Will the SEOAL survive other league expansion?

[85inside]

After reading that Zanesville is heading to the ECOL and also after hearing that Marietta could soon be heading to the ECOL, is the SEOAL on thin ice? I know Jackson, Logan and Gallia Academy have been charter members, but what if Warren ends up leaving as well?

Is it time to start talking about a league where Portsmouth, Jackson, Chillicothe and Gallia Academy look eleswhere for league survival? With Logan getting better in all sports, coupled with their size, will they look at leaving the SEOAL as well?

[loganlocos]

I don't think Logan has any other option at this point. The OCC has no interest in expansion at this point, and especially expansion outside of Franklin County. I live in Franklin County and know how they feel about "long" trips to Lancaster and Mt Vernon, LOL.

The only other option for Logan is the Mid-State League. But again, at this point, they are very content with their standing membership. If Canal Winchester and Teays Valley continue to grow, perhaps they would get an OCC invite in the future. But that is DISTANT future.

As for the SEOAL, all indications are that Gallipolis, Jackson, Chillicothe, Logan, and Portsmouth are content in the SEOAL. I think it is unlikely Warren is brought back to the TVC.

It's fun to hypothesize about league's shifting, however, what would GAHS or Jackson gain from joining the TVC if their new division were Athens, GAHS, Jackson, and Warren? Looks like it is almost the same league they are in now.

And Logan is far from a powerhouse in any sport but football and track. And the football program is likely to come "back to the pack" in the future and Warren is still VERY competitive with Logan in track.

[NYBuckeye96]

I think the SEOAL will always be around, it is simply in the middle of morphing into something different than it has ever been before. Ultimately, there are certain schools that really have no where else to go unless other area leagues feel comfortable admitting them as members. IF that day ever came, then there might be an arguement that the SEOAL could vanish, but I do not see that day coming any time soon.

Having said that, there are teams in the SEOAL that I feel are only there because they have to be, and they are not there because they WANT to be. This creates very low morale for all teams in the league as well as the fans of those league teams.

Case in point..........
2008 - Athens leaves the SEOAL to join the TVC
2009 - Zanesville leaves the SEOAL to become independent (will be in the ECOL)
2010 - Ironton leaves the SEOAL at the end of this school year to become independent

But that is not the only issue here........of the seven "current" SEOAL schools, four have shown signs of wanting out of the SEOAL......

Marietta - awaiting a vote to be approved into the ECOL

Warren - applied to re-join the TVC and almost had the votes to be re-admitted; still wants to re-join the TVC and could have the votes now in light of recent changes in the TVC

Jackson - applied for admission to the TVC and the SOC and was turned down by both leagues

Portsmouth - applied for admission to the SOC and was turned down, a newspaper article at the time quoted the Portsmouth AD as saying Portsmouth will continue to explore other options

This only leaves THREE SCHOOLS who as far as I know and as far as their actions indicate are committed to the SEOAL - Logan, Gallia Academy, and Chillicothe.

I believe that as long as their is a SEOAL, those three schools will be a part of it. Of the four other schools, I think Jackson stands the best chance of remaining, simply because it appears to have no where else to go and I would be surprised if Jackson went the independent route. I think Portsmouth might revert back to an independent or they might not.

From what I'm hearing from several of my sources that I consider credible, Marietta is as good as gone. Look for Marietta to be voted into the ECOL fairly soon, within the next few months.

When Marietta leaves, I look for Warren to make another push to re-join the TVC. This time around, I think Warren will have the votes to be re-admitted into the TVC. With the additions of Wahama and South Gallia to the TVC Hocking and the move of Belpre from the Ohio to the Hocking, there are two possible scenerios.....room to add a team or teams to the TVC Ohio OR add a few teams and create a three division TVC.


Do I see the SEOAL around in another five years? YES!!!!

How do I see the SEOAL looking in another five years?

1. Logan (committed to SEOAL)
2. Chillicothe (committed to SEOAL)
3. Gallia Academy (committed to SEOAL)
4. Jackson (no one else wants them)
5. Portsmouth (maybe, or could revert back to independent status)

At that point, the SEOAL has to ask itself if it is happy at 4 (or 5) teams and if it is not happy, what does it want to do about it? The only way I ever see the SEOAL expanding in the future would be by creating divisions that have seperate champions. This would allow smaller schools to consider joining the SEOAL. It is clear that no other larger schools want in the SEOAL as it took the entire southeastern quadrant of the state of Ohio to expand the SEOAL to begin with. The SEOAL is unique in that it is NOT a local league. It exists with teams who are geographically in other local league territory, but those local leagues do not necessarily want to add these teams to their leagues. That will always be a handicap of the SEOAL in its current setup.

There are all sorts of "what ifs" and variables that could come into play, but I think this is the most realistic outcome for the SEOAL in the near future.

[loganlocos]

NYBuckeye96 -

I pretty much agree with your assessment. I actually think with the "Contraction" of the SEOAL that teams like Jackson and Portsmouth are going to be happier. Portsmouth, assuming Marietta is gone, has already lost one of their REALLY bad road trips.

