Leipsic to Leave Blanchard Valley Conference After 2021-2022 School Year
Update: Leipsic’s Extra Curricular Activities Board voted to accept the Northwest Conference’s invitation. It will then be voted on by the Leipsic Board of Education at their next meeting.
In a 5-0 vote, the Leipsic Board of Education voted for the Vikings to leave the Blanchard Valley Conference at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. Leipsic will remain as a full member of the Putnam County League.
The Vikings have been full members of the BVC since 1971. Their football program began competing in the conference in 1965.
Leipsic sent a letter of withdrawl to the conference on Monday evening. Athletic Director Gary Kreinbrink said the unstable footing in regards to football was a leading factor for their departure. The Blanchard Valley Conference currently ranges in size from as large as Division V, with Liberty-Benton currently one of the largest Division V schools in the state to Vanlue, the state’s second smallest school with a football program.
The Northwest Conference has officially extended an invitation to Leipsic to join the conference for the 2022-2023 school year. The Leipsic Board of Education will vote on that invitation at their next meeting. The Vikings will replace Paulding in the NWC, after the Panthers joined the Green Meadows Conference in February.
On The Drive with Marty Bannister on 93.1 The Fan Thursday, Kreinbrink said the school has not accepted the NWC’s invitation. “We haven’t accepted the invitation yet. We have been invited.”
Kreinbrink also said Leipsic is one of several schools working on forming a new conference. “I think you would be surprised of the conversations going on here recently, with different conferences and new leagues starting up,” Kreinbrink said. “It’s very hard to do, though. To get schools to leave their conference, and to find a way to put together an eight team league, especially for football, you need to have an even number. So to make all of those works and all of those connections, it’s a difficult task.”
“There’s been a lot of discussion here recently and a lot of rumors, and we’re apart of that. We’re going to do our best to, to borrow an old cliche, do what’s best for our kids here at Leipsic High School.”
The news was first reported by The Courier (Findlay).
To hear Kreinbrink’s full interview with Marty Bannister, click the play button below.