Sandusky Bay Conference

The SBC has 22 full members schools located within Erie, Huron, Ottawa, Sandusky, & Seneca counties. The schools range in size from Division 2 to Division 7. The reasonably short travel distances and limited range of sizes promotes tight competition throughout all sanctioned sports and a long history of membership with several rivalries. Several member schools have won state championships.

The SBC launched a new website at https://www.sanduskybayconference.net in August 2018. The site features news and other athletic related information for all member schools. The website was created and designed by DCLARK Online, LLC, a design agency operating in Northern Ohio.[1]

The overall league lineup and divisional breakdown beginning in 2019-20.

The football divisional breakdown beginning in 2019-20.

The conference was established in 1948 and offers competition in the following sports:

• baseball; boys
• bowling; boys & girls
• cross-country; boys & girls
• basketball; boys & girls
• cheerleading; boys & girls
• football; boys
• golf; boys & girls
• soccer; boys & girls
• softball; girls
• swimming; boys & girls
• tennis; boys & girls
• track & field; boys & girls
• volleyball; girls
• wrestling; boys

Former members who are returning to the SBC with the 2016 and 2018 expansions are outlined in those sections.

The first wave of expansion will begin with the 2016-17 school year and will consist of two divisions that will divide schools by size. The larger schools will make up the Bay Division, and the smaller schools will make up the River Division. The divisional lineup will vary depending on the sport, with Margaretta playing in the River Division for football & wrestling, and in the Bay Division for all other sports. New Riegel & Old Fort do not have football. The two divisions will operate more-or-less as two separate leagues under a single parent umbrella and will crown two separate champions in each sport. There will be no forced crossovers in football and inter-divisional games will not count toward conference records.[10]

On March 16, 2016, both Clyde principal William J. Webb and NOL president Nate Artino (Bellevue principal) announced that six of the NOL schools were invited to join the SBC for the 2017-18 school year. Mr. Webb declined to disclose details on divisional breakdowns until all six school boards had approved the league switch.[11]

On March 17, 2016, Norwalk Director of Student Activities Josh Schlotterer advised the divisional breakdown would be based on enrollment and some schools would slide between divisions for football and all other sports as there are three non-football members.[12]

On March 16, 2017, SBC Executive Secretary/Treasurer Gregg Hedden announced that Danbury Local Schools would be joining the conference, effective in 2018, adding that Danbury would be a member of the River Division.[13]

On March 20, SBC Executive Secretary/Treasurer Gregg Hedden announced that Gibsonburg Local Schools would be joining the River Division, effective 2018. Their school board voted unanimously to join at the fall of 2018 sports season. Gibsonburg leaves the Toledo Athletic Area Conference. This adds Gibsonburg as the 9th Member of the River Division.[14]

After a school board meeting in August 2017, Hopewell-Loudon agreed to join the River Division for the 2019-2020 school year.[15]

• High school athletics conferences in Ohio