Sandusky Bay Conference

The Sandusky Bay Conference is a high school athletic conference in the Sandusky Bay area of north central Ohio. It is affiliated with the Ohio High School Athletic Association.

Members

The SBC has 20 members schools located within Erie, Huron, Ottawa, Richland, Sandusky, & Seneca counties. The schools range in size from Division 3 to Division 7. The reasonably short travel distances and limited range of sizes promotes tight competition throughout all sanctioned sports and a long history of membership with several rivalries. Several member schools have won state championships.

The league lineup and divisional breakdown beginning in 2017-18.

The football divisional breakdown beginning in 2017-18.

• NOTE: Shelby will be leaving the SBC for the MOAC, possibly in 2018 at the earliest.^[1]

Future members

Athletic competition

The conference was established in 1948 and offers competition in the following sports:

• baseball; boys
• cross-country; boys & girls
• basketball; boys & girls
• cheerleading; boys & girls
• football; boys
• golf; boys & girls
• soccer; boys & girls
• softball; girls
• swimming; boys & girls
• tennis; boys & girls
• track & field; boys & girls
• volleyball; girls
• wrestling; boys

Former members

Former members who are returning to the SBC with the 2016 and 2018 expansions are outlined in those sections.

League history

1940s

• 1948: The SBC is formed with inaugural members Danbury, Elmore, Genoa, Gibsonburg, Oak Harbor, Port Clinton & Fremont St. Joseph CC.
• 1949: Port Clinton leaves and is replaced by Clyde.

1950s

• 1950: Sandusky St. Mary CC joins.
• 1956: Genoa leaves to help form the Northern Lakes League.
• 1957: Danbury leaves.
• 1958: Elmore leaves and is replaced by Tiffin Calvert and Carey.
• 1959: Gibsonburg leaves.

1960s

• 1960: Lakota & Mohawk join.
• 1963: Carey leaves and is replaced by Margaretta & Gibsonburg, who rejoins after a four-year absence.
• 1966: Tiffin Calvert leaves.
• 1968: Huron & Fostoria St. Wendelin join.

1970s

• 1972: Gibsonburg, Lakota & Oak Harbor leave to form the Suburban Lakes League. St. Wendelin also leaves the league. They are replaced by Sandusky Perkins & Tiffin Calvert, who rejoins the league.

1980s

• 1980: Port Clinton leaves the Great Lakes League and rejoins after a 31-year absence.
• 1986: St. Joseph CC & Tiffin Calvert leave to help form the Midland Athletic League. They are replaced by Edison, who left the Firelands Conference, and by Oak Harbor, who returns from the SLL.

2010s

• 2013: On February 1, St. Mary CC announced they would be forming a new league called the Sandusky River League in 2014-15 with Calvert (who instead joined the TAAC), Lakota, New Riegel, Old Fort & St. Joseph CC. St. Wendelin would join them later. This league's intent was to have 8 football-playing members and 2-3 non-football schools. This league will ultimately give a home to the remaining MAL schools.^[2]
• 2014: On December 10, the SBC announced plans to expand.^[3] Invitations were accepted by Lakota, New Riegel, Old Fort, Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic, Sandusky St. Mary Central Catholic & Fostoria St. Wendelin Catholic (all of which now play in the Sandusky River League), Tiffin Calvert, a former member of the SBC now a member of the TAAC, and Vermilion, currently a member of the West Shore Conference.
• 2016: On March 16, Clyde principal William J. Webb and the Northern Ohio League announced that the NOL will merge into the SBC for the 2017-18 school year. Bellevue, Norwalk, Sandusky, Shelby, Tiffin Columbian, and Willard will become the league's newest members.^[4][5]
• 2017: Both Gibsonburg and Danbury announced that they would leave the TAAC and return to the SBC for the 2018-2019 school year. In April 2017, St. Wendelin announced that it would close in June following the 2016-2017 school year.^[6]

In July 2017, North Union announced they would be leaving the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference to join the Central Buckeye Conference. This prompted the MOAC to invite Shelby as a replacement, which they accepted. A timeline for departure hasn't been established yet, but it is possible that Shelby could spend only one year in the SBC.^[7]

2016 Expansion

The first wave of expansion will begin with the 2016-17 school year and will consist of two divisions that will divide schools by size. The larger schools will make up the Bay Division, and the smaller schools will make up the River Division. The divisional lineup will vary depending on the sport, with Margaretta playing in the River Division for football & wrestling, and in the Bay Division for all other sports. New Riegel & Old Fort do not have football. The two divisions will operate more-or-less as two separate leagues under a single parent umbrella and will crown two separate champions in each sport. There will be no forced crossovers in football and inter-divisional games will not count toward conference records.^[8]

2017 Expansion

On March 16, 2016, both Clyde principal William J. Webb and NOL president Nate Artino (Bellevue principal) announced that six of the NOL schools were invited to join the SBC for the 2017-18 school year. Mr. Webb declined to disclose details on divisional breakdowns until all six school boards had approved the league switch.^[9]

On March 17, 2016, Norwalk Director of Student Activities Josh Schlotterer advised the divisional breakdown would be based on enrollment and some schools would slide between divisions for football and all other sports as there are three non-football members.^[10]

2018 Expansion

On March 16, 2017, SBC Executive Secretary/Treasurer Gregg Hedden announced that Danbury Local Schools would be joining the conference, effective in 2018, adding that Danbury would be a member of the River Division.^[11]

On March 20th, SBC Executive Secretary/Treasurer Gregg Hedden announced that Gibsonburg Local Schools would be joining the River Division, effective 2018. Their school board voted unanimously to join at the fall of 2018 sports season. Gibsonburg leaves the Toledo Athletic Area Conference. This adds Gibsonburg as the 9th Member of the River Division.^[12]

League Timeline

Championships

Championships

Divisional Championships - Fall Sports

Divisional Championships - Winter Sports

Divisional Championships - Spring Sports

• SBC Football home page
• SBC history

See also

• High school athletics conferences in Ohio