South Point
Rock Hill
Symmes Valley ????????
And before you laugh S.V. was a member of the OVC at onetime.
Raceland would be a great addition to if it didn't interfere with their district scheduling

[Orange and Brown]

It was just a matter of time until the ship sunk! Look for Logan to be accepted into the MSL within 2-4 years if not sooner! Our Supt. has been working behind the scenes on this for the last few years!

3rd times a charm lol

[Orange and Brown]

Jackson wouldn't be accepted into the SOC II. If Portsmouth wasn't accepted there's no way Jackson would be. Honestly for Jackson I do believe if it comes to it you'll see them as an independent. TVC already has one team that shouldn't be in there with Athens they're not going to allow, nor do I think Jackson would even apply, another team to run all over them.

Jackson has no shot of getting in the TVC, they have tried twice (once on their own, and with the whole remaining SEOAL last year) and failed.

Warren has a very small chance, but it's slim to none IMO.....

I think Jackson would do well as an independent for the next couple years.

[Da Bears]

I will say it again to some posters dislike . . . I have a personal friend that is a TVC Ohio AD. He told me when all this SEOAL to combine with the TVC thing was going around, that it won't happen and it won't be a close vote. It wasn't. Jackson will not be voted in the TVC. He told me that the AD's, principals, and superintendents are in agreement and like the league the way it is. Especially since they added River Valley. Funny thing is, only SEOAL people seem to like this idea. They come up with all these different divisions, ideas, etc. I haven't heard one TVC member say that they would like to make changes to the league. If Gallia does go, the rest of the SEOAL will be in a mess in 2 years. Imagine those baseball and basketball schedules.

[Game day]

How the OVC should look once Gallia joins

DIV 1
Gallia
Ironton
Portsmouth
Fairland

DIV 2
Coal Grove
Chesapeake
South Point
Rock Hill

This way Ironton fans won't cry about all the conference games that won't help with playoffs.

All I can say Fairland, Rock Hill and South Point better make some changes quick or all of them will be fighting for the bottom spot.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

Bye bye SEOAL......
I bet Jackson ends up in the OVC as well.

Warren may have a very small shot at the TVC but don't hold your breath.

I've said for some time I see Jackson and gallipolis coming to the ovc. that would certainly help the cause. and definitely strengthen the league. I have so many friends from the French city that say they'd never leave the seoal. and they held on longer than I expected. it was just a matter of time, just like the landscape in college football, the high school teams are on the move as well.the seoal has been on shifting sands for many moons.nobody really expected it to thrive, just too, too spread out.

I see Jackson as a much harder team to attain in the ovc because of the size diiference. ironton missed d6 by 2 players. and Jackson is a large d3. I have no problems with it myself, and geographically it makes great sence. but I see them being an odd man out because of size.which could leave them in the situation ironton was in as an indep. team, struggling to find games, and having to play much larger schools to get games. but I tell you, revenue wise it would be a big add, but if the other teams of the ovc don't come around to the level of the teams being added. the ovc will be dominated by the more successful programs. I just hope it ain't too much too fast.

[doubleplay643]

I see Jackson as a much harder team to attain in the ovc because of the size diiference. ironton missed d6 by 2 players. and Jackson is a large d3. I have no problems with it myself, and geographically it makes great sence. but I see them being an odd man out because of size.which could leave them in the situation ironton was in as an indep. team, struggling to find games, and having to play much larger schools to get games. but I tell you, revenue wise it would be a big add, but if the other teams of the ovc don't come around to the level of the teams being added. the ovc will be dominated by the more successful programs. I just hope it ain't too much too fast.

Actually YTB we are on the small size of D3. Range is 281-402 and we are either right over 300 or right under 300 I can never remember.

I am not sure OVC is a good fit for us honestly, probably SOC II would be better but I don't think that will happen. SEOAL has a year to find a couple members prior to Gallipolis departure in 2016...but looks like we may have to give the independent route a shot for a while until we can land somewhere which is unfortunate, be very hard to schedule and I think the kids have always enjoyed being affiliated in league play and league championships and awards.

Tough news to hear very disappointing, but will need to make best of it and I am sure those remaining will try to do that.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

thanks for that information.

[YOU'RE TIGER BAIT]

I hate to say this, but with the economy , fuel prices, feeding the whole bunch. and the geographics of the seoal it was just bound to happen. what a long and storied league. I remember this league thriving for decades. sad to see.

