NCC reps to visit Jay County

The Patriots are taking the next step toward a possible conference affiliation.
Representatives from the North Central Conference, which is considering expansion, are scheduled to visit Jay County High School on Wednesday.
NCC president Lucinda McCord, the principal at Anderson High School, said in December that such visits would include a tour of the school’s facilities as well as meetings with administrators and coaches.
“They’re just, I think, exploring and seeing who may be interested and checking out facilities,” said JCHS athletics director Bob Lutton on Friday. “It’ll be an opportunity to show them what we really do offer as far as facilities. We think we’ve got good facilities.”
The Journal and Courier (Lafayette) reported that NCC officials visited three Tippecanoe County schools on Thursday. Lafayette Jefferson, Harrison and McCutcheon have all expressed interest in joining the North Central Conference since the Hoosier Crossroads Conference last month announced it would cut ties with the three schools in order to form an Indianapolis-centric league.
Jay County, which has been independent since the Olympic Athletic Conference disbanded in 2010, turned in its application to the NCC on Dec. 20.
The North Central Conference is currently an eight-team group that includes Muncie Central, Richmond, Marion, Huntington North, New Castle, Anderson, Kokomo and Logansport. Jefferson had been a part of the NCC for decades before leaving for the HCC in 2003. Huntington North left the Olympic Athletic Conference to fill the open spot in the NCC.
McCord has said she expects the North Central Conference to expand to 10 or 12 teams.
Jay County has been looking for a solution to its conference issues since the OAC dropped from 10 to five teams when McCutcheon, Harrison, Brownsburg, Noblesville and Hamilton Southeastern bolted for the HCC in 1999. Lutton and JCHS principal Phil Ford have said it is important for the school to look into any conference possibility that may arise.[[In-content Ad]]