Inter-Valley Conference

The Inter-Valley Conference is an Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) athletic league made up of 14 schools from Carroll, Coshocton, Holmes, Stark, Guernsey and Tuscarawas counties.

The conference underwent a major change at the start of the 2017–18 season as the league added five new member schools including Indian Valley, Claymont, Tuscarawas Valley (Tusky Valley), Buckeye Trail and Conotton Valley. “This is a pretty damned good league,” IVC Commissioner Chuck Rest stated in a May 15, 2107 article in the New Philadelphia Times Reporter. “We’re excited about the future and the schools we’re bringing in.”

The addition of Buckeye Trail by their school administration has been met with considerable controversy by their local fan base, prompting calls for immediate removal, with several individuals running for local school board promising the removal of the Warriors from the IVC. Furthermore, a recent petition signed by members of the East Guernsey community (Buckeye Trail), along with signatures of student-athletes, prompted Superintendent Adam Pittis to remark during a board meeting that the issue of Trail's membership in the IVC would be revisited after Spring 2018 sports have concluded.

Many long term teams have discussed their displeasure with the conference adding big schools, Indian Valley and Claymont. However, when conference administrators voted on expansion, the Malvern Hornets were the only school to vote no.

Current members

The member schools of the IVC

Sports Offered by Member Schools

The following sports were offered by member schools according to each district's official website. Sandy Valley offered the most opportunities to their students as they supported 18 varsity sports while Claymont offers 17 and Indian Valley and Tuscarawas Central Catholic offer15 each.

Enrollment Numbers for Members Schools (as of 2017-2018 school year)

The following enrollment numbers for members schools provided by the OHSAA as of the 2017-2018 school year.

IVC Divisions

When the IVC added schools for the 2017–18 school year the league also added divisions in football, volleyball, boys' basketball, girls' basketball, softball and baseball. The divisions have been a source of some controversy for the following reasons:

1. The divisions are not the same in all sports causing confusions for fans.
2. The inclusion of "crossover" games where teams play opponents from the other division in non-league contests even though both teams are members of the IVC.
3. The lack of a true league champion in sports with divisions. Instead, the league only recognizes division champions and does not give athletes in these sports a chance to be a league champion.
4. The seemingly odd placement of Sandy Valley and Newcomerstown in the football divisions.
5. Several member schools do not play or rarely play each other in any sport making it hard for fans to feel a sense of rivalry with the school.

On the positive side the creation of the divisions has reduced travel expenses for member schools, reignited local rivalries and helped athletic director's fill out schedules with local contests by often playing teams from the other division. The reduced travel costs not only benefit the athletic department budgets but help families and local fans with reduced travel times to games.

For volleyball, boys' basketball, girls' basketball, softball and baseball the divisions were simply based on geography. The two divisions are as follows:

Divisions being set up on based geography has allowed many long established local rivalries such as Sandy Valley vs. Malvern, Malvern vs. East Canton, Sandy Valley vs. East Canton, Sandy Valley vs. Tusky Valley, Tusky Valley vs. Strasburg, Indian Valley vs. Claymont, Hiland vs. Garaway and Newcomerstown vs. Ridgewood to occur twice a year in most sports.

IVC Football Divisions

While the divisions for most sports were based on geography, the divisions in football were mostly based on enrollment numbers. This was done for competitive balance as football is the sport that is most influenced by enrollment. Creating divisions based on enrollment helped smaller schools remain competitive while also helping the larger schools play a schedule that would allow them to earn the necessary playoff points under Ohio's playoff system in which teams earn more points by playing schools in larger OHSAA divisions.

Unlike other sports, there were only six teams in each football division as Hiland and Conotton Valley do not play football in the IVC. Hiland does not offer football and Conotton Valley did not wish to join the IVC in football but instead participated in the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference on the gridiron.

The divisions for the 2017 and 2018 football season were as follows:

Many people were confused by the placement of Sandy Valley in the small school division and Newcomerstown in the large school division with Sandy Valley having a significant enrollment advantage. Many IVC fans accused Sandy Valley of avoiding the bigger schools out of a desire to "beat up on small schools" and some accused Sandy Valley of holding the league hostage with its demand that it be placed in the small school division. However, the peculiar placement seems to be more a result of Sandy Valley wanting to protect long-standing rivalries vs. Malvern and East Canton and Newcomerstown's desire to play local teams despite a significant enrollment disadvantage.

The division games are played in weeks 6–10 of the Ohio high school football season. The IVC also instituted two "crossover" games in weeks 4 & 5 where teams played an opponent from the other division. However, these crossover games were considered non-league contests and did not affect the league standings.

Ongoing Buckeye Trail Controversy

As noted, the joining of Buckeye Trail into the league in 2017 was marked with considerable controversy in the East Guernsey Local community, prompting a groundswell of support in the district for removal of the Warriors in favor of returning to their prior conference (PVC). Of particular note, community members have voiced concerns about abandoning traditional rivals Shenandoah, Monroe Central, Fort Frye, Frontier, and others, in favor of teams in the IVC to whom the Warriors have no history with. Concerns about tremendous travel costs, as well as, time commitments have also been raised in numerous public forums. The Warriors are also members of the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference (OVAC), and given the mandatory scheduling commitments of the IVC (including cross-over games), failed to reach the necessary number of OVAC games in 2017 necessary for Trail student athletes to participate in OVAC all-star games.

There have also been numerous concerns raised about the initial decision making process by the prior administration that prompted Trail's decision to join the IVC.

