Sandusky Bay Conference

The Sandusky Bay Conference is a high school athletic conference in the Sandusky Bay area of north central Ohio. It is affiliated with the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

Members

The SBC has 15 members schools located within Erie, Hancock, Ottawa, Sandusky, & Seneca counties. The schools range in size from Division 3 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 league lineup beginning in 2016-17. Bay schools are indicated by blue dots, River schools by red dots.

Athletic competition

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

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

Former members

Former members who are returning to the SBC with the 2016 expansion are outlined in that section.

League history

1940s

• 1948: The SBC is formed with inaugural members Danbury, Elmore, Genoa, Gibsonburg, Oak Harbor, Port Clinton & Fremont St. Joseph CC.
• 1949: Port Clinton leaves and is replaced by Clyde.

1950s

• 1950: Sandusky St. Mary CC joins.
• 1956: Genoa leaves to help form the Northern Lakes League.
• 1957: Danbury leaves.
• 1958: Elmore leaves and is replaced by Tiffin Calvert and Carey.
• 1959: Gibsonburg leaves.

1960s

• 1960: Lakota & Mohawk join.
• 1963: Carey leaves and is replaced by Margaretta & Gibsonburg, who rejoins after a four-year absence.
• 1966: Tiffin Calvert leaves.
• 1968: Huron & Fostoria St. Wendelin join.

1970s

• 1972: Gibsonburg, Lakota & Oak Harbor leave to form the Suburban Lakes League. St. Wendelin also leaves the league. They are replaced by Sandusky Perkins & Tiffin Calvert, who rejoins the league.

1980s

• 1980: Port Clinton leaves the Great Lakes League and rejoins after a 31-year absence.
• 1986: St. Joseph CC & Tiffin Calvert leave to help form the Midland Athletic League. They are replaced by Edison, who left the Firelands Conference, and by Oak Harbor, who returns from the SLL.

2010s

• 2013: On February 1, St. Mary CC announced they would be forming a new league called the Sandusky River League in 2014-15 with Calvert (who instead joined the TAAC), Lakota, New Riegel, Old Fort & St. Joseph CC. St. Wendelin would join them later. This league's intent was to have 8 football-playing members and 2-3 non-football schools. This league will ultimately give a home to the remaining MAL schools.^[1]
• 2014: On December 10, the SBC announced plans to expand.^[2] Invitations were accepted by Lakota, New Riegel, Old Fort, Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic, Sandusky St. Mary Central Catholic & Fostoria St. Wendelin Catholic (all of which now play in the Sandusky River League), Tiffin Calvert, a former member of the SBC now a member of the TAAC, and Vermilion, currently a member of the West Shore Conference.
• 2016: On March 16, Clyde principal William J. Webb and the Northern Ohio League announced that the NOL will merge into the SBC for the 2017-18 school year. Bellevue, Norwalk, Sandusky, Shelby, Tiffin Columbian, and Willard will become the league's newest members.^[3][4]

2016 Expansion

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.^[5]

2017 Expansion

The league lineup and divisional breakdown beginning in 2017-18.

The football divisional breakdown beginning in 2017-18.

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.^[6]

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.^[7]

League Timeline

Championships

Championships

Bay Division Championships

River Division Championships

External links

• SBC Football home page
• SBC history

See also

• High school athletics conferences in Ohio