Wilmington officially votes to join SCOL
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
On a Monday night vote by the Wilmington School Board, Wilmington High School officially agreed to become a member of the South Central Ohio League by a 5-0 vote.
Earlier this month, the Board of Directors of the SCOL voted 6-0 to re-admit Wilmington and Chillicothe as members of the league to replace departing London and Madison-Plains.
"From a personal standpoint, I wanted this to happen," Wilmington School Board member Bill Liermann told The Highland County Press on Tuesday evening. "I felt this is where we (Wilmington) belonged all along. I want to thank SCOL Commissioner Jim Winner and all the member schools for giving Wilmington this opportunity.
"We are looking forward to it."
MP and LHS will leave the SCOL following the 2012-13 school year to become members of the Mid-State League, and for the SCOL, East Clinton will join the league starting that same school year, giving the league eight teams.
As for Wilmington and Chillicothe, who both were original members of the league, Chillicothe will join the SCOL at the start of the 2013-14 school year, and for Wilmington, their timetable to join the league isn't set in stone.
Last year, Wilmington joined the newly formed Southwest Ohio Conference, and they have to be a member of the league for at least one year, possibly two years, depending on what can be worked out with that league.
Wilmington will not join the SCOL earlier than the 2013-14 school year.
"We made a commitment to the Southwest Ohio Conference after deciding to leave the Fort Ancient Valley Conference," Liermann said. "We have to compete in the Southwest Ohio Conference for at least one year, maybe two depending on what is worked out."
Liermann understands the history of the SCOL, as he used to travel and announce SCOL games on the radio.
"I remember being around Ernie Blankenship and going to all the different SCOL schools in the past," Liermann said. "I enjoyed going to Greenfield, with a Wilmington-McClain game or to Hillsboro games, and the gyms being packed. That's something I'm looking forward to seeing again … those rivalries.
"At Wilmington, that's what we've been lacking, those rivalries. On the drive home the other night, I got to thinking about those days, and it is going to be great re-establishing those rivalries."
Liermann said it wasn't just the school who wanted to get back with the SCOL, but the community of Wilmington as well.
"I couldn't go to the grocery store and restaurant, anywhere in town without community members asking 'when are you getting us back in the SCOL,' or 'You have to get us back in the SCOL,'" Liermann said. "The people of the community wanted us back in the SCOL, and I'm glad that we are back."
Another positive reason for their re-admittance into the SCOL is the travel time is cut down, with Wilmington's longest travel time will be playing games in Chillicothe once they join the league.
"Though I love the athletics aspect, the number-one priority with high school sports is the academics," Liermann said. "Academics are number one, athletics are number two.
"With shorter travel times, that will help our student-athletes get home earlier, and that makes us a better fit in the SCOL."
Once Wilmington joins the SCOL, the league will have two other Clinton County teams in Clinton-Massie and East Clinton, along with Highland County teams in Hillsboro and McClain, Fayette County teams in Washington and Miami Trace and one Ross County team in Chillicothe.
"We already play some SCOL schools in football, and we were playing Hillsboro and Miami Trace in basketball until the FAVC league changed and we had to take away most of our non-league games, so we lost those two schools from our schedule," Liermann said. "It will be a nice setup for everyone once we and Chillicothe join the league, and our travel times will be shortened.
"I can't express how pleased we are with the opportunity to be a member of the SCOL."
Wilmington was a member of the SCOL during its first two terms as a league from 1923-30 (the league disbanded from '31-35) and from 1936-91, as they won a total of 14 football titles (outright or shared), while Chillicothe has four football championships from 1923-1930.
In boys basketball, Wilmington has 19 SCOL championships, while Chillicothe has seven league basketball championships as they left the league in the late '40s. CHS won the boys basketball title three straight times from the '44-45 season through the '46-47 season.
Through the 1927-28 basketball season, Wilmington won six league championships in football and basketball combined. As for Chillicothe, in that same span, they also won six league titles.[[In-content Ad]]
Earlier this month, the Board of Directors of the SCOL voted 6-0 to re-admit Wilmington and Chillicothe as members of the league to replace departing London and Madison-Plains.
"From a personal standpoint, I wanted this to happen," Wilmington School Board member Bill Liermann told The Highland County Press on Tuesday evening. "I felt this is where we (Wilmington) belonged all along. I want to thank SCOL Commissioner Jim Winner and all the member schools for giving Wilmington this opportunity.
"We are looking forward to it."
MP and LHS will leave the SCOL following the 2012-13 school year to become members of the Mid-State League, and for the SCOL, East Clinton will join the league starting that same school year, giving the league eight teams.
As for Wilmington and Chillicothe, who both were original members of the league, Chillicothe will join the SCOL at the start of the 2013-14 school year, and for Wilmington, their timetable to join the league isn't set in stone.
Last year, Wilmington joined the newly formed Southwest Ohio Conference, and they have to be a member of the league for at least one year, possibly two years, depending on what can be worked out with that league.
Wilmington will not join the SCOL earlier than the 2013-14 school year.
"We made a commitment to the Southwest Ohio Conference after deciding to leave the Fort Ancient Valley Conference," Liermann said. "We have to compete in the Southwest Ohio Conference for at least one year, maybe two depending on what is worked out."
Liermann understands the history of the SCOL, as he used to travel and announce SCOL games on the radio.
"I remember being around Ernie Blankenship and going to all the different SCOL schools in the past," Liermann said. "I enjoyed going to Greenfield, with a Wilmington-McClain game or to Hillsboro games, and the gyms being packed. That's something I'm looking forward to seeing again … those rivalries.
"At Wilmington, that's what we've been lacking, those rivalries. On the drive home the other night, I got to thinking about those days, and it is going to be great re-establishing those rivalries."
Liermann said it wasn't just the school who wanted to get back with the SCOL, but the community of Wilmington as well.
"I couldn't go to the grocery store and restaurant, anywhere in town without community members asking 'when are you getting us back in the SCOL,' or 'You have to get us back in the SCOL,'" Liermann said. "The people of the community wanted us back in the SCOL, and I'm glad that we are back."
Another positive reason for their re-admittance into the SCOL is the travel time is cut down, with Wilmington's longest travel time will be playing games in Chillicothe once they join the league.
"Though I love the athletics aspect, the number-one priority with high school sports is the academics," Liermann said. "Academics are number one, athletics are number two.
"With shorter travel times, that will help our student-athletes get home earlier, and that makes us a better fit in the SCOL."
Once Wilmington joins the SCOL, the league will have two other Clinton County teams in Clinton-Massie and East Clinton, along with Highland County teams in Hillsboro and McClain, Fayette County teams in Washington and Miami Trace and one Ross County team in Chillicothe.
"We already play some SCOL schools in football, and we were playing Hillsboro and Miami Trace in basketball until the FAVC league changed and we had to take away most of our non-league games, so we lost those two schools from our schedule," Liermann said. "It will be a nice setup for everyone once we and Chillicothe join the league, and our travel times will be shortened.
"I can't express how pleased we are with the opportunity to be a member of the SCOL."
Wilmington was a member of the SCOL during its first two terms as a league from 1923-30 (the league disbanded from '31-35) and from 1936-91, as they won a total of 14 football titles (outright or shared), while Chillicothe has four football championships from 1923-1930.
In boys basketball, Wilmington has 19 SCOL championships, while Chillicothe has seven league basketball championships as they left the league in the late '40s. CHS won the boys basketball title three straight times from the '44-45 season through the '46-47 season.
Through the 1927-28 basketball season, Wilmington won six league championships in football and basketball combined. As for Chillicothe, in that same span, they also won six league titles.[[In-content Ad]]