ITCL rejects expansion proposal

Staff report

The 16 superintendents of the Inter-Tri County League on Monday rejected a proposal to expand for the 2017-18 season.

Paul Andraso, ITCL commissioner, said he believes the vote means the league will disband after the 2016-17 school year.

Andraso said the expansion proposal would have added Campbell of the All-American Conference and Waterloo of the Portage Trail Conference for an 18-team league that would have been split into three divisions.

No further meetings are scheduled to discuss expansion or dissolving. Andraso said it’s likely none will be held.

Instead, he expects many of the schools to send letters of withdrawal by May 1.

“No one has withdrawn,” Andraso said, saying the league will be intact for the next school year.

The 16-member league was formed in 2006 when the Inter-County League and Tri-County League were merged. Last summer, the league split into three tiers after using a big school and little school divisions for nine seasons.

The five largest schools (Springfield, South Range, Crestview, East Palestine and United) are in the Red Tier.

Five Columbiana County schools are in the White Tier (Lisbon, Columbiana, Wellsville, Southern and Leetonia).

The remaining six schools (Western Reserve, McDonald, Mineral Ridge, Jackson-Milton, Sebring and Lowellville) make up the Blue Tier.

Andraso expects most of the schools will withdraw over the next two months and that a new league will be formed by the smaller schools. He said that league most likely would be divided into northern and southern tiers.

Andraso said the withdrawal letters will be sent to Sebring superintendent Tony Viscounte because Sebring will be the ITCL’s host school for the 2016-17 school year.