- Northwest Ohio Athletic League (OHSAA)
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The Northwest Ohio Athletic League (NWOAL) is the oldest high school sports league in the state of Ohio. The league sponsors many sports, including: football, boys & girls cross country, volleyball, boys & girls soccer, wrestling, golf, boys & girls basketball, baseball, softball, and boys & girls track & field. Bryan is the largest school system in the league.
Contents
Current members
The member schools of the NWOAL.
School Nickname Location Colors Type Middle school(s) Tenure Archbold Blue Streaks Archbold Navy Blue, Gold
Public Archbold MS 1960- Bryan Golden Bears Bryan Purple, Gold
Public Bryan MS 1926- Delta Panthers Delta Green, White
Public Delta MS 1926-31, 1957-69, 1978- Evergreen Vikings Metamora Green, Gold
Public Evergreen MS 1969-71, 1978- Liberty Center Tigers Liberty Center Orange, Black
Public Liberty Center MS 1926- Montpelier Locomotives Montpelier Columbia Blue, White
Public Montpelier JHS 1926- Patrick Henry Patriots Hamler Red, White, Blue
Public Patrick Henry MS 1978- Swanton Bulldogs Swanton Purple, White
Public Swanton MS 1957-69, 1978- Wauseon Indians Wauseon Red, White
Public Wauseon MS 1926- Former members
School Nickname Location Colors Type Membership Tenure Notes Defiance Bulldogs Defiance Royal Blue, White
Public 1931-55 Voted out, eventually joined the WBL Napoleon Wildcats Napoleon Navy Blue, White
Public 1926–78 Left for the GLL League history
1920s
- The NWOAL began competition in 1926 with charter members Bryan, Delta, Liberty Center, Montpelier, Napoleon, and Wauseon. The inaugural sports of competition are football, boys basketball, and track.[1]
- A dissatisfed Delta left in 1931 and was replaced by Defiance.[1]
1950s
- Baseball and golf are offered as sports for league competition in the 1953-54 school year.
- Defiance was voted out of the league in 1954 for having an enrollment over twice the average of the smaller schools and for being dominant in league titles. They left at the end of the 1954-55 school year.[1]
- Fairview and Paulding apply and are denied league membership in the 50s.[2]
- Swanton and Delta are invited to join and enter the NWOAL in 1957 after a tenure in the Maumee Valley League.[1]
- Archbold is also invited at the same time and joins in 1960.[1]
- Wrestling becomes a league sport for the 1959-60 school year.[3]
- Ottawa Hills was considered for membership in 1959, but they never officially joined the NWOAL. It was around this time that it became obvious that the smaller schools were not satisfied with the dominance Napoleon (and to a lesser extent, Bryan) were displaying in acquiring all-sports crowns.[1]
1960s
- In spring 1968, Defiance re-applied and was denied admission for NWOAL membership, making it evident schools of that size were not welcome in the league. Talk began of Bryan, Defiance, and Napoleon joining up in another league separate from the NWOAL.[1]
- In 1969, the Northern Border League was formed by the smaller members of the NWOAL as a way for them to compete for league titles. Delta and Swanton withdrew from the NWOAL completely while Archbold, Liberty Center, Montpelier, Wauseon and the recently-joined Evergreen become dual members of both the NBL and the now 7-member NWOAL. Competition between the five dual-league members counted in the standings for both the NWOAL and the NBL.[4]
- Cross country becomes a league sport in the 1969-70 school year.
1970s
- Consolidated in 1969, Patrick Henry joined the NBL in 1970.[5]
- In 1971, Evergreen left the NWOAL to solely compete in the NBL.[6]
- In February 1973, more tensions arose when Liberty Center considered leaving the NWOAL completely to compete solely in the NBL.[1] Napoleon also displayed intention of leaving the league they felt they were not wanted in, and it was widely believed that Archbold, Montpelier, and Wauseon would follow Liberty's suit. This would have caused Bryan and Napoleon to be left without a league home. Community support kept Liberty in the NWOAL, and the league sat on shaky ground for a few more years.
- In the spring of 1978, Napoleon finally left the NWOAL and sought competition from larger schools in the Great Lakes League. Upon Napoleon's departure, the NBL folded and was absorbed by the NWOAL in the fall of 1978. Patrick Henry joined for the first time while Delta, Evergreen, and Swanton returned again.[7] After a few decades of chaos and near dissolution, the NWOAL has remained unchanged ever since.
