North Central is likely to expand

The North Central Conference is looking to expand.
Anderson High School principal and NCC president Lucinda McCord said Thursday that the conference’s principals would likely follow a recommendation from their athletics directors to expand to 10 or 12 teams from the current eight.
Officials from Jay County, which is in its third season competing as an independent, have said they would explore the possibility of joining the NCC.
“I think that expansion is probably going to happen,” said McCord, noting that such a move has been a topic of discussion for months. “We have enough interest with enough schools that I think we’ll have some really good fits.”
McCord said the North Central Conference has received letters from schools expressing interest in joining, but would not reveal which schools because some of them are members of other conferences.
Principal Phil Ford and athletics director Bob Lutton of JCHS, which has been an independent since the Olympic Athletic Conference disbanded in 2010, said they have talked informally with administrators from NCC schools about their potential interest in joining the conference.
The NCC principals, McCord said, will continue discussions this month with a goal of visiting schools that are candidates for expansion in January. During those visits North Central Conference administrators will tour facilities and talk with administrators and coaches.
She said she hopes the process will be thorough as well as quick.
“We want to get moving on it and do it the right way,” she said. “We just can’t put it off.”
Muncie Central, New Castle, Richmond, Kokomo, Logansport and Anderson have been partners in the North Central Conference since the group formed in 1926. Marion joined in 1933.
The most recent conference change for the NCC came in 2003, when Huntington North became a member after Lafayette Jefferson departed for the Hoosier Crossroads Conference.
The Journal and Courier (Lafayette) reported last month that Jefferson, McCutcheon and Harrison are all interested in joining the NCC.[[In-content Ad]]