Loudonville to join KMAC in all sports in 2024-25

Loudonville will become a full member of the KMAC in the 2024-25 school year, leaving the Mid-Buckeye Conference after two decades of membership. The Redbirds joined the KMAC as an affiliate in wrestling two years ago, and in football last year.

"Our school district has been grateful for the relationships that we've formed in the Mid-Buckeye Conference. The past few years, we've really noticed that we're starting to outgrow that league a little bit, as far as sports being offered and the levels that they're offered at," Loudonville athletic director Tyler Bates said.

"Recently, we've been looking around for a conference that has options available for not only all of our varsity teams, but also options at the JV and junior high levels. And with some of the relationships that have been formed in the KMAC for decades and decades prior to this, we felt like that would be the best fit for us.

"Getting in the door for football and wrestling the past few years has been a blessing, and we just couldn't be more thrilled to be headed to the KMAC for all sports."

The KMAC will return to an eight-team league across all sports in 2024 for the first time in three years. KMAC Commissioner Barry Wolf said Monday he was thrilled to have Loudonville on-board as a full-fledged member.

"It’s been something that has been in the back of our minds for a while, ever since Highland left. We weren’t sure exactly what we wanted to do. That’s why we invited Loudonville just for football at that point; they were already in for wrestling whenever we needed them," Wolf said.

"So we invited them in for football, but we saw that left a hole (in the conference) for baseball, softball and basketball. … We talked several times about how we’re going to do it, and it just made more sense to invite them in as a full-fledged member in all sports.

"Last year worked out very well on the football side, and a lot of our schools are playing them in non-league games already, so it just seemed like a natural progression to bring them in across the board."

Loudonville's high school and middle school will join the KMAC next school year in every sport the conference offers. That includes football, volleyball, cross country and golf in the fall; basketball, bowling and wrestling in the winter; and baseball, softball and track and field in the spring.

The school district will need to find a new home for its soccer and swimming and diving programs, Bates said.

"We will need to find an affiliate option for our swimming and soccer teams. And that's something certainly that we take seriously," Bates said. "We'll make sure that we do our best to find the best fit for those teams moving forward."

THE SEARCH: Loudonville joined the KMAC in football last fall. Wolf said league officials used the season to gauge whether or not the school might fit in the conference as a full member.

"What we saw during football was ... they had a really good football team this year. They were competitive, which (Loudonville) loved. And we saw good crowds when they traveled. It was a typical Knox County/Morrow County atmosphere with the football and the fans," Wolf said.

"They are adamant about their sports, and that’s what we like. Everybody’s gonna travel really well when you have a really good team, and not as well when you have a poor team, but they traveled well this year and that’s all you can ask for."

And Loudonville checked other boxes as well, Wolf said. The school district, which crosses over partially into northeastern Knox County, is comparable size-wise to the rest of the KMAC's member districts.

Loudonville also competes in every sport the KMAC offers, and already shares long-held rivalries with several KMAC schools, having competed in the same conference in years past.

"There’s a history there, and there’s even more of a history than what I realized. Centerburg, Fredericktown, Danville and East Knox had all been in (the MBC) with them at some point. …" Wolf said. Centerburg and Fredericktown both left the conference in 2013, while East Knox left in 2014 and Danville left in 2017.

"There is actually history with all the KMAC schools, at one time or another, being in a league with (Loudonville)."

Wolf said discussions about adding KMAC as a full member "really took off" after football season ended, "now that we had a baseline on how it went for everyone."

"We talked as a league about the schools that had put in for (becoming the eighth member) before, just to go back and check our notes and see if anything stood out this time, versus what happened back three years ago," Wolf said. "But it just made more sense to go with Loudonville."

The principals of the KMAC's seven member high schools – Cardington, Centerburg, Danville, East Knox, Fredericktown, Mount Gilead and Northmor – met with Bates and Loudonville High School Principal Chrissie Butts on March 6 to discuss the idea of adding Loudonville as a full member.

Bates and Butts made a presentation to the league's principals that day, stating their case as to why the KMAC should add Loudonville in all sports. Then, the two sides talked, asking questions and working through potential concerns about the partnership.

The main sticking point was travel, Wolf said. While Loudonville is a 22-minute drive from Danville, a 28-minute drive from East Knox and a 33-minute drive from Fredericktown, it is a longer haul for the schools on the conference's southern and western edges.

Loudonville is a 48-minute drive from Northmor, a 50-minute drive from Centerburg, a 51-minute drive from Mount Gilead and a 55-minute drive from Cardington. Those drives get more difficult in the winter, Wolf added, when weather intervenes and daylight is limited.

"Cardington and Mount Gilead are nice hour-plus drives at times during the winter, and Centerburg can be a difficult drive in the winter, too. We wanted to talk about those things with them and get their thoughts," Wolf said.

