Triton Among Teams Leaving Northern State Conference
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Anthony Gadson-agadson@timesuniononline.com
BOURBON — The dominoes have begun to fall for northern Indiana athletics. Rumors of Culver and Knox leaving the Northern State Conference have been swirling, and the announcement was made official Monday, with Triton High School joining the exodus. “It was bittersweet,” Triton Athletic Director Mason McIntyre said during interviews with media members Monday at the high school. “We’ve been in this conference for 33 years, so leaving is difficult. When we sit back and look at our programs across the board, we feel like this gives us the best opportunity to compete at a high level for all our sports. Some of our teams are already competing at a high level, and we can schedule their non-conference games a little stronger if we need to. The NSC is a strong conference and this new one will be a little bit weaker, but I still think it’s going to be very competitive.” The new conference includes Triton, Culver, Knox, Caston, North Judson, Pioneer and Winamac, with another to be announced soon. The NSC bylaws have a two-year exit period, so Triton would continue to play in the conference this year and next, before officially making the move. Moving from the Three Rivers Conference to the NSC in 1980, the Triton Trojans have had a long tradition in the conference, but a lot has changed in 33 years. “When you sit back and look at our conference, the dynamic of it has changed so much in the last 30 years,” McIntyre said. “The schools have spread in enrollment, which makes it difficult to have the competitive balance, which we’re looking for in this new conference.” The biggest discrepancy between the schools is undoubtedly on the football field. Since 1990, only the Jimtown Jimmies, Bremen Lions and New Prairie Cougars have won the NSC crown, with Jimtown winning it 18 times. In that time, Triton’s won a total of 31 NSC games, two of which were forfeitures, for an average of 1.3 conference wins a year. “Football is a driver in this thing, honestly,” McIntyre said. “When you talk to these other schools, football is a big factor. You don’t want to say football’s any more important than the other sports, but it obviously helps bring in a lot of revenue. You have to be cautious about that and think about that. “When you compete well, people want to follow,” he added. “We’re hoping this new conference gives us a chance to compete week in and week out, and drive up some revenue as well.” Before coaching even one NSC game, first-year Triton football coach John Johns was answering questions about the move. “I believe every aspect of the move was considered,” Johns said. “There are some things that are going to be beneficial, then there’s going to be stuff we’ll struggle with a little bit. Overall, I think it was the best move we could have made.” Johns is a coach who vows he wants to take on the best, but also has a rational side. “Not to say we’re afraid to play anybody, but here’s what it boils down to – when you’re playing programs that have 50, 60, 70 kids in them, they’re rotating guys in,” he said. “We got tired Friday night in the fourth quarter (of a 25-13 win over Caston) because we’re dressing 25 guys that are eligible. It’s one of those situations where you can’t compete on a consistent basis with larger programs. I’d love to go down to Warren Central and play them 11-on-11, because that’s all you can put on a field, but when you put their 85 up against your 25, it’s a tough sell.” Competition on the football field may improve for Triton, but for its basketball programs, winning hasn’t been a problem. In his eight full seasons as the head coach of the boys basketball team, Jason Groves’ teams have won four NSC crowns, all coming in the past five years. With that kind of success, the news of the move hit him a little differently than some of other coaches. “There’s great competition and great coaches in our conference,” Groves said of the NSC. “It makes those rivalries with Bremen, Glenn, New Prairie, Jimtown and all the other teams in the conference that much more special. The fact that it’s a conference game, makes it that much more special. It’s going to be different, that’s for sure.” Adam Heckaman’s girls basketball team is also fresh off an NSC championship, sweeping through its 2012-13 conference schedule. “My initial reaction was just a little disappointment, based on the rivalries we already have with the NSC teams, and also playing the bigger schools,” Heckaman said. “But when looking at it real close, there’s a lot of good girls basketball teams in the new conference. “We’ll have to get on board and do the best we can,” he added. “Schedule as many of the NSC teams as we still can, then develop new rivalries with the teams we’ll be playing with in the new conference.” The mixed feelings among coaches is something McIntyre expected, as he too was conflicted about the move. “We’ve been thinking about this for a while, and a lot over the weekend, when we came to the conclusion,” McIntyre said. “I felt really good about the decision, then this morning, I kind of had that pit in my stomach. Not so much because it’s the wrong decision, but because it’s actually making it real. I kind of have mixed feelings about it. Kind of sad about it.” The move was one made almost out of necessity, according to McIntyre. Culver had begun talking about leaving the NSC back in May, and once Knox was also involved, the writing was on the wall. The decision was, with two NSC teams leaving, should Triton join them or wait to see what other schools were invited to replace them? “I had to look at it and say, ‘What teams could we bring in? Are they going to keep it at the same competitive level it’s at or make it stronger?’ When you look at the map, there’s just no schools, especially with Culver and Knox leaving, that can make it to where it’s the same competitiveness,” he said. “The only thing that was going to happen was the NSC was going to become stronger as a conference. And that’s great for the conference, but that’s not necessarily better for us.” Instead of risking two larger schools filling the void left by Culver and Knox, McIntyre and administrators opted to help form the new conference. With that decision, McIntyre then had to inform his coaches. “For some of (the coaches), it’s really hard for them to wrap their minds around the idea of making a change, just as it was for me,” he said. “Some of our coaches grew up here, played in the NSC and coached in the NSC. The NSC is also a very competitive league. We’ve been fortunate to be in the conference we’ve been in for so long. Some of them had a hard time with it, but it’s one of those things where only time will help it.” Groves is one of those coaches that grew up in the NSC, as are Heckaman and McIntyre, who both are 1999 Triton graduates. While Groves attended John Glenn High School, the ties to the conference are the same. “I’ve always known the NSC,” Groves said. “Sentimentally, it was sad and it was kind of shocking to see Knox and Culver leave. That kind of put us in a position to decide what was best for us as a school, not just basketball.” The decision was a shocking one to many, but as time goes by, the sting will fade, as the student/athletes continue to compete. “At the end of the day, competition is competition,” Johns said. “What is going to be best for our kids is probably what drove the decision the most.” With this decision made, other schools will now need to decide what they will do as many more administrations will face the same decision thrust on Triton. “It could be a big domino effect that affects a lot of conferences,” McIntyre said.
