Traditions Out, Travel In Under New WIAA Format

The days of M & O Football as we know it could be over.

Same goes for the Bay Conference.

If all goes the way the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) has planned, the days of conferences in football will end, effective: now.

Peshtigo could be the last M & O Conference champion, as 80 years of conference affiliations will move out of the way for district realignment, when teams will play similar sized schools in eight-team districts.

Under the proposal, which is almost a sure thing according to all sources contacted, the top six divisions in Wisconsin football will be divided into eight eight-team districts. The smallest division (seven) will have smaller numbers in each district, an example being Wausaukee in a seven-team district.

The Rangers, the smallest football program enrollment-wise in the reading area, will be affected the most by this proposal, as their average travel per away game will increase from roughly 47 miles per game to almost 140 miles per game.

The Rangers will have to make a trip to Port Edwards (180-plus miles one way) and Wisconsin Rapids Assumption (over 175 miles), with the shortest trek being a run to Green Bay to take on the brand-new NEW Lutheran program, if the current proposal goes through.

“Personally, I don’t like it,” said Wausaukee athletic director Bill Wickman. “The travel expenses and to have the kids on the bus three hours one way, it’s just gonna hurt us.”

“I agree with Bill, 100 percent,” said Marinette coach and athletic director Joel Hanner. “It may be hard to get some coaches to coach. There’s a lot of things that go hand-in-hand here. A lot of inconsistencies. It’s going to be very difficult. I hope it works out.”

The reasoning behind the proposed change is to give smaller schools a better opportunity to advance to the post-season, as some conferences have a rather sizeable discrepancy and most of the bigger schools are securing the post-season berths.

In the latest enrollment figures taken by the WIAA, Wausaukee (164) is half the size of the largest school in the conference, Peshtigo (327).

“The issue of being a small school in a larger conference, we don’t care about that,” Wickman said. “I think everybody has competed in the M & O.”

Each team in the M & O Conference has made the post-season at least once in the last four seasons.

“We’ve had no problem playing in the M & O,” Wickman continued. “We are happy in the M & O.”

Under the proposal, teams would play a seven-game district schedule with one non-district game to take place in the first week of action.

The top four teams will advance to the post-season (to be held week nine), while the bottom four teams will square off with a team in another district that finished in a similar position.

All schools in the big six divisions will only have to schedule one non-league game, which will take place in week one.

“We’ve had such a revolving door for week one,” admitted Jeff Bronson, Coleman’s athletic director. “It will relieve us of a headache.”

“The distance and mileage is going to be a pain, obviously a drawback,” Bronson continued. “(But) you have two choices. You either do what the WIAA tells you or you leave. You’d like to have more say or input.”

The opportunities to argue for or against the new proposal have come and gone, and mixed reviews were found all over the place.

For teams like Gillett, travel time won’t change much. The Tigers are proposed to be in a group with Bonduel (15 miles away) and Menominee Indian (18), while maintaining their match-up with Peshtigo.

Oconto won’t be drastically affected either, as the Blue Devils will have familiar foes Kewaunee, Wrightstown, Southern Door and Sturgeon Bay in their district.

M & O teams Suring, Peshtigo, Lena/STAA and Coleman will all average about an hour on a bus to each away game, which is a slight difference from the 35-45 minute average from before.

It is the northern teams (Crivitz, Wausaukee, Northern Elite), and bigger schools in the area (Marinette and Oconto Falls) that will see the brunt of the travel change.

Marinette and Oconto Falls were originally supposed to be placed in a district quite similar to the current Bay Conference, but as of last week, the district has changed and travel distances have skyrocketed.

“Obviously the first recommendation, we were more favorable to that,” said Hanner. “The big reason is our travel costs and geographically. A longer trip for our kids and our fans.”

Now, Marinette has the second farthest average trip of the area teams behind Wausaukee.

“We’re kind of stuck in the lumber up here,” Hanner admitted. “We’re going to get stuck paying more for mileage like a lot of other teams who are up north. You’re isolated and you’re gonna be on the road more.”

As it is proposed now, Marinette and Oconto Falls will be in a district with Lakeland (in Minocqua), Mosinee, Tomahawk, Northland Pines, Waupaca, and Clintonville, all trips that would take over an hour and in some cases up to three hours.

