MANSFIELD, Ohio — The Ohio Cardinal Conference will roll out the welcome mat for a new member when school starts in the fall of 2016.
OCC commissioner Ron Dessecker announced Sunday that Mount Vernon has accepted an invitation to join the conference starting with the 2016-17 school year. It is the first time the league has added a member since its founding in 2003.
Mount Vernon will replace Orrville, which applied for admission and was accepted to the Principals Athletic Conference. The Red Riders will begin play in the PAC, which is based in the Akron-Canton area.
“We’re excited to welcome Mount Vernon to the OCC,” Dessecker said Monday. “We feel Mount Vernon is a good fit for several reasons. We think they will be a great addition.
“We’re disappointed to be losing Orrville, but we’re looking forward to working with the administration at Mount Vernon. It’s a great community.”
Mount Vernon was a charter member of the Ohio Capital Conference in 1968 and had remained in the league as it evolved from an eight-school league into a 32-school, four-division suburban Columbus super-conference that encompasses six counties.
Mount Vernon began exploring its options when the OCC announced a major realignment which is to take effect for the 2016-17 season. Mount Vernon is currently a member of the Capital Division along with Big Walnut, Delaware Hayes, Franklin Heights, New Albany, Olentangy Orange, Olentangy and Worthing Kilbourne. Beginning in the fall of 2016, Mount Vernon would have been in the new North Central Division with Thomas Worthington, Worthington Kilbourne, Dublin Scioto, Dublin Jerome, Hilliard Bradley, Hilliard Darby and Delaware Hayes.
“Due to the Ohio Capital Conference realignment for the 2016-2017 school year, Mount Vernon City Schools is actively investigating and considering various league options,” Mount Vernon superintendent Bill Seder said in a statement to theseniorreports.com earlier this year.
Seder, the former superintendent at Crestview, is out of the office this week and unavailable for comment.
“We have been in discussion with Mount Vernon for well over a year,” Dessecker said. “It really got serious in January.”
Orrville and Canal Fulton Northwest applied for membership to the PAC in 2013 but were turned down. In February of this year, PAC members Indian Valley and Tusky Valley announced they would leave the conference for the Inter-Valley Conference. In mid-February, it was announced PAC member Canton Timken would consolidate with Canton McKinley, leaving three vacancies in the PAC. Orrville, Northwest, Loudonville and Canton South applied to the PAC and Orrville and Northwest were accepted.
“We knew Orrville was looking around,” Dessecker said. “Enrollment-wise, they were at a disadvantage (in the OCC).”
Orrville was the smallest school in the OCC when the Ohio High School Athletic Association released its most recent enrollment figures in October of 2012. The Wayne County school had 185 boys and 174 girls in grades nine through 12. The next smallest school, Clear Fork, had 237 boys and 225 girls.
Mount Vernon has the biggest male enrollment (489) and second biggest female enrollment (423) among current Ohio Cardinal Conference schools.
“Our programs and their programs match up well,” Dessecker said. “They have been competitive in a lot of sports in the (Ohio Capital Conference).”
Mount Vernon already has history with several Ohio Cardinal Conference schools. Madison and Mount Vernon have met in Week 3 of the football season for more than a decade and Lexington and Mount Vernon traditionally play an early-season boys basketball game.
“There are still some things we need to work out in terms of scheduling, especially at the middle school level, but we’re looking forward to having Mount Vernon join us,” Dessecker said. “It’s a good move all the way around. In the long haul it should serve us well.”
