Delphos St. John's may leave the Midwest Athletic Conference

Volume 2 Issue 27

In the seemingly never-ending cycle of conference realignment, one of the most stable conferences may be about to get a shakeup.

Delphos St. John’s is currently the only private school in the Midwest Athletic Conference and half the size of every other football playing member. They have been approached by the Northwest Conference to fill one of the spots left open by Ada and Leipsic who are leaving to join the Blanchard Valley Conference.

Delphos St. John’s graduated just 30 students this year, less than half the size they were at the turn of the century. Delphos St. John’s is the only football playing school in the MAC to have less than 100 boys and less than 100 girls. They are the second smallest school in the league behind non-football New Knoxville. Since the 2010 calander year, the Blue Jays have won just five conference titles across all sports.

If Delphos St. John’s were to join the NWC they would be the smallest school in the league but more competitive on a sport-to-sport basis. They would also be in the same conference as newly-found crosstown rival Delphos Jefferson. St. John’s and Jefferson had never played each other on a regular basis until recently and relationships between the schools have a long and complicated past.

Delphos St. John’s has been a part of four conferences throughout its history. They were in the shortlived Northwestern Parochial Conference from 1930-31. They were then a member of the football-only Tri-County League from 1967-71. That followed with their first real conference membership when they were a part of the Western Buckeye League from 1971-82 where they won three state titles in girls basketball. They then joined the MAC in 1982 where they have remained ever since.

If Delphos St. John’s were to leave the MAC it would most likely force the conference to either add Anna or Fort Loramie as a full member. The NWC would still need another school to fill out their conference, most likley being Lima Bath or Central Catholic, or even possibly Findlay Liberty-Benton. The MAC has not had any conference changes since 2001 while the NWC was stable for the second half of the 20th century before a multitude of realignments since 2001.

As of right now there have been no definitive announcements by Delphos St. John’s, the MAC or the NWC. Over the next coming months expect moves to be made as this decision may trigger another round of conference realignment.

Leading Updates

• Trevor Bassitt (Bluffton) qualifies for World Championships in the 400m Hurdles.

• Jeron Williams (Archbold) was drafted in the 9th round by the Houston Astros.

• Kade Kern (Archbold) was drafted in the 17thround by the Atlanta Braves.

• Trevor Harris (Waldo/Marion Pleasant) out with low body injury.

Notable Game Updates

• On July 12th Natasha Howard (Toledo/Waite) had 28 points and 14 rebounds in a Wings win over the Lynx.

• On July 14th Vince Williams Jr. (Toledo/St.John’s) had 11 points and 11 rebounds in a Summer League win over the Lakers.

• On July 15th Chris Bassitt (Curtice/Genoa) picked up the win against the Diamondbacks.

Interesting Reads

• Character, composure, connection are calling cards for Roughriders' Trevor Harris

• A Conversation With: Chargers Tight Ends Coach Kevin Koger

• Falcons' Gazarek welcomes chance to compete

• Hairston named girls basketball head coach at Emmanuel Christian

• 2023 high school football: 10 wide receivers to watch

• 2023 high school football: Who are the returning stat leaders in the Toledo area?

• Turf war ends for James as Northwood goes synthetic

• State runner-up Kaiyon McKinney will wrestle for Perkins

• Perkins' new AD, Brad Watson, switching from Buckeyes to Pirates

Just For Fun

The last fall sports state title winners by county:

• Allen - 2022 Lima Shawnee Boys Soccer

• Auglaize - 2022 New Bremen Volleyball/Football, Minster Girls Cross Country

• Crawford - 2000 Galion Volleyball

• Defiance - 2013 Defiance Boys Cross Country

• Erie - 2020 Huron Volleyball

• Fulton - 2018 Archbold Boys Soccer

• Hancock - 2021 Findlay Liberty-Benton Volleyball

• Hardin - 2004 Hardin Northern Football

• Henry - 2013 Liberty Center Girls Cross Country

• Huron - 2009 Norwalk St. Paul Football

• Lucas - 2022 Toledo Central Catholic Football

• Marion - 2002 Marion Pleasant Football

• Mercer - 2022 Maria Stein Marion Local Football

• Ottawa - 1994 Woodmore Girls Cross Country

• Paulding - 1992 Antwerp Volleyball

• Putnam - 2003 Columbus Grove Football

• Sandusky - 2019 Clyde Football

• Seneca - 2020 Tiffin Calvert Volleyball

• Van Wert - 2020 Van Wert Football

• Williams - 1995 Bryan Boys Cross Country

• Wood - 2021 Perrysburg Girls Cross Country

• Wyandot - 2021 Carey Football