OVC proposal: “Mega conference” pondered by Argenta-Oreana

Recently, Argenta-Oreana’s administration offered a proposal that called for what Clinton athletic director Karl Parrish said could be a “mega conference.”

This proposal will give the Okaw Valley Conference up of 16 schools that include all current OVC teams and four of the schools interested in potentially joining the conference.

Those schools, as indicated by a recent meeting with teams not contemplating departure from the conference (Clinton, Maroa-Forsyth, Monticello, St. Teresa and Tolono Unity) are Eureka, Stanford Olympia, St. Joseph-Ogden, Champaign St. Thomas More and Paxton-Buckley-Loda.

The OVC schools will have a meeting on Wednesday in Argenta to discuss the new proposal.

“We’ll see how the meeting goes Wednesday,” Parrish said. “[The new proposal] looks very intriguing. Clinton is open to listening to the option. It’s the newest idea in this crazy tale.”

Sullivan, Shelbyville and Meridian’s boards of education have approved tentative plans to leave the conference.

The plans depend on the actions of four other schools: Argenta-Oreana, Tuscola, Central A&M and Warrensburg-Latham.

“No one wants to look over their shoulder and see no one coming,” Parrish said. “It’s a complicated situation, and timing is of the essence. If movement is made, schools need to know what’s available with scheduling.”

For the complete article see the 07-24-2012 issue.

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