[osumufan]

I know South Point has been playing Gallipolis in most sports in Middle school for at least 6 years. They have been plying other teams in the OVC as well. So I knew this was coming down the pike.

[greyhoundsbob]

The SEOAL minus Logan(who should be in the MSL) and the TVC Ohio should have combined to form a 10 team 2 division league a few years ago.

Jackson
Athens
Warren
Vinton County
Gallia Academy

Meigs
Wellston
River Valley
Alexander
Nelsonville York

I can't see how this wouldn't have been a win win for everyone involved in travel and gates. Oh well, this is what everyone wanted. The oldest league in southeastern Ohio is gone. The TVC schools can now smile forever with glee at the SEOAL's downfall and of course, Congratulations Athens! Mission accomplished, the SEOAL is Dead. :aaaaa41 :aaaaa41 :aaaaa41

[Poo Bear]

The seoal may die but jackson football is alive and well, whoever we play will have their hands full for a few years

[superblue]

The SEOAL more or less killed itself a few years ago. Not saying Ironton was a bad addition but the Tigers were complaining about the travel distance before they even joined.... Then adding Zanesville. What were they thinking about? They needed to add area teams or try and join another league.... Time to let the SEOAL RIP... Move on to better and bigger things.....

[Manwithplan]

How the OVC should look once Gallia joins

DIV 1
Gallia
Ironton
Portsmouth
Fairland

DIV 2
Coal Grove
Chesapeake
South Point
Rock Hill

This way Ironton fans won't cry about all the conference games that won't help with playoffs.

All I can say Fairland, Rock Hill and South Point better make some changes quick or all of them will be fighting for the bottom spot.

Fight for the bottom spot? No need to do that, Rock Hill owns it.

[NYBuckeye96]

I don't think Athens killed the SEOAL. When Athens left, there were still 9 teams remaining. Instead, I think the original expansion to the extreme corners of southeast Ohio is what killed the SEOAL. I always questioned the common sense of that move since it happened. When you add in long bus rides to Zanesville, Chillicothe, Portsmouth and Ironton, that doesn't make much sense. I think Athens was going to go to the TVC regardless, but that expansion made no sense at all.

While that expansion was a mistake, not expanding to two divisions and turning down schools in the 1960s was a huge mistake as well. I believe Vinton County applied to the SEOAL at the time it consolidated and was turned down. Instead, the SEOAL should have jumped on adding the newly consolidated schools that founded the TVC --- Vinton County, Warren, Federal Hocking and Belpre. That would have prevented the TVC from forming in the first place. With the new schools, the SEOAL could have broken up into two divisions based on school size. This means Nelsonville-York would have had no reason to leave in 1970. Neither would Wellston in 1982 or Meigs in 1983. The TVC and SEOAL more or less covered the same geographic territory ---- the TVC ended up with all the schools in the middle of that territory, while the SEOAL ended up with the schools on the extreme outskirts of that territory.

If the SEOAL had the foresight to do what other conferences in Ohio such as the OCC, MSL, etc. did decades ago, they would have created divisions of teams in the same geographical area. Instead, the TVC formed out of necessity because some schools had no where to go when the SEOAL turned them down. This gradually let the TVC grow over the decades. A super conference of multiple teams in a few counties is much different than the super conference the SEOAL tried to create in the last decade by reaching to the outskirts of Zanesville, Chillicothe, Portsmouth and Ironton.

You could have had this in the late 1960s as the SEOAL:

Division 1
Athens
Logan
Gallia Academy
Jackson
Warren
Marietta (I'm assuming they would have accepted the invite back then rather than wait until '85)

Division 2
Nelsonville-York
Vinton County
Belpre
Meigs
Wellston
Federal Hocking


With that setup, I don't think NY, Meigs or Wellston would have felt the need to leave the SEOAL. For full consolidation of territory, a 3rd division could have been formed with other teams in today's TVC and teams could move as school sizes changed if the schools wanted to move up or down. You are essentially eliminating any competition from your turf and consolidating full control of high school athletics in neighboring counties to keep travel reasonable.

This is essentially what would have happened had the TVC expanded with the remaining SEOAL schools............the only difference is the conference would have been under the SEOAL name instead of the TVC.

Maybe the lesson to be learned from the SEOAL is not find a new team when one team leaves your conference. Maybe the lesson to be learned is that when one team wants to leave your conference, find out why they want to leave and see if something can be worked out to make all parties happy so that no one wants to leave in the first place.