“That definitely is a night-and-day distance from what our mileage cost was,” Hanner added.

The big concern for some schools is losing the conference affiliations and the accompanying rivalries.

“(The WIAA is) not concerned about rivalries,” Wickman opined. “We’re not gonna have any rivalries. It’s just gonna hurt us.”

That concern isn’t as widespread in this area like the travel is. Every team in the area would increase travel average except for Gillett, which will remain almost exactly the same.

Although travel will change, not every team is against the modernized proposal.

“We would much rather play in the district alignment or the M & O, so our kids have to step it up,” said Northern Elite coach and Niagara superintendent Dan nett. “It would benefit our kids to play tougher competition. We would still play Florence (in the non-district game week one) and Laona/Wabeno, two big games in our conference.”

“We do like it and hope the district alignment happens,” Nett added. “Most of the people I spoke to are in agreement with the set-up. We voted to support the district alignment.”

With the potential alignment, the districts would be looked at every two years to make sure the enrollments are still similar. If not, adjustments will be made.

“I actually don’t mind the change every two years,” Bronson noted. “If they’re gonna do this, that’s one thing they will have to do a good job of keeping up to keep it competitive.”

One area team that might be impacted the most by the switch isn’t even in Wisconsin.

The Menominee Maroons, who regularly schedule four Wisconsin opponents, will only have an opportunity for one now in the first week, and that will likely be reserved for Marinette.

“It’s devastating to us,” said Maroon coach Ken Hofer. “Let’s face it, we play Marinette and (three) other Wisconsin schools every year. Unless the state of Michigan decides to stick their nose in and make some changes, we’re gonna really struggle.”

“I agree with Coach Hofer,” Hanner chimed. “They’re really stuck behind the eight ball. It’s unfair for a lot of out of state teams whether it’s the U.P. or Minnesota. They’re not very happy.”

“It’s really sad this comes about for us,” Hofer added. “I don’t believe what they’re doing is necessary.”

Another problem local administrators see is the proposed plan to continue to have freshmen and JV games against current conference opponents.

Under the current plan, teams will not square off with their new district opponents until the varsity level.

Many programs, especially those at the small school levels, split up coaches between internal programs and that will take away game-planning.

“We’re not gonna have an idea of what they play on offense, what they do on defense,” said Wickman.

“You have two different things going on at once,” added Hanner. “You’d like to help your JV and freshmen in their preparation. They’re working on one area and we’re in a whole other area. It’s gonna be a lot more difficult with your continuity. It’s gonna make it a lot more difficult for everybody.”

The WIAA has been hearing complaints from small schools in bigger conferences for years and is finally planning on changing.

The hopes of the new system is to decrease the late-season hoopla that surrounds the opening-round of the playoffs, where teams play on Thursday, Tuesday and Saturday, or three games in nine days.

Aside from travel difficulties, the majority of the area coaches and administrators contacted believe the competition level will be better for their respective programs.

“I’ve talked to our coaching staff and the only thing they feel strongly about is we should be very competitive,” revealed Wickman. “Maybe we can advance in the playoffs, but at a cost.”

“There’s been years where we’ve had respectable teams and (future district opponent) Hilbert has come up here and throttled us,” recalled Bronson. “Even on our best day we would have struggled to compete with them. You’re still going to have the possibility (of competitive differences).”

“We finished 0-9, I don’t care where we’re at we have a ways to go,” Hanner insighted.

But the Marinette coach doesn’t feel a change is necessary, and likes the current format despite not winning a game this season and Marinette’s eight-year absence from the playoffs.

“We’re very happy where we’re at,” revealed Hanner. “We’ve been going to this area for many, many years. It’s been very good to us. We’ve always maintained an attitude that we’re just happy to be here. We’re just happy they accept us as part of the Bay.”

The latest revision of the plan was sent out to schools, coaches, conference commissioners and others on Friday, Nov. 6, and the Board of Control will review the revisions on Dec. 4.

Action should be taken later in the month and the plan could be finalized in January.

The likeliness of the proposal going through is evident in a timeline on the WIAA website which marks Feb. 1 as the date to distribute 2010 district schedules to member schools.

“As of right now, I think this is a done deal for 2010,” Wickman disclosed. “They wanted to see an equal playing level. Once they look at the travel, they might not like it.”

