LEAGUE EXPANSION SVC accepts Kennedy

It will be the school's first league affiliation in over a decade.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
Times have changed, and the current state of the Steel Valley Conference is proof of that.
"The whole thinking has changed," said Cardinal Mooney High athletic director Don Bucci.
Years ago, when the SVC discussed expansion, prospective schools had to enter in all sports.
Not anymore, and especially not after Austintown Fitch and Boardman joined the Federal League, leaving the SVC with just Mooney, Ursuline and Warren Harding.
"We decided that in order for this thing to continue, we better start accepting schools for any number of sports," Bucci said.
Passing votes
That's exactly what the SVC did Wednesday, as principals of the three member schools voted unanimously to accept Warren John F. Kennedy in every sport except football.
"We want to keep the league alive," SVC commissioner Mike Butch said. "Hopefully this will open the door for other schools to come in."
To make the SVC's expansion process official, JFK must respond to the league by Oct. 15 with its final decision on whether to enter.
"It's a done deal," confirmed Jim Boyle, assistant principal at JFK. "As soon as we get the letter, we'll draft a response immediately."
The Eagles will begin SVC play in the spring, and it would mark their first league affiliation in over a decade, when they were members of the Mahoning Valley Conference.
"We're very pleased. It's a good fit for us," Boyle said. "We really did it for the sake of the kids. They end up being the losers when you're an independent, and recognition goes along with being in a conference."
A look back
Boyle has been at JFK for 14 years, so he remembers when the MVC disbanded, leaving the Eagles and Campbell Memorial as independents.
"That was very disheartening to be a part of," he said.
"We've been trying to get into a league ever since."
JFK had submitted an annual application to the Trumbull Athletic Conference, Boyle said, but it was met with little success.
Then, contact with the SVC began in casual conversation following the departure of Fitch and Boardman, JFK athletic director John Gillen said.
In his attempt to expand the conference, Butch sent letters to area schools. JFK was one of them.
"We have a nice rivalry with Harding, and we play Mooney and Ursuline in all the other sports anyway," Boyle said.
What's next
The SVC hopes this isn't the last of its expansion. Officials say they will listen to any proposal from schools seeking to join the conference.
"We're hopeful they can attract other teams to the conference," Boyle said. "That would be nice. We would like some other people in there."
Schools the SVC has made contact with include Beaver Local, Campbell and East Liverpool.
There also has been interest expressed in the Youngstown city schools.
"The fact [that JFK] is a smaller school may induce some other smaller schools to come in," Bucci said. "JFK is a springboard to expanding the league."
School size also offers the SVC another option, which Butch has proposed -- the creation of a two-tiered league.
Those talks, however, are in their early stages.
"I refereed for 30 years, and everywhere I went, people knew about the Steel Valley," Butch said. "It's been a great conference."
Now, it's on the rise again.
richesson@vindy.com