FEDERAL LEAGUE Boardman official hopes games will be on weekend

Mark Huberman of the board of education believes the Stark County schools will be accommodating.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- The biggest roadblock to Boardman High joining the Federal League has a lot to do with roads.
"Our primary concern is the distance," said Mark Huberman, board of education president for Boardman. "But I understand our superintendent had a very productive meeting with Federal League officials [on Wednesday]. They seemed to understand our concerns and were willing to accommodate us."
Federal League officials voted Wednesday to tender an offer to Boardman and Austintown Fitch to join the league. Boardman's board will vote on whether to accept that offer next Wednesday. The meeting will be open to the public.
"We're still weighing it," Huberman said. "My main concern is whether the Federal League schools understand the impact of the distance. Our preference is to play a majority of the games on weekends."
If Fitch and Boardman accept the offer, they would only join the Federal League in high school sports. The schools would primarily play area schools at the middle school level.
Boardman polled its coaches last month and a "strong majority" were in favor of the move, Huberman said.
Divided opinion: Fitch coaches were more divided, athletic director Dick Kenney said.
"It was not a unanimous decision," Kenney said. "We didn't have a mandate. There were some that would rather not, there were some more in the middle and there were those who would definitely like to make that move.
"I can't really give a percentage. There are mixed emotions."
The Austintown Board of Education will meet March 18 -- one day before Fitch must notify the Steel Valley Conference. The board will not meet earlier, Austintown Schools superintendent Richard Denamen said.
The Boardman board has received little feedback from fans about the move, Huberman said.
"Not a lot, surprisingly," he said. "I'm sure fans would prefer to not have to drive and that's one of the challenges of this move, but a lot of factors come into play."
The SVC is competitive in football and baseball, but begins to dwindle in non-revenue sports such as volleyball, golf and tennis. The Federal League offers a better competitive balance in all sports.
"The schools are similar in composition," Huberman said. "The academic standards are very similar and we've had very positive relationships with those schools over the years."
Ursuline football: Ursuline will stop accepting resumes for its vacant head football coaching position next Friday.
The school has already received more than 25 applications, Ursuline athletic director Jim Maughan said. The school will begin interviewing candidates after the deadline and will consider hiring an assistant coach at the school.
"We have a couple seasoned assistant coaches that will stay on for next year and we've got some good talent coming back," Maughan said.
scalzo@vindy.com