I like it too. Simple and shows each of the school's mascots.
Possible conference shakeup?
- Thread starter kaz36
- Start date
Valentine will be leaving the Southwest Conference and will be joining the South Platte Valley Association in the 2025-2026 school year.
If I were Chase County, I'd be looking at the SWC is an option. Kimball, Mitchell, and Valentine in the same conference is going to put some miles on a school bus.
Really like this move for Valentine. The travel will essentially be the same as when they were in the SWC but it will fit their size of school more consistently going forward. Long gone are the days where will Valentine will be a consistent C1 school based on enrollment. This also gives the SPVA an 8 team conference. I would look for the SWC to reach out to Lexington to see if they would be interested in going to the SWC. That would make the SWC an 8 team conference as well.
SWC Miles
Broken Bow: 130
Cozad: 167
Gothenburg: 157
Holdrege: 205
McCook: 198
Minden: 216
Ogallala: 184
SPVA Miles
Bridgeport: 200
Chase County: 224
Hershey: 143
Kimball: 259
Mitchell: 219
St. Pats: 131
Perkins County: 202
SWC Miles
Broken Bow: 130
Cozad: 167
Gothenburg: 157
Holdrege: 205
McCook: 198
Minden: 216
Ogallala: 184
SPVA Miles
Bridgeport: 200
Chase County: 224
Hershey: 143
Kimball: 259
Mitchell: 219
St. Pats: 131
Perkins County: 202
I wouldn’t be surprised if Chase County was approached by the SWC in a few years if their enrollment stays in C1. Gives Ogallala a partner and puts the SWC at 8.
Ogallala
Chase County*
McCook
Holdrege
Minden
Gothenburg
Cozad
Broken Bow
Agreed. The travel doesn’t change much for Valentine and puts them in a league with schools with similar enrollment.
Wish we could see one more Hershey sized school out that way someday with a consolidation, but probably won’t happen for a long time.
I find it hard to believe they will stay C1 in not drop enrollment over the next ten years
I thought the same thing 4-5 years ago, but their numbers are growing. They went back up to C1 in football this year and their boys numbers for basketball are in the top 1/3 of C1, girls in the middle of the pack. Maybe it’s a blip, or maybe they are getting more kids from Grant, Wa-Pa districts.
SWC SPVA
Bow 171 Bridgeport 136
Cozad 141 Hershey 83
Gothenburg 130 Kimball 135
Holdredge 135 Mitchell 180
McCook 62 St Pat's 96
Minden 158 Grant 27
Ogallalla 48 Valentine 227
120.1 126.3
For an extra 12 miles per trip, I'd stay with old friends, personally. And the drive times are actually less for the SPVA.
Not any major influx from neighbors, but almost every new pen rider, cowboy, or farmhand the last 20+ years has been from Mexico. The families have gotten larger and younger. It will be interesting to see if that remains true with the 2nd gen here, and going forward. That, near as I can tell has propelled the small growth. You also have the smaller classes collapsing around them, which means even small growth looks significant.
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