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Warsaw's boys basketball program elected to drop Tippecanoe Valley for a 4A opponent, Penn, starting with the 2001-2002 season.
The schools have dropped their games in previous years, most recently in 1993-1994, but this time may be different. Class basketball didn't exist previously. Now it does, and Warsaw wants to load its non-conference schedule with class 4A schools.
Valley, which will replace Warsaw with South Bend St. Joe, is a class 3A school.
"Outside of our conference games," Warsaw coach Al Rhodes said, "it is my belief we should play 4A schools."
Said Warsaw athletic director Dave Fulkerson: "With class sports, you now have to take a look at the teams you would run into in the tournament. We're picking up Penn, because that is who we would run into at the semistate."
The Valley game was always one of Warsaw's best moneymakers when it came to gate receipts.
Bill Patrick is in his third year as Valley coach, and he lamented the loss of the county rivalry. Clearly he and Tippecanoe Valley Athletic Director Duane Burkhart hoped to continue playing Warsaw.
"It's too bad for the fans," Patrick said. "It hurts basketball when you have teams that are close and are rivals and they won't play anymore. Even though Warsaw is a lot larger and they will win the games a majority of the time, it's a game everyone enjoys.
"I don't think this is good for basketball. We need more games with big rivals, not fewer."
Said Burkhart: "It was a good rivalry. We would always welcome the opportunity to compete against Warsaw down the road during the season if it opened up."
While the matchup still is popular, the rivalry lost a lot of its luster when the two schools quit playing in the same sectional after the 1991 season. Warsaw hosted and won that last sectional game between the two schools 79-76. Class basketball has diminished the rivalry even more.
"Teams that used to be big rivals in the past, with class sports, it's gone to the wayside," Fulkerson said.
At the same time, Fulkerson acknowledged Valley vs. Warsaw "has always been a highly visible game. It amounts to bragging rights in the county."
Warsaw owns a 22-4 career record against Tippecanoe Valley. Until Valley's 59-56 Wednesday win, Valley last beat Warsaw 74-53 during the 1989 regular season. Valley's other wins came in sectional games against Warsaw in 1979 and 1987.
Warsaw and Valley quit playing each other in football after 1999. Valley initiated the talks to drop Warsaw in football, and both sides agreed on the decision.
