Duneland Athletic Conference
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The Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) is a high school ahletic conference in Indiana serving eight members of the Indiana High School Athletic Association. Member schools are located in the counties of Lake County, Indiana, LaPorte County, Indiana, and Porter County, Indiana. Each school is classified based on enrollment as 5A for American football and 4A for basketball, the classes for the largest schools Indiana.
Contents |
[edit] Current members
| School | Mascott | Colors | Location | County | Year Joined | Enrollment (2007) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chesterton Senior High School | Trojans | maroon, gold | Chesterton, Indiana | Porter | 1970^ | 2050 |
| Crown Point High School | Bulldogs | red, white | Crown Point, Indiana | Lake | 1993 | 2406 |
| LaPorte High School | Slicers | orange, black | LaPorte, Indiana | LaPorte | 1976 | 1969 |
| Lake Central High School | Indians | royal blue, white | Dyer, Indiana | Lake | 2003 | 3086 |
| Merrillville High School | Pirates | purple, white | Merrillville, Indiana | Lake | 1975 | 2355 |
| Michigan City High School | Wolves | navy blue, silver, white | Michigan City, Indiana | LaPorte | 1972^^ | 1998 |
| Portage High School | Indians | red, white | Portage, Indiana | Porter | 1970^ | 2686 |
| Valparaiso High School | Vikings | kelly green, white | Valparaiso, Indiana | Porter | 1970^ | 2081 |
^Charter Member
^^Michigan City initially joined as Michigan City Rogers High School
[edit] History
- 1970: Chesterton, Portage, Valparaiso, and Hobart High School began competition as the Duneland Athletic Conference. Chesterton & Portage had been members of the Calumet Conference; Hobart & Valparaiso had been independents.
- 1972: Michigan City Rogers joins the DAC.
- 1975: Merrillville joins the conference, leaving the Lake Suburban Conference.
- 1976: LaPorte joins after being independent for two years following its departure from the Northern Indiana Conference.
- 1993: Crown Point joins the DAC following the disbandment of the Lake Suburban Conference.
- 1995: Michigan City Rogers is merged with Michigan City Elston, who was a member of the Northern Indiana Conference, to form Michigan City High School.
- 2003: Hobart, the only non-5A football school, leaves to join the Lake Athletic Conference. Lake Central joins in place of Hobart following being independent since the disbandment of the Lake Suburban Conference in 1993.
[edit] 2003 Expansion
In 2002, five schools - East Chicago Central High School, Elkhart Central High School, Lake Central High School, Mishawaka High School, & Penn High School - submitted proposals to join the DAC when expansion talks began following Hobart's announcement it would leave to join the Lake Athletic Conference[1]. Lake Central, Mishawaka, & Penn were extended invitations to join the DAC[2]. Under this proposal the conference would have split into east and west divisions. Crown Point, Lake Central, Merrillville, Portage, & Valparaiso would have comprised the west; the east would have then been Chesterton, LaPorte, Michigan City, Mishawaka, & Penn. Mishawaka, shortly followed by Penn, voted to not join the conference[3][4]. These two schools cited wanting Elkhart Central, who would have been in the eastern division, and East Chicago Central, who would have been placed in the west, to have been invited to join as well[4]. This coupled with the extensive travel times to Lake County schools led to their decision to remain in the Northern Indiana Conference[4].
[edit] Boys State Champions
- Baseball (5): 1982-LaPorte, 1987-LaPorte, 1990-LaPorte, 1992-LaPorte, 2000-Laporte (4A)
- Cross-County (9): 1974-Portage, 1983-Valparaiso, 1984-Portage, 1985-Valparaiso, 1986-Valparaiso, 1992-Portage, 1997-Valparaiso, 1999-Portage, 2000-Valparaiso
- Football (7): 1975-Valparaiso (3A), 1976-Merrillville (3A), 1977-Portage (3A), 1987-Hobart (4A), 1989-Hobart (4A), 1991-Hobart (4A), 1993-Hobart (4A)
- Soccer (1): 2004-Valparaiso
- Swimming (1): 2008-Chesterton
- Wrestling (1): 1989-Chesterton
[edit] Girls State Champions
- Cross-County (5): 1999-Valparaiso, 2000-Valparaiso, 2002-Valparaiso, 2003-Valparaiso, 2004-Valparaiso
- Golf (3): 1978-LaPorte, 1981-MC Rogers, 1982-MC Rogers
- Gymnastics (12): 1975-Portage, 1981-Valparaiso, 1986-Merrillville, 1991-Valparaiso, 1992-Merrillville, 1993-Chesterton, 1994-Valparaiso, 1997-Valparaiso, 1998-Valparaiso, 2000-Chesterton, 2002-Chesterton, 2008-Valparaiso
- Softball (4): 1993-Merrillville, 1997-Merrillville, 2000-Portage (3A), 2004-Lake Central (4A)
- Volleyball (1): 1995-Michigan City
