METRO ATHLETIC CONFERENCE Springfield, S. Range considered

The ICL communities are growing.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
The Metro Athletic Conference might be interested in eventually adding South Range and Springfield, according to MAC commissioner Clem Zumpella.
"If they were interested, I can't see us not being interested," Zumpella said. "I think Springfield would be an especially nice fit. And the way South Range is growing, they would be a nice fit."
The MAC will add Alliance in 2003 and considered adding Beaver Local a few years ago.
Springfield and South Range lag behind MAC schools in enrollment, but the communities are growing and are establishing themselves as the teams to beat in the Inter-County League.
Springfield and South Range are linked geographically with many MAC schools -- Poland and Springfield have an especially heated rivalry -- and could be large enough to compete regularly in the MAC in a few years.
"I even think it would be nice to have two divisions," Zumpella said. "We talked about that [at league meetings], but there wasn't much interest."
ICL-TCL: Meanwhile, school officials from the ICL and the Tri-County League have been meeting to discuss increased scheduling between the two conferences. There is another meeting planned in May.
There has even been talk of forming a "super-league," but that seems unlikely to happen anytime soon.
"It's in a very preliminary stage, but there is interest from both sides," TCL commissioner John Mang said. "We've always had a good working relationship."
Sebring considered dropping football this off-season but decided against it after TCL officials told the Trojans that they could not stay in the league unless they kept football.
Several schools have expressed interest in joining the TCL in the past months, including Warren JFK, Campbell, Malvern, East Canton and Wellsville.
The TCL will not add a team unless a school drops out of the league, Mang said.
"Eight is a very good number for us," Mang said.
scalzo@vindy.com