Football champions[8]
The all-time member schools of the NWOAL. Former members are in blue.Year Champions 1926 Napoleon 1927 Napoleon 1928 Montpelier 1929 Napoleon 1930 Bryan 1931 Defiance 1932 Defiance 1933 Defiance 1934 Defiance 1935 Bryan 1936 Bryan 1937 Liberty Center 1938 Defiance 1939 Bryan 1940 Bryan 1941 Bryan, Defiance, Napoleon 1942 Defiance 1943 Defiance 1944 Wauseon 1945 Defiance, Montpelier 1946 Defiance, Montpelier 1947 Napoleon 1948 Defiance 1949 Napoleon 1950 Montpelier 1951 Bryan, Napoleon 1952 Defiance 1953 Defiance 1954 Wauseon 1955 Napoleon 1956 Bryan, Napoleon 1957 Napoleon 1958 Napoleon 1959 Wauseon 1960 Napoleon 1961 Napoleon 1962 Wauseon 1963 Napoleon 1964 Bryan 1965 Liberty Center, Napoleon 1966 Napoleon 1967 Napoleon 1968 Bryan, Wauseon 1969 Bryan, Napoleon 1970 Napoleon 1971 Napoleon 1972 Napoleon 1973 Napoleon 1974 Wauseon 1975 Napoleon 1976 Napoleon 1977 Bryan 1978 Wauseon 1979 Wauseon 1980 Archbold 1981 Swanton 1982 Archbold 1983 Archbold, Montpelier 1984 Evergreen 1985 Archbold, Bryan, Swanton 1986 Bryan 1987 Archbold 1988 Archbold 1989 Archbold, Swanton 1990 Archbold 1991 Swanton 1992 Liberty Center 1993 Wauseon 1994 Wauseon 1995 Swanton 1996 Patrick Henry 1997 Patrick Henry 1998 Liberty Center 1999 Liberty Center, Wauseon 2000 Liberty Center 2001 Liberty Center 2002 Delta, Patrick Henry 2003 Patrick Henry 2004 Patrick Henry 2005 Patrick Henry 2006 Delta, Patrick Henry 2007 Patrick Henry, Wauseon 2008 Patrick Henry 2009 Patrick Henry 2010 Archbold 2011 Liberty Center Northern Border League football champions
Year Champions 1969 Montpelier, Wauseon[9] 1970 Archbold[10] 1971 Patrick Henry[5] 1972 Archbold[11] 1973 Montpelier[12] 1974 Wauseon[13] 1975 Delta, Swanton[14] 1976 Swanton[15] 1977 Patrick Henry[16] See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Sports Talk" (website). The Bryan Times. 1973-06-12. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=799&dat=19730612&id=-ygLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wlEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6541,5448578. Retrieved 2010-09-10.
- ^ Sports Talk by Herb Lewis, Mar. 22, 1979
- ^ Sports Talk by Herb Lewis. Dec 13, 1972
- ^ Here comes another league
- ^ a b Bears visit Pats Friday. Oct. 2, 1975
- ^ Sports Talk by Herb Lewis, Nov. 24, 1973
- ^ Sports Talk by Herb Lewis. Aug. 11, 1978
- ^ Preview: Patrick Henry gets nod again in NWOAL
- ^ Montpelier one game closer. Oct. 25, 1969
- ^ Napoleon, Archbold titlists. Nov. 10, 1970
- ^ Sports Talk by Herb Lewis. Dec. 13, 1972
- ^ Football reports by Moe Brubaker. Nov. 6, 1973
- ^ Wauseon Defending At Record Pace. Oct. 22, 1979
- ^ High Notes by Moe Brubaker. Nov. 4, 1975
- ^ Bryan Times Area scores from Oct. 30, 1976. Swanton's win over Wauseon gave them a perfect 7-0 NBL record
- ^ Patrick Henry Playing Waiting Game. Nov. 7, 1977
External links
- List of NWOAL Football Champions
- Detailed membership history of the NWOAL and NBL (June 1973)
- NWOAL History from the Bryan Times, August 30, 1979
- Evidence of the dual membership for schools in the NWOAL and NBL from September 22, 1969
- Here comes another league Sept 4, 1969
- Sports Talk by Herb Lewis, Nov 24, 1970
- PH joins the NBL in 1970, takes football title in 1971, Oct 1975
- Western Buckeye League History
Northwest District (Ohio) High School Athletic Conferences Current Conferences Blanchard Valley Conference (BVC) • Firelands Conference (FC) • Green Meadows Conference (GMC) • Midland Athletic League (MAL) • Midwest Athletic Conference (MAC) • North Central Conference (NCC) • Northern Buckeye Conference (NBC) • Northern Lakes League (NLL) • Northern Ohio League (NOL) • Northwest Conference • Northwest Central Conference • Northwest Ohio Athletic League (NWOAL) • Ohio Cardinal Conference (OCC) • Sandusky Bay Conference (SBC) • Three Rivers Athletic Conference • Toledo Area Athletic Conference (TAAC) • Toledo City League • Western Buckeye League (WBL)Non-Football Conferences Buckeye Border Conference (BBC) • Putnam County LeagueDefunct Conferences Buckeye Conference/League • Great Lakes League (GLL) • Greater Buckeye Conference (GBC) • Lakeshore Conference • Maumee Valley League • Michigan-Ohio Border Conference • Northern Border League • Northwest Buckeye League (football only) • Suburban Lakes League (SLL)Categories:- Ohio high school sports conferences
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