If Warren would also leave, I think a league of Chillicothe, Gallipolis, Jackson, and Logan becomes much more appealing. The only really bad trip in that group is Logan, while Jackson, Gallipolis, and Chillicothe are pretty nice trips for them.

[85inside]

If Warren and marietta left the SEOAL, Portsmouth would have no reason to ever leave the SEOAL. If Zanesville, marietta and Warren were all out of the SEOAL, Ironton would have never left. Contray to belief, it was not the Logan trip that caused Ironton to leave the league.
You guys are right, Portsmouth has nowhere else to go. I think a league of Jackson, logan, Chillicothe, Gallia and Portsmouth would be a good conference.

[The Wizard]

85
so about 7 trips up the river in this league so far (what four years) caused Ironton to leave. I think they came up in bball gbball and football.

[WHSwarrior]

I think, once you remove Marietta, for the two other members on the fringe (Portsmouth and Jackson), you've just removed one of the long trips...plus to benefit the whole league, you've removed the current leader for the All Sports Trophy lol.

If Marietta leaves, Warren will probably really pursue that spot in the TVC again...is it possible that a 7-team TVC Ohio would want to form an agreement with a 5-team SEOAL for games in weeks 6-10, much like the MVL and ECOL have now? Definitely. If Warren doesn't or can't look to the local league, the MVL is still a possibility. If the ECOL continues to expand, the MVL could lose a team or two.

[Zanes-Vegas]

The MVL might be a possibility, but let's just say most of that league looks at the trip to Morgan as overly long, so I don't know as they'd warm up to Barlow.

[biggdowgg]

is Ironton seking a league, or will they just stay independent?

I see they have about 4 open dates for next year.

I did hear at the game that they replaced Logan, with Oak Hill?

[sider]

is Ironton seking a league, or will they just stay independent?

I see they have about 4 open dates for next year.

I did hear at the game that they replaced Logan, with Oak Hill?

An Soc 1 vs. Ironton??!! Wow never thought I would see the day, but it may be in the future
I would love to see West and Ironton resume a series, now I know this series hasn't fared well for the Senators (one win I know of), but we have some strong classes coming up, and if we want some state wide credibility, and want deeper playoff runs, we need better opposition, and Ironton is always strong. For Ironton it would be a game against good competition, and a regional opponent...It would also be interesting to see Triplett face his old coach Lutz

[ironman02]

Last I heard, Ironton had asked Oak Hill to play next season, but Oak Hill had not accepted. That may have changed though. I'll ask around.

[biggdowgg]

ironman02

that may be the case,,like I said, this is waht I was told by a guy from Ironton at our game.

[Ptown Playmaker]

dowgg, at the game at Ironton, I was told Oak Hill wanted the game and Ironton accepted...interesting huh?

[mattash]

Would Ironton join back if it was Logan, Chillicothe, Portsmouth, Gallia and Jackson? Would make a nice 6 team conference.

[Paladin]

What ?? And face that travel and "poor" gates again.

Not to mention losing !!

[dazed&confused]

Would Ironton join back if it was Logan, Chillicothe, Portsmouth, Gallia and Jackson? Would make a nice 6 team conference.

I smell smoke. Oh, it's the bridge Ironton burned! Buh-bye!

[sider]

dowgg, at the game at Ironton, I was told Oak Hill wanted the game and Ironton accepted...interesting huh?

I think its great that Oak Hill is wanting to establish a program and play the best opponents, and next year Oak Hill will be very strong, they will be scary, possibly region 19 champs who knows? But they shouldn't get the cart before the horse here, this team was 0-10 just five years ago, and after this big class I don't know if they will be that great (they might have the falling off East has had)...so I could see I one year deal...and for Ironton this game doesn't make a lot of sense, they already have two division 5's on the schedule in Burg and Nelsonville do they need another? However, next year if these two teams play it should be a good game next year.

[ironman02]

The game makes perfect sense for Ironton. Oak Hill's junior class is loaded, so they'll be very good again next year. What does Ironton see? A load of Level 2 points!

I haven't been able to confirm if this game will indeed be played yet, but I think the benefits would certainly be in favor of Ironton. No disrespect to Oak Hill, but Ironton is a traditional powerhouse and they are very good at the moment as well. The Oaks would struggle to make the playoffs at anything less than 10-0, so why would they want to pick up one of the toughest games in the area? You could argue that they want to improve their program, and maybe they do, but I'm not so sure that they are on a level to compete with Ironton at this time. It's pretty simple from my viewpoint...Oak Hill gets a loss that would almost kill their playoff chances and Ironton gets a win that would give them a ton of computer points. Who gets the better end of the deal?

[distance40]

NYBuckeye96,
You seem to know whats goin on.. what do you think will happen to Marietta and Warren and if they do leave when do you think they will? It would be weird, not to make the trip to Washington County anymore

[91blue14]

oak hill is on a roll but they are not ready for ironton.

will be intersting to see how this league will shake out.