The district plan will only affect football and will not change conference affiliations for any other sports.

Recent stories, opinions and photos

Issue Date	Department	Headline
09-01-2010	Sports	Menominee Whips Wrightstown 33-12
09-01-2010	Sports	Fast Start Not Enough As Marines Falter 28-20
09-01-2010	Sports	Defense Rescues Titans in 12-0 Win; Suring, Wausaukee Roll
09-01-2010	Community - Wausaukee	Seek Vendors for Oct. 2 Wausaukee Fall Fest
09-01-2010	Community - Wausaukee	POW/MIA Services at Iron Mountain VA
09-01-2010	Community - Wausaukee	Fire Auxiliary Craft Fair Set for Nov. 20
09-01-2010	Community - Wausaukee	Athelstane Car Show Sept. 25
09-01-2010	Community - Crivitz	Crivitz Historical Picnic Sept. 12th
09-01-2010	Community - Crivitz	VFW Sponsors Essay Contest for Students
09-01-2010	Community - Crivitz	Free Plane Rides for Youth at Crivitz
09-01-2010	Community - Crivitz	LNRD Annual Meeting Sept. 4
09-01-2010	Community - Coleman	Blood Drive at Coleman Sept. 7
09-01-2010	News	Register For Fall Swim Classes
09-01-2010	Community - Coleman	Lioness Club To Meet Sept. 9th
09-01-2010	News	Northwoods Bar Auction Sept. 5
09-01-2010	Perspectives	Country Cousin
09-01-2010	Perspectives	From our readers
09-01-2010	Perspectives	Tales from the old-timer
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Kenneth Zeitler, Jr.
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Leona M. Thedick
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Marilyn J. Swacker
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Susan Stephenson
09-01-2010	Obituaries	LaVerne Sexton
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Alexander V. Peterson
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Jules J. Paluch
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Sadie Patz
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Darlene Nichols
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Addison T. McLain
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Veryle L. Kitchenmaster
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Edward N. Heger
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Lester G. Duescher
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Leah M. DePouw
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Whitney M. Cook
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Lorraine Carlson
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Jacob Brault
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Michele Boyd
09-01-2010	Obituaries	John A. Boswell
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Harriet Bonn
09-01-2010	Obituaries	Melvin G. Bartels
09-01-2010	Front Page	DOT, Town And City Confer On Bypass Issues
09-01-2010	Front Page	Lena School To Spend Federal Grant Cautiously
09-01-2010	Front Page	Two Dead In City Vehicle Accident
09-01-2010	Front Page	Marinette Co. Board Okays Long Term Care District
09-01-2010	Front Page	Over 32,000 Attend Marinette County Fair
08-25-2010	Sports	Marines Expect Improvement After Winless Campaign
08-25-2010	Sports	LaBarbera, Marines Enjoy Golf Success
08-25-2010	Sports	Timberjacks Claim North Division Showdown 27-14
08-25-2010	Sports	Line Experience Should Give Edge Over Coleman
08-25-2010	Perspectives	Country Cousin
08-25-2010	Perspectives	From our readers
08-25-2010	Perspectives	Tales from the old-timer
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Donna Walli
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Eleanor J. Stuart
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Nancy Poquette
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Dr. Edward A. Hunold
08-25-2010	Obituaries	William Hicks
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Walter J. Jozaitis, Jr.
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Caroline Constantini
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Francis Burns
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Charles E. VerBurst
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Clayton R. Tilkens
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Troy W. Strelow
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Jim Steppke
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Anthony Spehar
08-25-2010	Obituaries	LaVerne Sherman
08-25-2010	Obituaries	James Burr Reed
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Mildred Peterson
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Julia Petersen
08-25-2010	Obituaries	George F. Kreiling
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Audrey Hackbarth
08-25-2010	Obituaries	William E. Gryzwa
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Jeanette Fadroski
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Wendell A. DeLaruelle
