Inter-Valley Conference faces shakeup as 3 schools depart

The game of musical chairs that is Ohio high school sports conferences just got cranked up again. When the music stopped, three seats were open in the Inter-Valley Conference, with two more potentially on the horizon.

Following the 2027-28 school year, Claymont, Sandy Valley and Tusky Valley will leave the IVC to become charter members of the Northeast Senate League, a new group being created with members of the Eastern Buckeye Conference.

They will join the likes of Carrollton, Minerva and Marlington, along with Fairless and Tuslaw, which recently announced they were bolting the Principals Athletic Conference, which created openings that have already been filled by West Holmes and Cloverleaf.

The IVC is actively looking to fill the vacancies. It’s probably not going to be an active sell.

“In an ideal world, the three schools wouldn’t have left,” East Holmes Superintendent Erik Beun said. “That really started this challenge. The reality is there aren’t many options for replacing those three members. We’re open to anything where we remain committed.”

Teams joining leagues generally look at three primary criteria: competitive fit, especially where football is concerned; size of other schools in the league; and, in real estate parlance, location, location and location.

In more rural areas such as those home to IVC schools, there aren’t as many schools to choose from. And when it’s time to look for a new home, school districts can face very limited options.

Since the IVC started in 1968, it has remained remarkably intact. Seven of its original eight members are still in the league, all but one having maintained membership the entire time.

Strasburg-Franklin joined in 1971, filling a gap created when original members St. Joseph and St. Mary’s merged to create Tuscarawas Central Catholic.

The league went from eight schools to 14 and its current North-South format in 2017.

“As a charter member, we want to stay committed to being in the IVC and want to find a way to make that work,” Beun said. “That may not completely be in our control, especially if the schools in the other divisions decide to leave and try to do their own thing. We continue to meet and talk with all of the IVC to try to find solutions.”

Things could be a little trickier if Hiland ever needs to seek a new home, league-wise. Hiland does not have a football program, which might not be an endearing quality from the point of view of other districts involved.

With the exodus of the three districts from the IVC comes rumors of a couple of others possibly departing, one being Indian Valley, which has achieved a lot of athletic success in the IVC. Athletic Director Zach Golec dismissed the possibility.

“Indian Valley is and will continue to be a contributing member of the IVC,” he said. “It is a competitive league that does a great job of promoting student-athletes.”

With the three departing schools all in the IVC’s South Division, there will at least need to be some reshuffling. The conference could be left with just nine football-playing schools, which is better than being left with fewer than eight. It means there will be 11 schools in nonfootball sports, which is not an ideal number.

“The football schedule definitely is an element that can be a major challenge in figuring out both who is in the league and also the number of teams,” Beun said. “We just try to be where we can be supportive of all our other league schools.”

The IVC has a couple years to solve its alignment questions and may need a bit longer to add members. Schools typically give conferences a two-year notice before departing, which is why members added after the current school year ends — and it’s likely that would apply to any new school — would likely not be able to start IVC competition before the 2029-30 school year.