Memorial Out, Mishawaka Officially In The NLC
July 15, 2020 at 12:16 a.m.
Memorial Out, Mishawaka Officially In The NLC
By Roger Grossman-
The unified Elkhart High School will compete in interscholastic competition starting next month, and they will do so as a member of the Northern Indiana Conference.
Mishawaka is now officially a member of the NLC.
First, we need to glance back at the positive contribution Elkhart Memorial made as a member of the conference. Since joining the NLC two decades ago, it has hosted conference and sectional events beautifully, it has quality facilities and it has had excellent leadership.
On the field, they were more than competitive. Their run in volleyball will never be forgotten—winning 118 NLC matches and only losing 15. Under Coach Jacquie Rost (who has also been their AD), they won the NLC crown 13 times—10 straight from 2002-2011.
Their girls basketball team also dominated the early portion of the new century, and their boys team has been in the thick of things more often than not.
Memorial has been a good member of the Northern Lakes Conference, and obviously some of those returning players and coaches will be part of the Elkhart Lions teams that participate in the upcoming school year.
Personally, I will miss broadcasting from the Phyllis Tubbs Gymnasium at Memorial High School. Not because there was anything special about it, but because it had Phyllis’s name on it. On the outside she is a tough bird, but on the inside is a woman who dedicated her whole life to helping high school kids be part of a team and have a chance to make it in life. She was tough enough to prove that she cared.
I wish her well in retirement—she’s earned it.
Now Mishawaka completes the NLC puzzle.
I thought from the minute that news filtered out that Memorial and Central were merging back together that Mishawaka was the best fit and ultimately would be the choice.
It starts at the top, and the story of the Cavemen’s venture into the Northern Lakes Conference must start with Dean Huppert.
The long-time local sports television personality left the airwaves and became the athletic director at Mishawaka. He’s a Bremen-native from back in the days when Bremen was in the NLC themselves. He knows the conference, he knows what it takes to compete in it and he knows the people in the communities where his teams will be playing most.
Why Mishawaka?
It’s the right size to fit.
They won’t be great in every sport, but they will be good in most.
Huppert knows that there is a high standard to live by in the NLC—on the fields and off them. I have no doubt that he’s been preaching the sermon of what it means to be a member of this league all summer long (via video chats, of course).
Geographically it’s not the best for Warsaw, but remember that Mishawaka isn’t thrilled with making long trips to Warsaw either.
All COVID considerations aside, Mishawaka fans are much more likely to make the trip to Warsaw than Memorial fans have been. Mishawaka is more of a community that Memorial was, and support for their teams should reflect that.
The Cavemen know that there is a big opportunity for them here. They will be playing in front of bigger crowds and in better atmospheres than they have for a longtime. Visiting fans from the NLC schools will fill Steele Stadium and The Cave in a way the South Bend schools haven’t for decades.
And with all that comes the potential for good rivalries. Yes, in certain sports for certain years, Warsaw and Memorial experienced some intense competition. But in my opinion Mishawaka is more like Warsaw than Elkhart, and that will make for a juicier “relationship” when it comes to sports.
And, I think it’s fair to say, Mishawaka offers visiting fans a wider variety and higher quality of places to dine before and after games than Elkhart.
Mishawaka works.
It’s a longer drive than Elkhart, no doubt.
In the end, I think it will be worth it.
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The unified Elkhart High School will compete in interscholastic competition starting next month, and they will do so as a member of the Northern Indiana Conference.
Mishawaka is now officially a member of the NLC.
First, we need to glance back at the positive contribution Elkhart Memorial made as a member of the conference. Since joining the NLC two decades ago, it has hosted conference and sectional events beautifully, it has quality facilities and it has had excellent leadership.
On the field, they were more than competitive. Their run in volleyball will never be forgotten—winning 118 NLC matches and only losing 15. Under Coach Jacquie Rost (who has also been their AD), they won the NLC crown 13 times—10 straight from 2002-2011.
Their girls basketball team also dominated the early portion of the new century, and their boys team has been in the thick of things more often than not.
Memorial has been a good member of the Northern Lakes Conference, and obviously some of those returning players and coaches will be part of the Elkhart Lions teams that participate in the upcoming school year.
Personally, I will miss broadcasting from the Phyllis Tubbs Gymnasium at Memorial High School. Not because there was anything special about it, but because it had Phyllis’s name on it. On the outside she is a tough bird, but on the inside is a woman who dedicated her whole life to helping high school kids be part of a team and have a chance to make it in life. She was tough enough to prove that she cared.
I wish her well in retirement—she’s earned it.
Now Mishawaka completes the NLC puzzle.
I thought from the minute that news filtered out that Memorial and Central were merging back together that Mishawaka was the best fit and ultimately would be the choice.
It starts at the top, and the story of the Cavemen’s venture into the Northern Lakes Conference must start with Dean Huppert.
The long-time local sports television personality left the airwaves and became the athletic director at Mishawaka. He’s a Bremen-native from back in the days when Bremen was in the NLC themselves. He knows the conference, he knows what it takes to compete in it and he knows the people in the communities where his teams will be playing most.
Why Mishawaka?
It’s the right size to fit.
They won’t be great in every sport, but they will be good in most.
Huppert knows that there is a high standard to live by in the NLC—on the fields and off them. I have no doubt that he’s been preaching the sermon of what it means to be a member of this league all summer long (via video chats, of course).
Geographically it’s not the best for Warsaw, but remember that Mishawaka isn’t thrilled with making long trips to Warsaw either.
All COVID considerations aside, Mishawaka fans are much more likely to make the trip to Warsaw than Memorial fans have been. Mishawaka is more of a community that Memorial was, and support for their teams should reflect that.
The Cavemen know that there is a big opportunity for them here. They will be playing in front of bigger crowds and in better atmospheres than they have for a longtime. Visiting fans from the NLC schools will fill Steele Stadium and The Cave in a way the South Bend schools haven’t for decades.
And with all that comes the potential for good rivalries. Yes, in certain sports for certain years, Warsaw and Memorial experienced some intense competition. But in my opinion Mishawaka is more like Warsaw than Elkhart, and that will make for a juicier “relationship” when it comes to sports.
And, I think it’s fair to say, Mishawaka offers visiting fans a wider variety and higher quality of places to dine before and after games than Elkhart.
Mishawaka works.
It’s a longer drive than Elkhart, no doubt.
In the end, I think it will be worth it.
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