Webb's exit could leave Southwest Conference in doubt

By Joe Warren

Nevada Daily Mail

The Southwest Conference might soon be history.

With scheduling issues at the forefront, Webb City is reportedly leaving the conference after the 2007-'08 season, which could set off a domino effect that has other conference athletics departments wondering what's going to happen to them.

"If they (Webb City) leave the conference, and we have to go to a four-team conference, that's not a conference," Nevada athletic director Kevin McKinley said. "In my opinion, the Southwest Conference could disintegrate after next year."

Webb City has not made an official announcement yet, and nothing is expected to be finalized before April, but it's become well-known throughout athletic circles that the Cardinals would like to join the Central Ozark Conference.

"I think overall, from an administrative standpoint, we're in favor of joining a league that has more teams in it," Webb City athletic director John Roderique said. "We don't necessarily want to get out of the Southwest Conference, our whole motivation revolves around the chance to schedule games.

"Right now we have a real difficult time scheduling games."

Roderique, who is also the football coach, has had to schedule games against Kickapoo, Ozark and Nixa during the past couple years. While the Cardinals are certainly capable of playing the increased competition (they went unbeaten in 2006, winning a state football championship), they also have to consider the prospect that eventually nobody may want to play them.

In 2004 and 2005, Webb City only had a nine game schedule (teams are allowed 10) because they couldn't find enough schools willing to play.

Roderique said the basketball, baseball and softball teams are also feeling the pinch that is associated with having success.

"It's not just football. Every year it becomes more difficult to schedule (for all Webb City teams)," he said.

Of course the larger the conference, the more built-in opponents a school has.

Currently the COC has 10 schools. There is a proposal being considered that would prompt a complete merger of the COC with the Southwest Conference, bringing the total to 15 teams. If the two conferences could convince Carl Junction to jump on board (the Bulldogs are in the Big 8), that would create a 16-team superconference.

The proposal would split the new conference into two divisions based on enrollment. There would be a big school division and a small school division.

Four of the current Southwest Conference schools would be in the larger division, with Nevada being the only exception. Webb City, Carthage, Neosho and McDonald County would be in a division with Ozark, Nixa, Willard and Branson.

Nevada would be in a division with Republic, Carl Junction, Marshfield, Bolivar, Reeds Spring, Logan-Rogersville and Buffalo.

While McKinley said he was apprehensive about the possibility when it originated, he is starting to warm to the proposal.

"If people really examine it, there are some positive things that can come out of it for Nevada athletics," he said. "It can put us in a situation to be more aligned with schools more our size than we are now.

"The big drawback would be travel."

McKinley said if Nevada joined the proposed conference, they would play every team in the small division, without any requirement to play the schools on the bigger side. In football that would mean trips to Marshfield, Reeds Spring, Rogersville and Republic once every two years.

That translates to two trips to the Springfield area each season. The trips to the Springfield area would take from an hour and 45 minutes to two hours and 15 minutes each (one direction).

Right now the farthest trip on the conference docket is McDonald County in Anderson. That's roughly an 80-minute trip.

Of course the superconference notion is still far from being a reality. The COC would first have to extend invitations to the other six schools involved. Then the six would all have to accept.

While Webb City is leading the charge into a merger and Nevada may not have a problem with it, the other SWC schools have had mixed reaction to the possibility.

At first, Carthage appeared to be on Webb City's side the whole way. During a meeting of the Southwest Conference athletic directors last week, McKinley said Carthage was gung ho.

"Carthage indicated 'if Webb City goes, we're going too,'" McKinley said Tuesday. On Wednesday, McKinley said the landscape had changed.

"I got an e-mail today and Carthage has decided to take a more wait-and-see approach," McKinley said.

"My concern is rushing into anything," Carthage athletic director Andy Youngworth said Thursday morning. "First of all, no one has been invited (to join the COC)."

McDonald County athletic director Jeff Wilkie sees both sides of the issue.

"There are things you want to do and things you have to do," Wilkie said. "We may not be crazy about the change, but it may be the lesser of two evils."

McDonald County would be the smallest school in the large division, based on current enrollment figures.

While Wilkie doesn't really like that feature, he says it's better than being a school without a conference.

"(Being an independent) is athletic suicide," Wilkie said. "Not only do you lose conference games, you lose the ability to schedule those schools that do have conference games.

"I don't see anything positive about it. We need to find a conference."

If Webb City and Carthage decide to leave regardless, Wilkie and McKinley both said they would prefer to join the Big 8 Conference. The problem with that is it's not known if the Big 8 would take the two schools.

"Why would they want to change?" Wilkie said of the Big 8. "They would have to extend an invitation and we're not the first school that has tried to join."

"(The Big 8) is the conference Nevada has been in historically," McKinley said. "You have to put yourself in the shoes of the Big 8 schools and ask why they would want Nevada."

Carl Junction, with an enrollment of 931, is currently the largest school in the Big 8. McDonald County (1,038) and Nevada (797) would give the Big 8 two more large schools. With the rest of the conference between 398 (Lamar) and 686 (Cassville), would the schools really welcome the increased competition? Besides, it takes a unanimous vote of the Big 8 schools to invite anyone else in.

That leaves the COC as the most likely possibility, even though it still isn't set in stone.

"First of all, I'm not certain that the COC is in entire agreement on (the proposal)," Wilkie said. "It would be such a drastic change in travel, everybody is weighing their options."

It is not known what Neosho would decide to do if the Southwest Conference folds. Calls to Neosho athletic director Dan Jones this week had not yet been returned.

Another wild card in the potential merger has to be Carl Junction. Would they really want to leave the Big 8, where they are already the big fish in a small pond?

Carl Junction AD Mike Larson also hadn't returned calls yet, as of press time.

Youngworth made the best point regarding the conference talk.

"Are you able to join a conference that has no structure (yet) and just assume everything is going to be hammered out?" he asked. In other words, until there are invitations extended and bylaws proposed, the entire Southwest Conference is left in limbo.

Nevada R-5 Schools held a special meeting today where McKinley gave a presentation to the board on the possible options Nevada might consider if the Southwest Conference folded.

The presentation discussed the COC option, with other potential options like the Big 8, West Central Conference and Show-Me West Conference. Although McKinley said no invitations had been made on any front.