UPDATED III: Hillsboro, McClain, 3 other schools announce intent to leave SCOL

There has been a shakeup in the South Central Ohio League as five schools have decided to pursue other options for the 2017-18 school year, leaving the league and joining Jackson to form a new league for high school competition.

The yet-to-be-named league will consist of current SCOL members Hillsboro, McClain, Washington, Miami Trace and Chillicothe. Jackson will make the number of teams six, but others will be looked to join the new league as well.

The 2016-17 school year will be the five schools’ last year competing in the SCOL.

In a joint press release by the five schools leaving the SCOL, they stated:

“After a series of meetings in recent weeks to discuss the possible expansion of the South Central Ohio League (SCOL), leaders from Chillicothe, McClain, Hillsboro, Miami Trace and Washington Court House have stated their intent to leave the SCOL at the conclusion of the 2016-2017 school year.

“These districts have indicated a desire to merge with an existing league or inviting other schools to join them in forming an eight-team league commencing with the start of the 2017-2018 school year.

“The SCOL has recently been approached by Jackson City Schools about joining the league; however, the size and location of Jackson presents a concern for some Clinton County districts that do not favor the addition.

“Officials from these six districts will present a resolution to their local boards of education in March to create an alliance to charter a new league or attach to an existing one.”

McClain Athletic Director Pat Stevens spoke to The Highland County Press on Friday about McClain being one of the schools leaving the SCOL:

“This will benefit our schools, and one of the thoughts at the end of the day is this will be a more competitive situation for our athletic program and for the kids moving forward,” Stevens said. “The toughest part right now will be for the ADs putting schedules together, especially for football. Football is a different animal when it comes to scheduling.”

Of the aforementioned five schools, all but Chillicothe were part of the reformation of the SCOL when it returned to competition in 2003, as Chillicothe was voted back into the SCOL on March 8, 2012 when both the Cavaliers and Wilmington Hurricane were voted into the SCOL.

The other three current teams in the SCOL are Wilmington, Clinton-Massie and East Clinton, all of Clinton County. Clinton-Massie joined the SCOL in 2005, and East Clinton was voted into the league in July 2010.

A Dec. 15, 2015 press release released by SCOL commissioner Jim Winner stated the following:

“The league’s goal is to have two five or six-school divisions based on a competitive balance of athletes, not necessarily enrollment and geography.”

Earlier this month on Feb. 8, Commissioner Winner said this to The Highland County Press:

“We are solid at eight schools right now. We have great rivalries, great traditions, and if we can’t find schools that for the criteria we want, we’ll stay where we are at, but we want to keep all of our options open.”

The SCOL originally formed in 1923 and previously has disbanded twice, once in the 1930s and from 1992-2002, until the current formation of the league was revived in ’03.

WBEX News quoted Ron Sexton, superintendent for Wilmington City Schools, as saying: "The Clinton County Schools agreed on Jan. 7, along with every other League Superintendent, to do whatever necessary to keep this league together. When Jackson applied we were not opposed, all we wanted to do was hold off on their inclusion in the SCOL until another school was secured, thus able to go to two divisions and solve the parity problem in the League. Instead, the others used this as an excuse to get rid of Wilmington and Clinton Massie to make easier to get schools Southeast. We never had a chance to vote on Jackson or even have a discussion as the other schools met privately to create this new League. Very disappointing."

"I am extremely disappointed in the other five schools' decision and the process they took to make the decision," Sexton told The Highland County Press Friday. "On Jan. 7, every district superintendent, principal, and AD met and all pledged to keep this league together. A month later, we get word that the others have been meeting and in reality have kicked Massie and Wilmington out. We were not opposed to Jackson. All we said was let's wait on another team with them as to be able to go to two divisions and solve the parity concerns. Sadly, it looks like Fayette and Highland County just wanted Jackson and Unioto more than Wilmington and Massie. If that's the case, just be upfront and tell us."

With a new league coming, there is still a lot to be done before everything is finalized.

“Discussions aren’t far enough along that we don’t have a name or anything like that yet,” Stevens said. “I don’t know of any schools in particular that want to join the six we have currently, but to some, a six-team league isn’t ideal, but we are interested in hearing from schools in the district.”

For Stevens, this has been an emotional time for him, as he was the last member still involved from the initial reformation meetings back in the early 2000s when the SCOL returned for the 2003 season.

“This has been a couple of tough weeks emotionally for me, especially today,” he said. “I was the last one left from the original meetings, as there were a lot of blood, sweat and tears in that. To know next year is the last year in this … it’s emotional.

“To think back at some of the people in those initial meetings with Dale Lynch (the commissioner of the SCOL when reformed), Dr. Dan Strain, Jeff Hodson, Rick Earley and others … I’ve had the chance to work with some great people in the SCOL and ones we hope to continue to work with down the road.”

Stevens also spoke about Jackson High School, who are Division II in all sports but boys golf (Div. I) and football (Div. III), and what they can bring to the table with the other five teams, plus how this affects McClain.

“Jackson has great facilities, as they are second to none, and their administration is great, and I know them firsthand,” Stevens said. “As for the new deal …. I look at it as we’ll be seeing new faces in competition. For our us, we just want to keep building our programs. We’ve emphasized this with our coaches, and they’ve picked up the ball and run with it.

“In my 16 years here, I’ve never seen so many kids here during the summer, and that’s great to see. We may not have had all the results we’ve wanted, but it isn’t for lack of work and effort.”

Hillsboro City Schools Superintendent Jim Smith told The Highland County Pressthe district is “still working a few things out” and expects to have comments Monday or Tuesday. Later Friday, Smith said, “We are still working through some details. I am hosting a meeting here next week to work through them."

Smith said that meeting will be with the five district superintendents.

(Highland County Press Publisher Rory Ryan also contributed to this article.)