Great Lakes Conference Explained

The Great Lakes Conference was an OHSAA athletics conference that began play with the 2015-16 school year.[1] [2] It disbanded following the 2023-24 school year.

Members

SchoolNicknameLocationColors[3] TypeTenureDivision
BayRocketsBay Village, OhioBlue, White, & Red
Public2015-2024West
BuckeyeBucksYork Township, OhioBrown, Orange, & White
Public2019-2024East
Elyria CatholicPanthersElyria, OhioGreen & White
Roman Catholic2015-2024West
FairviewWarriorsFairview Park, OhioScarlet & Gray
Public2019-2023West
Holy NameGreen WaveParma Heights, OhioGreen & White
Roman Catholic2015-2024East
LakewoodRangersLakewood, OhioPurple & Gold
Public2020-2024East
NormandyInvadersParma, OhioOrange & White
Public2015-2024East
EaglesNorth Olmsted, OhioOrange & Black
Public2021-2024West
Parma SeniorRedmenParma, OhioRed & Gray
Public2015-2023East
Rocky RiverPiratesRocky River, OhioMaroon & White
Public2015-2024West
Valley ForgePatriotsParma Heights, OhioNavy Blue & White
Public2015-2024East
WestlakeDemonsWestlake, OhioForest Green & White
Public2021-2024West

League history

As part of a significant realignment in Cleveland-area high school leagues at the time, the Great Lakes Conference was formed in 2015 by seven schools that were located in Cleveland's west suburbs and had similar competition levels.[4] Normandy, Parma, and Valley Forge came from the former Northeast Ohio Conference, Bay, Elyria Catholic, and Rocky River came from the former West Shore Conference, and Holy Name came from the North Coast League.

The league added Buckeye and Fairview in 2019.[5] Buckeye and Fairview were two of four schools being left out after eight of the 12 Patriot Athletic Conference schools decided to form a new league with more compact traveling distances.

On April 16, 2019, it was announced that Lakewood would join for the 2020-21 school year, leaving the Southwestern Conference in order to do so.

On February 20, 2020, it was announced that North Olmsted and Westlake would join for the 2021-22 school year, bring the GLC's membership to 12 schools. Both schools came from the Southwestern Conference.[6] With 12 members, the GLC will split into two divisions for some sports. The East Division will consists of Buckeye, Holy Name, Lakewood, Normandy, Parma, and Valley Forge; the West Division consists of Bay, Elyria Catholic, Fairview, North Olmsted, Rocky River, and Westlake.[7]

End of the conference

In June 2022, Parma City Schools approved a consolidation plan that would close Parma Senior High School along with two elementary schools following the 2022-23 school year.[8]

In March 2023, Fairview announced that they would be joining the Chagrin Valley Conference starting with the winter sports season of the 2023-2024 school year.[9] This came following a concern that Fairview would be "the smallest public school in an increasingly growing pool of larger ones."

In May 2023, eight GLC members (Bay, Buckeye, Lakewood, Normandy, North Olmsted, Rocky River, Valley Forge, and Westlake) announced that they would be leaving to form a new league for the 2024-2025 school year.[10] This left only Elyria Catholic and Holy Name under the GLC banner. In May, those two announced they would form the North Coast Conference along with five other schools.[11] The NCC will begin with the 2024-25 school year. In July 2024 the eight members that left to form a new league announced the name of their new league, the Cleveland West Conference.[12]

Rivalries

The major rivalries in the GLC include the following:

(Interdivisional)

Lakewood Rangers vs Rocky River Pirates

(Divisional)

(West): Bay Village Rockets vs Westlake Demons

(East): Buckeye Bucks vs Valley Forge Patriots

Championships

This information is of clearly stated champions according to the available end of season reports by the Great Lakes Conference from years 2015-2021.[13]

!School!Nickname!Men's Championships!Women's Championships!Total Championships!Most Recent Championship
BayRockets18624Men's Tennis, Men's Basketball (2021)
BuckeyeBucks213Wrestling, Softball (2021)
Elyria CatholicPanthers347Baseball (2021)
FairviewWarriors101Men's Basketball (2020)
Holy NameGreen Wave4610Volleyball, Men's Basketball (2020)
LakewoodRangers000N/A
NormandyInvaders100Men's Tennis (2021)
North OlmsteadEagles000N/A
Parma SeniorRedmen213Wrestling (2018)
Rocky RiverPirates191534Men's & Women's Track, Men's & Women's Cross Country, Women's Basketball (2021)
Valley ForgePatriots000N/A
WestlakeDemons112Volleyball, Men's Soccer (2021)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Leonard. Michael. Northeast Ohio Conference Fades Into History With a Whimper . Tallmadge Express. June 28, 2015. August 17, 2015.
  2. Web site: Archived copy . 2015-08-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150906044221/http://www.ohsaa.org/members/OHSAAConferences.pdf . 2015-09-06 . dead .
  3. http://officials.myohsaa.org/Outside/SearchSchool
  4. Web site: Rozboril. Robert. New Great Lake Conference to include seven local schools for 2015-16 season . Northeast Ohio Media Group. April 28, 2014. June 11, 2018.
  5. Web site: Goul. Matt. Fairview, Buckeye joining the Great Lakes Conference in 2019 . www.cleveland.com. May 10, 2018. June 11, 2018.
  6. Web site: North Olmsted, Westlake to move to Great Lakes Conference in 2021 . Morning Journal . February 28, 2020.
  7. Web site: Great Lake Conference 2021-22: 12 Schools - 2 Divisions . 2023-01-26 . greatlakesconference.org . en.
  8. Web site: Kosich. John. Ross. Catherine. Parma Senior High School and 2 elementary schools closing at end of 2022-23 school year . WEWS-TV. June 10, 2022. May 13, 2023.
  9. Web site: OFFICIAL: Fairview to Join Chagrin Valley Conference Beginning Winter 2023 . FairviewAthletics.com. March 3, 2023. May 13, 2023.
  10. Web site: McKee. Vince. 8 Schools Depart GLC to Form New Conference . Kee On Sports Media Group. May 13, 2023. May 13, 2023.
  11. Web site: Shapiro. Todd. Elyria Catholic finds home in new conference (UPDATED) . The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. May 31, 2023. June 7, 2023.
  12. Web site: Goul. Matt. Former GLC public schools formally announce Cleveland West Conference . cleveland.com. July 15, 2024. July 15, 2024.
  13. Web site: Great Lakes Conference . 2023-01-26 . greatlakesconference.org . en.