Principals Athletic Conference

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. 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,[1] the Fairless Falcons vs. Tuslaw Mustangs in "The Blue Cup",[2] and the Manchester Panthers vs. the Northwest Indians.[3]

Current members

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The all-time PAC-8 members.
School Nickname Location Colors Type Tenure
Coventry Comets Coventry Blue, Gold
   
Public 1989-2005, 2024- Canton South Wildcats Canton Red and Gray
   
Public 2022-
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-
Triway Titans Wooster Purple, White
   
Public 2005-
Tuslaw Mustangs Tuscarawas Blue, Red, White
     
Public 1989-

Former members

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School Nickname Location Colors Type Tenure
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy Royals Cuyahoga Falls Blue, White
   
Private 2001-2024
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
Timken Trojans Canton Blue, Gold
   
Public 2005-2015
Tuscarawas Valley Trojans Zoarville Red, Black
   
Public 1989-2017

Former affiliate member

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School Nickname Location Colors Type Tenure Sports
Loudonville Redbirds Loudonville Red and Gray
   
Public 2017-2021 Football

Recent history

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  • In January 2013, Northwest High School (Lawrence Township) and Orrville High School applied for membership in the PAC-8.[4] 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.[5]
  • 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.[6]
  • 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.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]
  • 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.[10]
  • 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.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Dorksen, Aaron (March 11, 2011). "Orrville-Triway Rivalry to Add Another Chapter: Rivals Rally From Off Years, Reach District Final Tonight". Wooster Daily Record. Retrieved March 11, 2011.
  2. ^ Easterling, Chris (November 1, 2014). "Fairless beats Tuslaw to win Blue Cup for second straight year". FridayNightOhio.com. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
  3. ^ Tichenor, Alex (October 5, 2018). "High school football / Northwest 14, Manchester 12: Indians end Panthers' 19-game PAC winning streak". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  4. ^ Harpster, David (January 30, 2013). "Northwest, Orrville apply for membership in the Principals Athletic Conference". IndeOnline.com. Archived from the original on February 15, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  5. ^ Metzger, Roger (February 21, 2015). "Five high schools to join Inter-Valley Conference". Times Reporter. Archived from the original on February 22, 2015. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  6. ^ "School Board Unanimously Approves "One Community, One School"". Canton City School District. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  7. ^ Dorksen, Aaron (March 4, 2015). "Orrville, Northwest Extended Invitations to Join Principals Athletic Conference". Wooster Daily Record. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  8. ^ King, Steve (March 17, 2015). "Steve King: Prinicpals [sic] Athletic Conference plans its future". The Suburbanite. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  9. ^ Dorksen, Aaron (April 18, 2015). "Loudonville to join PAC for football only in 2017-18". The Daily Record. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015.
  10. ^ Popovich, Mike (July 2, 2020). "Canton South to Join Principals Athletic Conference in 2022". Canton Repository. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  11. ^ Shapiro, Todd (May 31, 2023). "Elyria Catholic finds home in new conference (UPDATED)". The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. Retrieved June 7, 2023.