Trumbull Athletic Conference takes a step toward expansion

By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
The Trumbull Athletic Conference took a step forward toward expansion in what might be the start of an area-wide league shakeup.
At a league meeting on Wednesday, representatives from the eight-team TAC invited five schools -- Campbell, Struthers, Niles, Salem and Pymatuning Valley -- to apply for membership, although the member schools will still have the final say on which teams are admitted.
"That does not eliminate anyone else from applying," said TAC commissioner Mel Staats. "But those are the ones that we invited to apply."
Four of those schools -- Campbell, Niles, Salem and Struthers -- compete in the Metro Athletic Conference, which also has Poland, Canfield, Howland and East Liverpool. Pymatuning Valley competes in the East Suburban Conference in football and in the Northeastern Athletic Conference in other sports.
Campbell, Struthers and Salem are the three smallest schools in the MAC and their enrollment sizes would be similar to those in the TAC. Niles would easily be the biggest school in the TAC, while Py Valley would be one of the smallest.
If those five schools are admitted, the league would likely break into two tiers based on enrollment and begin play in either the spring or the fall of 2008.
"We'll have a good idea of what's going to happen in two or three weeks," Staats said. "We're making progress."
MAC's future
Athletic directors from the Metro Athletic Conference will meet today to discuss the future of that league.
If Poland, Canfield, Howland and East Liverpool are left as independents, there's a chance the schools could join with Boardman and Fitch to create a new league. If that happens, it's possible Boardman and Fitch could play an independent schedule in football. (East Liverpool, which only recently joined the MAC, may choose to look elsewhere.)
"We've talked about that a little bit and there's some interest," said Poland athletic director Myron Stallsmith, who stressed that until any league movement occurs, his school is committed to the MAC. "We can compete [with Boardman and Fitch] in the other sports, but football is tough with the numbers [of students in each school]."
Boardman and Fitch left the Steel Valley Conference in 2003 to join the Federal League and Falcons athletic director Joe Nohra said the schools are pleased with everything about the league except the travel situation. Still, both schools have been exploring league opportunities in the Valley over the last few months.
"It's obvious that their communities [Poland, Howland and Canfield] have progressed enough to where we could sit down with them and talk about some type of scheduling affiliation," said Nohra. "I wouldn't be doing my duty if I said we weren't interested. Anyone who wants to sit down and have a discussion with us, we're willing to do that."
SVC's future
The SVC has also been looking to expand, particularly in football. Four of the current members -- Chaney, Wilson, Rayen and Warren JFK -- do not compete in football. (Beaver Local left the league after the fall season.) Representatives from all the SVC schools (the others are Mooney, Ursuline and Warren Harding) will meet Dec. 5.
"Right now we're playing it sort of cool," said SVC commissioner Mike Butch. "We're always open to expansion, but we're trying to get our own house in order."
Although many in the area would like to see Boardman and Fitch rejoin the SVC, that seems like an iffy proposition at best. But Nohra hasn't ruled out anything and said he's just trying to do what's best for the students at Fitch and the community at large.
"Far too often in our community, folks have not sat down at the table to work things out," said Nohra. "Right now, none of us are in a position to snuff out each other. We won't throw anything off the table."
scalzo@vindy.com