Change is coming in the Summit Athletic Conference for football, and more could be on the horizon.
Outside the Huddle has learned that beginning with the 2023 season, the SAC will adopt a two-year rotation with its scheduling. Each cycle will include home and away games over a two-year period with the same teams playing each week. The slate will then switch in 2025 for another two-year stretch, and so on.
The current SAC regular-season schedule has been the same since the 2016 campaign and will remain that way through 2022 before beginning the two-year cycle format.
The SAC used to consistently rotate the league schedule every two years, but stopped that practice following the 2008 season.
The adoption of the plan will not only bring some much-needed variation to a league slate that has grown stale, it will also benefit some teams that have faced a gauntlet of games every season.
For instance, since 2016 North Side has faced Snider, Bishop Dwenger and Carroll in consecutive weeks to begin the season. The program is 1-14 in Weeks 1-3 during that time.
Conversely, a team like Bishop Dwenger will see a significant step up in competition over its first three weeks. The Saints are 15-0 over the last five years in the first three weeks of the season opening with Wayne, North Side and South Side.
While the update to the schedule is a definite, OTH has also learned that radical changes to the SAC were proposed for 2021 and beyond and found widespread support, but did not garner the unanimous approval needed to be adopted.
The proposal included separating the SAC into two divisions – a “small school” division consisting of Bishop Luers, Concordia, North Side, South Side and Wayne and a “big school” division of Bishop Dwenger, Carroll, Homestead, Northrop and Snider.
In the proposed format, the “division schedule” would be in Weeks 4-8. With five teams per division, one team each week will have an open date in which it can schedule a game against a team from the other division OR a non-league foe.
Inter-division games would not count towards a team’s division win-loss record, similar to the Northeast Corner Conference’s format.
Weeks 1-2 would also be open for inter-division games or true non-conference contests.
Week 9 would be “Championship Week” in which the first-place teams in each division face off for the SAC championship and the Victory Bell. Second-place teams will also match up, third-place and so on.
While the plan sounds intriguing and reflects similar changes adopted by other leagues around the state – including the Central Indiana Conference – it needed all 10 member schools to approve for it to be enacted.
That said, the idea is not dead and could be revisited in the future.
SAC SCHEDULE FOR 2023 SEASON
Week 1
Bishop Dwenger at Wayne
Bishop Luers at South Side
Homestead at Concordia Lutheran
North Side at Northrop
Snider at Carroll
Week 2
Carroll at Wayne
Concordia Lutheran at Snider
Homestead at Bishop Luers
Northrop at Bishop Dwenger
North Side at South Side
Week 3
Bishop Dwenger at Carroll
Concordia Lutheran at Bishop Luers
Snider at Homestead
South Side at Northrop
Wayne at North Side
Week 4
Bishop Luers at Carroll
Northrop at Homestead
North Side at Bishop Dwenger
South Side at Concordia Lutheran
Wayne at Snider
Week 5
Bishop Dwenger at South Side
Carroll at Northrop
Concordia Lutheran at Wayne
Homestead at North Side
Snider at Bishop Luers
Week 6
Bishop Luers at Bishop Dwenger
Carroll at Homestead
Northrop at Snider
North Side at Concordia Lutheran
Wayne at South Side
Week 7
Bishop Luers at Wayne
Concordia Lutheran at Northrop
Homestead at Bishop Dwenger
Snider at North Side
South Side at Carroll
Week 8
Bishop Dwenger at Snider
Carroll at Concordia Lutheran
Northrop at Wayne
North Side at Bishop Luers
South Side at Homestead
Week 9
Bishop Luers at Northrop
Carroll at North Side
Concordia Lutheran at Bishop Dwenger
Snider at South Side
Wayne at Homestead
SAC SCHEDULE FOR 2024 SEASON
Week 1
Carroll at Snider
Concordia Lutheran at Homestead
Northrop at North Side
South Side at Bishop Luers
Wayne at Bishop Dwenger
Week 2
Bishop Dwenger at Northrop
Bishop Luers at Homestead
Snider at Concordia Lutheran
South Side at North Side
Wayne at Carroll
Week 3
Bishop Luers at Concordia Lutheran
Carroll at Bishop Dwenger
Homestead at Snider
Northrop at South Side
North Side at Wayne
Week 4
Bishop Dwenger at North Side
Carroll at Bishop Luers
Concordia Lutheran at South Side
Homestead at Northrop
Snider at Wayne
Week 5
Bishop Luers at Snider
Northrop at Carroll
North Side at Homestead
South Side at Bishop Dwenger
Wayne at Concordia Lutheran
Week 6
Bishop Dwenger at Bishop Luers
Concordia Lutheran at North Side
Homestead at Carroll
Snider at Northrop
South Side at Wayne
Week 7
Bishop Dwenger at Homestead
Carroll at South Side
Northrop at Concordia Lutheran
North Side at Snider
Wayne at Bishop Luers
Week 8
Bishop Luers at North Side
Concordia Lutheran at Carroll
Homestead at South Side
Snider at Bishop Dwenger
Wayne at Northrop
Week 9
Bishop Dwenger at Concordia Lutheran
Homestead at Wayne
Northrop at Bishop Luers
North Side at Carroll
South Side at Snider
Be the first to comment