IVC Non-Division Sports

Several sports do not use the division format. These sports include boys' golf, girls' golf, boys' cross country, girls' cross country, wrestling, boys' track & field and girls' track & field. Teams in these sports are able to schedule regular season matches however they wish. The league title in boys' and girls' golf is decided by the combined results of the IVC Preseason and Postseason tournaments. In boys' cross country, girls' cross country, wrestling, boys' track & field and girls' track & field the league title is determined solely by the IVC Championships held at the end of each regular season.

Soccer, Bowling and other Sports

The IVC does not support soccer or bowling as member sports of the league despite the growing popularity of both sports. Tusky Valley, Hiland and Sandy Valley all offer boys' soccer while only Hiland and Sandy Valley offer girls' soccer. Boys' and girls' bowling are offered by Sandy Valley, Claymont, East Canton, Tuscarawas Central Catholic, Indian Valley and Garaway. Hiland and Claymont are the only member schools to offer boys' tennis while Hiland also offers girls' tennis. Sandy Valley is the only member school to offer gymnastics.

IVC Showcases for Volleyball, Girls' Basketball and Boys' Basketball

Starting in the fall of 2017, the IVC began holding an IVC showcase at the end of the volleyball, girls' basketball and boys' basketball season. The Showcase is an all day event where teams from the North face teams from the South based on the final regular season league standings. For example, the 7th place team in the North will play the 7th place team in the South, the 6th place team in the North will face the 6th place team in the South and so on until the two division champions will meet in the final game of the night. “I want to showcase this league by having everyone at one place at one time,” stated Commissioner Rest in May 2017. “Our ADs are excited about this. The showcase games are built into the league schedule. It’s going to be an all-day affair and something the fans will love.” The fan friendly event allowed area fans to purchase one ticket for $6 and see all seven contests.

However, the original volleyball Showcase held on October 14, 2017 at Indian Valley High School turned out to be a disappointment. A combination of lopsided regular season games, poor matchups and an unusually warm mid-October day kept many fans away. “The attendance could have been better, but it was a beautiful day out with temperatures in the 70s so that was a factor,” IVC Commissioner Chuck Rest told the Times-Reporter. “We wanted to showcase all our volleyball teams at one time and at one place and we accomplished that." The games also turned out to disappointing. In order to get seven games played in a day the games were three-set matches instead of the traditional five set matches. Unfortunately for the league, six of the seven matches only lasted two sets and most matches were one sided with the victors winning easily. The finale was no different as North division champion Tuscarawas Valley routed South division champion Hiland 25–8, 25–17. At the end of the day it was the IVC South that held the advantage over the North as the South won 5 of the 7 matches played.

On February 10, 2017 the inaugural girls' basketball Showcase was held at Hiland High School. Attendance for the morning games was sparse as once again several of the league's teams were non-competitive during the regular season. However, the attendance improved throughout the day and a large crowd was on hand for the evening's finale between North champion Tuscarawas Valley and South champion Hiland. Both teams had rolled through division play without losing a game. The game was competitive for a half but Hiland used a big third quarter to pull away for the 50–35 victory. Once again the South "won" the Showcase as the division was victorious in four games while the North was victorious in three games.

The following weekend the IVC held their first boys' basketball game Showcase at Claymont High School. While attendance was just average for the morning games, the gym was packed for the evening games due to several exciting matchups including East Canton vs. Garaway and Hiland vs. Sandy Valley. The finale matched up North division champion Strasburg (19-1) vs. South division champion Indian Valley (17-3). The packed house watched Strasburg use a big second quarter to take control and go on to the 57-46 victory. However, unlike the volleyball and girls' basketball Showcases it was the IVC North who shined as the division won five of the seven contests on the day.

IVC Showcase Criticisms

Overall, the IVC Showcases were popular with fans and players with the low attendance numbers for certain events mainly attributed to the low quality of play in IVC volleyball and the low quality of play for the bottom teams in the league for girls' basketball.

However, many local fans have questioned the IVC's decision not to make the finale official league championship games. The IVC Showcase seems to be the perfect stage to crown an overall league champion especially considering the results of the final game are clear for everyone to see. While officially Hiland (volleyball), Tuscarawas Valley (girls' basketball) and Indian Valley (boys' basketball) have division titles, it is hard to view them as IVC champions considering the outcomes of the Showcase games.

Another minor criticism is the fact that the volleyball Showcase games were best of 3 sets matches instead of traditional best of 5 set matches. While it may be impossible for seven best of 5 set matches to be played in one day, many in the volleyball community believe the IVC should at least make the final match a best of 5 set match.

Finally, some local fans have wondered why the IVC Showcase concept was not extended to baseball and softball. While the games could not all be played at one site, the concept could be used to create exciting matchups at the end of the season including possible winner take all league championship games in baseball and softball.

2017-2018 IVC Season and League Champions

The new and improved Inter-Valley Conference swung into action on August 7, 2017 as girls' golf held the IVC Preseason tournament at Willandale Golf Course in Sugarcreek, Ohio. The fall and winter sports seasons produced some memorable games and moments as well as highlighted some potential problems for the new league.

IVC Team State Championships

The current members of the IVC have accounted for 24 OHSAA team state championships while members of the IVC and an additional 9 state championships prior to the existence of the IVC or prior to the school becoming a member of the IVC. The IVC has accounted for 12 team titles in boys' sports and 12 team titles in girls' sports.

Former IVC Members

• Bowerston Conotton Valley Rockets (2001–11).
• Dennison St. Mary's Blue Wave (1967–70).
• Dover St. Joseph Ramblers (1967–70).
• Freeport Lakeland Raiders (1974–99), No football.
• Gnadenhutten Indian Valley South Rebels (1967–88).
• Midvale Indian Valley North Big Blue (1967–88).
• Jewett-Scio Vikings (1974–99).
• Zoarville Tuscarawas Valley Trojans (1974–77).

See also

• Ohio High School Athletic Conferences