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Dorothy DeBaker
08-25-2010	Obituaries	Michele Boyd
08-25-2010	News	NEWCARE Hosts Picnic Aug. 14
08-25-2010	News	Couple Has Girl
08-25-2010	News	Mother, Son Open Athelstane Business
08-25-2010	Community - Wausaukee	Thank A Vet Starts Sept. 1
08-25-2010	Community - Wausaukee	Vet Service Officer Addresses Legion
08-25-2010	Community - Wausaukee	Amberg Historical Lists Museum Opening Dates
08-25-2010	Community - Wausaukee	Anointing of Sick, Mass on Sept. 11
08-25-2010	Community - Coleman	AWANA Open House at Pound
08-25-2010	Community - Coleman	Schedule Change At Food Pantry
08-25-2010	Community - Coleman	Coleman Legion Disposal of Worn Flags Sept. 18
08-25-2010	Community - Coleman	150 at Cougar Booster Club Banquet Aug. 16
08-25-2010	Community - Crivitz	Natural Foods Store Now Open In Crivitz
08-25-2010	Community - Crivitz	Crivitz School Starts Sept. 1
08-25-2010	Community - Crivitz	Village Grading On FJ Street
08-25-2010	Front Page	Coleman Board Adds Year To Administrator Contract
08-25-2010	Front Page	15 Area Schools Get Federal Job Funding
08-25-2010	Front Page	County Board Meets Aug. 31
08-25-2010	Front Page	Big Events Planned At County Fair Aug. 26-29
08-25-2010	Front Page	Huge Marijuana Grow Is Found In County
08-18-2010	Community - Coleman	Coleman School Board Aug. 23
08-18-2010	Community - Coleman	Lentz Road Is Near Completion
08-18-2010	Community - Coleman	Town of Pound Sets Public Hearing
08-18-2010	Community - Coleman	Rymer Family Has Get Together in Pound
08-18-2010	Community - Wausaukee	GAD To Only Take Household Garbage
08-18-2010	Community - Wausaukee	Town of Wausaukee Board Denies Variance Permit
08-18-2010	Community - Crivitz	Crivitz Historical Picnic Sept. 12
08-18-2010	Community - Crivitz	Crivitz Ski Cats Last Show for Season Aug. 21
08-18-2010	Community - Crivitz	Storm Sewer, Utility Work on County A
08-18-2010	Community - Crivitz	Crivitz School Budget, Annual Meeting Aug. 24
08-18-2010	Perspectives	Country Cousin
08-18-2010	Perspectives	From our readers
08-18-2010	Perspectives	Tales from the old-timer
08-18-2010	News	1960 PHS Class Reunion Sept. 25
08-18-2010	News	Announce Birth
08-18-2010	News	Gillett Schools Get 2 Grants
08-18-2010	News	Town of Pound Sets Public Hearing
08-18-2010	Sports	Marinette Golfers Win Bay Opener
08-18-2010	Sports	Tadisch Signs On With Jets
08-18-2010	Sports	Shutte Scores Four Times As Timberjacks Roll To 71-8 Win
08-18-2010	Sports	Bezio And Woods Woods Allow 3 Hits, Fan 23 In Sunday Sweep Of Kingsford, Felch
08-18-2010	Front Page	Meditation On War At Marinette Sept. 18
08-18-2010	Front Page	DOT Rejects Lower Speed Near Wausaukee School
08-18-2010	Front Page	Over 200 Officers Involved In Arrest Of 12 In Drug Bust
08-18-2010	Front Page	Deny Peshtigo Claim On $1.14 Million Loan
08-18-2010	Front Page	Bikes, Blues & BBQ Fest In Peshtigo On Aug. 27, 28
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Gary A. Wolff
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Eugene J. Wojcik
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Harry E. White, Jr.
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Alice R. Thomson
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Jerod J. Therriault
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Darryl B. Saxton
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Margaret Rogers
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Carol V. Patient
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Lucille Olsen
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Gail M. Nelson
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Phyllis M. Marchewka
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Thomas Kuhlmann
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Marvin C. Krueger
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Herbert A. Kaufman
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Nancy Johnson
08-18-2010	Obituaries	James F. Janda
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Paul Hoffman
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Marlene Herzog
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Elsie Hafeman
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Robert Gustafson
08-18-2010	Obituaries	LuVerne Gray
08-18-2010	Obituaries	David Flink
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Charles R. Finger
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Richard B. Eckberg
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Robert Dvoran
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Wes M. Durocher
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Beatrice Dessauer
08-18-2010	Obituaries	Betty J. De Cleene
08-11-2010	Obituaries	Karen A. Zemke
08-11-2010	Obituaries	Joseph J. Zane