Why are Harrison athletic teams leaving the SWOC? Well, I have the answers for you, because some people don’t know what is going on in the SWOC league this year.
An athletic conference is a group of sports teams that compete against each other. The winner of the conference gets to advance to the larger OHSAA tournament. Harrison has dominated the SWOC in several sports in recent past. But as of next year, the SWOC will not exist, at least not how it has been in the past. This unraveling of SWOC has been in process for several years, starting with Little Miami leaving the conference in 2019-2020. While our teams won’t be playing the same opponents next year, rest assured that athletics at Harrison will still stay strong, even through the transition from SWOC to what is next.
Many people have suggested possible conferences that we could join, but the process isn’t that simple. Other leagues already have 1o teams in their league so it’s hard to join a conference if it’s already full. Many Ohio leagues have been considered as good places for Harrison to land, but there isn’t a lot of incentive for a conference to take on a school with such a strong program and growing community. Although there isn’t a clear answer yet of where we will go, Athletic Director Mark Meibers is confident we will find a home. ”We are going to look at a Indiana school,” Meibers said. “[This transition] has been in the process for 2 years now.”
Next year will look different, though. The SWOC League will no longer exist next year, except for football. Football will have 2 more years of SWOC in 2025 and 2026 so teams have time to find a conference. If they can’t find a conference, they will be independent. This is because the football schedule is set for 2 years in advance. Currently, Ross, Edgewood, and Talawanda are going to the SWBL (Southwestern Buckeye League) whereas Harrison, Mt. Healthy, and Northwest will all be independents. In an article published in the Oxford Free Press, Talawanda athletic director Jake Richardson explained why his district is leaving the SWOC. “We’re always looking out for what is best for our school district and our athletic program,” Richardson said.
Why is SWOC crumbling? Well, 3 years ago Ross decided they weren’t happy with SWOC and decided to leave the conference. This forced Edgewood to leave, which made the SWOC extremely low in numbers of teams in the conference. After its disbanding, there will be no conference championship games and teams will have to join a conference in the coming years.
Currently, Harrison is looking to join a conference in Indiana but struggling to do so. The main issue is that leagues like GMC think that we are small, but ECC thinks we are far away to play in their conference and SBC is too far away from Harrison to join the conference, resulting in us being in a difficult position. Harrison will try to find a conference in the next 2 years so the sport teams can be in a conference championship game.
SWOC will always be remembered as a good conference. This decision to leave the conference can have large impacts on both athletes and schools, but all the memories that we are making each day will be remembered as teams find a new conference to join. “SWOC will always be a special place that will be remembered as such a great program” Meibers said.
