Monroe and Bedford are staying put – for now.
The athletic programs for Monroe County Region’s two largest school districts are part of the Southeastern Conference.
That 14-team league recently came close to merging with the 14-team Kensington Lakes Activities Association.
The plan received approval from the league’s athletic directors but could not get the required two-thirds vote from principals in a vote on Sept. 25.
“We really wanted the merger,” Monroe athletic director Chet Hesson said. “We were big advocates of it. We thought it offered geographic benefits and competitive equity. It potentially could have been the best conference in the state, bar none.”
Hesson saw the proposed super conference as a perfect match for Monroe.
“For us, being a geographic outlier as one of the largest school districts in the state and about as far southeast as you can get, we looked at it as the perfect way to get competitive balance for all our sports,” he said.
Larry Nocella, who just took over as Bedford’s athletic director this school year, didn’t get a chance to fully evaluate the plan before it was nixed.
“Most of it was done before I came on board,” he said.
Plans for the merger began more than a year ago when SEC and KLAA officials talked during a conference of athletic directors in Traverse City.
Serious negotiations began in the spring.
“Both leagues met in May,” SEC commissioner Wayne Welton said. “Throughout June and July we met six or eight times. We spent a lot of time working out what it could be.”
Athletic directors completed the plan in August and forwarded to principals for final approval.
The principals first discussed the proposed merger in a meeting on Sept. 10, then met again on Sept. 25 when it was rejected.
“We did not get to the 10 votes needed to move farther,” Welton said.
The plan was unanimously approved by the KLAA.
“That conversation is done, but the potential is there that it could be revisited,” Welton said.
Welton is a firm believer that mega conferences are the wave of the future.
“Leagues around the state are having discussions just like this one,” he said. “The OK Conference on the west side of the state has 36 schools. What happens above usually works its way down. If you look at the NCAA, bigger conferences, especially at the Division 1 level, are becoming prevalent. They offer unique scheduling opportunities.
“We need to schedule smarter. We don’t want to have mercy-rule games, three-inning softball games or 7-0 soccer games routinely. That is happening for some schools.”
Welton understands why Hesson was firmly behind the plan.
“It would help with some scheduling,” he said. “For instance, Monroe would like opportunities for more creative scheduling so that things balance out.”
The SEC is really two leagues in one.
“The schools in the Red Division are all are bigger with 1,100 (enrollment) or larger,” said Welton, who has been involved in the league, which formed in 1964, as an athlete, coach and administrator since 1967. “In the SEC White, most of the schools are around 800. Even within the SEC, the differences are dramatic.”
Welton is proud of the diversity of the league with a mix of urban and rural areas.
“In the end, everyone had to look at it through their own lens and what was best for their kids, their school and their programs,” he said. “The message we have it that the SEC wants to grow and is willing to grow, but right now we didn’t have the support to merge two very big conferences.”
This setback will not halt the discussion.
“We meet monthly and talk about expansion at every monthly meeting,” Welton said. “There is room for these conversations to grow and continue.”
Hesson agrees.
“We’ll see where it goes from here,” he said.
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Monroe, Bedford react to news that conference merger plan has failed
Reporting by Niles Kruger, The Monroe News / The Monroe News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
