Principals Athletic Conference Explained

The Principals Athletic Conference (PAC-7) is an Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) athletic league, formed in 1989, made up of seven schools from Stark, Summit, and Wayne counties with full membership, and one football-only member in Ashland County.^[1]

The PAC-7 is home to some of the biggest rivalries in Northeast Ohio high school sports: the Triway Titans vs. the Orrville Red Riders,^[2] the Fairless Falcons vs. Tuslaw Mustangs in "The Blue Cup",^[3] and the Manchester Panthers vs. the Northwest Indians.^[4]

Current members

School	Nickname	Location	Colors	Type	Tenure
Canton South	Wildcats	Canton	Red and Gray	Public	2022-
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy	Royals	Cuyahoga Falls	Blue, White	Private	2001-2024
Fairless	Falcons	Navarre	Navy, Silver	Public	1989-
Manchester	Panthers	New Franklin	Red, Black	Public	1989-
Northwest	Indians	Lawrence	Red, Gray, White	Public	2017-
Orrville	Red Riders	Orrville	Red, Black, White	Public	2016-
	Titans	Wooster	Purple, White	Public	2005-
	Mustangs	Tuscarawas	Blue, Red, White	Public	1989-

Former members

School	Nickname	Location	Colors	Type	Tenure
Coventry	Comets	Coventry	Blue, Gold	Public	1989-2005
East Canton	Hornets	East Canton	Blue, Gold	Public	1989-2005
Indian Valley	Braves	Gnadenhutten	Red, Blue	Public	2007-2017
Sandy Valley	Cardinals	Magnolia	Red, Gray	Public	1989-2001
	Trojans	Canton	Blue, Gold	Public	2005-2015
	Trojans	Zoarville	Red, Black	Public	1989-2017

Former affiliate member

Recent history

• In January 2013, Northwest High School (Lawrence Township) and Orrville High School applied for membership in the PAC-8.^[5] Both were turned down after a league discussion.
• In February 2015, both Indian Valley and Tusky Valley announced that they would leave the PAC-8 in the 2016-17 school year to join the Inter-Valley Conference.^[6]
• On February 25, 2015, the Canton City School District unanimously approved a proposal to consolidate their school district into one high school, which will effectively close Timken as a traditional high school. Thus, Timken will drop out of the PAC. Timken will house Canton's freshmen, the Timken Early College High School, and several tech programs while sophomores, juniors, and seniors will attend Canton McKinley High School.^[7]
• On February 18, 2015 four schools asked to join the PAC: Canton South, Northwest, Orrville, and Loudonville.
• On March 4, 2015, two schools were invited to join the PAC: Orrville and Northwest. They are expected to accept the invitation.^[8] The league would like Orrville to join for 2016-17, bringing membership back up to eight after a year at seven, then would add Northwest for 2017-18 year when Indian Valley and Tusky Valley leave.^[9] On April 18, 2015, it was announced that the PAC accepted Loudonville's bid to join the league. Loudonville is expected to join the PAC as a football-only member for the 2017-2018 school year.^[10]
• On July 1, 2020 the Canton Local School Board voted unanimously to join the Principals Athletic Conference. Canton South will officially leave the EBC and join the PAC-7 in August 2022. In 2022, Loudonville will step down as a football only member and join the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference.^[11]
• In May 2023, CVCA announced they would form the 'North Coast Conference' in 2024 along with Elyria Catholic, Holy Name, Padua, Beaumont, Lake Catholic, and Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin.^[12]

See also

• Ohio High School Athletic Conferences

Notes and References

1. Web site: Remember When . The Press-News, Magnolia, OH . 2014-08-06 . 2014-12-21.
2. Web site: Dorksen. Aaron. Orrville-Triway Rivalry to Add Another Chapter: Rivals Rally From Off Years, Reach District Final Tonight. Wooster Daily Record. March 11, 2011. March 11, 2011.
3. Web site: Easterling. Chris. Fairless beats Tuslaw to win Blue Cup for second straight year. . November 1, 2014. March 10, 2015.
4. Web site: Tichenor. Alex. High school football / Northwest 14, Manchester 12: Indians end Panthers' 19-game PAC winning streak. Akron Beacon Journal. October 5, 2018. April 26, 2019.
5. Web site: Harpster. David. Northwest, Orrville apply for membership in the Principals Athletic Conference. IndeOnline.com. January 30, 2013. January 30, 2013. https://archive.today/20130215164351/http://www.cantonrep.com/highschool/x1433776237/Northwest-Orrville-apply-for-membership-in-the-Principals-Athletic-Conference. February 15, 2013. dead.
6. Web site: Metzger. Roger. Five high schools to join Inter-Valley Conference. Times Reporter. February 21, 2015. https://archive.today/20150222180506/http://m.timesreporter.com/article/20150221/SPORTS/150229833. dead. February 22, 2015. February 22, 2015.
7. Web site: School Board Unanimously Approves "One Community, One School". Canton City School District. 2015-02-26. https://archive.today/20150227070911/http://www.ccsdistrict.org/pages/CantonCitySD/News/SCHOOL_BOARD_UNANIMOUSLY_APPRO. 2015-02-27. dead.
8. Web site: Dorksen. Aaron. Orrville, Northwest Extended Invitations to Join Principals Athletic Conference. . March 4, 2015. March 7, 2015.
9. Web site: King. Steve. Steve King: }} Athletic Conference plans its future]. . March 17, 2015. March 19, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160407154542if_/http://www.thesuburbanite.com/article/20150317/OPINION/150319726/2011/OPINION . 7 April 2016.
10. Web site: Dorksen . Aaron . Loudonville to join PAC for football only in 2017-18 . The Daily Record . https://web.archive.org/web/20150422235706/http://www.the-daily-record.com/local%20sports/2015/04/18/loudonville-to-join-pac-for-football-only-in-2017-18 . April 22, 2015 . April 18, 2015.
11. Web site: Popovich. Mike. Canton South to Join Principals Athletic Conference in 2022. . July 2, 2020. August 10, 2020.
12. Web site: Shapiro. Todd. Elyria Catholic finds home in new conference (UPDATED) . The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. May 31, 2023. June 7, 2023.