"It wasn’t more, 'Are you going to accommodate us,' it was, 'What do you think about these things, and are there things you think we could help each other with?' It was a general discussion on how we could see if we could make this work in all sports."

Bates said the league and school district thought through creative solutions to the travel issue.

"From our standpoint here at Loudonville, we're really not worried about any of those drives. We understand that some of the schools in the conference were concerned a little bit about some of the drives, and we've pledged our full support to make sure that, whether it's playing doubleheaders on Saturdays or changing a venue, that we will accommodate those concerns and work with the schools in the league to make sure that as best as we can, we can make that schedule work for everybody," Bates said.

"You know, we've been driving all over the place for the past few years. Our motto with our athletes has been, 'We'll play anyone anywhere.' So for us to actually have some schools that we consider close (and) of similar size is really exciting. And we've been making trips to every school in the KMAC now for a while, and there haven't been any horrible trips, as far as we're concerned. And what we hope is we make it an annual tradition in every sport that those schools feel the same way."

By the end of the meeting, Wolf said league and district officials were all on-board with the move. The KMAC's principals voted unanimously that day to extend a formal invitation to Loudonville to join the KMAC full-time.

"Due to your presentation and the enthusiasm you showed, the KMAC is happy to invite Loudonville High School and Middle School to join us as a full-fledged member in all conference sports starting in the 2024-25 school year. ..." a letter dated March 7 to Butts and Bates from Wolf and KMAC President Brendan Gwirtz, the principal at Northmor High School, states.

"We have been pleased with the results of Loudonville participating in the KMAC football and wrestling and believe there is a good fit for all sports moving forward."

East Knox Athletic Director Scott Brickner spoke on behalf of the KMAC during Loudonville's school board meeting Monday night, giving background on the situation and asking for the board's blessing in allowing this partnership to take place.

The school board voted unanimously to approve it.

"I think it's a good move for our sports," board member David Hunter said. "I mean, if we're not able to play some JV girls or boys games, if we're not able to play junior high games because of the league we're in, we definitely (need to move).

"We've been looking, and thanks to Tyler and Mrs. Butts for their efforts in getting the KMAC to accept us. I think it's a win-win for us."

THE FUTURE: It's also a win for the KMAC, Wolf said. He believes adding an eighth member – particularly one like Loudonville – will make competition stronger and scheduling more equitable moving forward.

"First of all, now you know who you’re going to play for seven football games, 14 basketball games, 14 baseball games and 14 softball games each year. That in itself is huge," Wolf said.

"It really helps on the Northmor side of things because the way our schedules are set up, the last week of any sport is what we term 'rivalry week,' and they were without one because we had an odd number. Now, they’ll obviously have to build that rivalry (with Loudonville), but that’s who they’ll play the last week, so it puts everyone on equal footing as far as having the same number of games.

"What was happening, especially in basketball, baseball and softball, was because we had an odd number, everyone during the season was having an off game, where you’re either trying to find someone to play a non-league game on a league night, which is very difficult to do, or you have to play an extra weekend game. So this gets us set up where everybody’s playing every night on league nights.

"And again, that’s a big selling point, but the biggest to us was that Loudonville just felt like another Knox or Morrow County school."

Wolf views Loudonville as a long-term addition to the conference.

"We’re just happy as heck. … We are excited about having them come in and play (our schools) regularly. I’ll quote Tyler (Bates); he said, 'Loudonville would like to be here for the next 50 years in this league.' So hopefully that will happen, if not longer. … We really do think this is a long-term solution for us."

Bates said Loudonville views the partnership similarly.

"This is the home. This is the home we want. And I know that Danville, East Knox, Fredericktown, Centerburg – those schools feel the same way. You know, Cardington and Mount Gilead were ones that had some reservations. I hope they feel the same way. They voted yes," Bates said.

"But we know these schools, especially right here, and we're pumped. Just those natural rivalries – you have a lot of family relationships here from district to district. It's pretty cool. You know, some of our programs haven't played Danville in six years. They haven't played. I mean, we're right next door to 'em. So it's pretty cool.

"Let's put it this way: We won't be the ones looking around (to leave)."

Loudonville has been in the MBC since 2004. While Bates said it will be "tough to walk away" from the conference, given the relationships Loudonville has built with the other schools in it, he believes transitioning to the KMAC will be fruitful long-term.

"For our athletes, knowing that we'll have a little bit more of a consistent schedule – from a junior high, JV and ultimately varsity standpoint – is something that we can't pass up. ..." Bates said.

"We really do feel like it's an outstanding fit. These are schools that our community has played for years. And to now be able to hammer down those games on a conference schedule, it means a lot to us. I know that our athletes, our coaches and our alumni base are really excited."