Lehigh Valley Conference

The Lehigh Valley Conference is an athletic conference consisting of 12 large high schools from Lehigh and Northampton counties in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is part of District XI of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

The Lehigh Valley Conference was founded November 14, 2001, rejoining 11 of the 12 schools that had formerly competed for over 30 years as the East Penn Conference until the East Penn Conference was dissolved in 1997-98. These schools reunited, replacing Phillipsburg High School (who withdrew from the East Penn Conference and into a New Jersey league in 1994 so as to be eligible for NJISAA football playoffs) with Nazareth Area High School, from the neighboring Colonial League, to form the Lehigh Valley Conference.

Television coverage

Lehigh Valley Conference football, boys and girls basketball games and wrestling matches are broadcast during the respective seasons on Service Electric's Channel 2 in the Lehigh Valley and other broadcast markets. RCN 4, another local television station, also broadcasts the Lehigh Valley Conference's football, basketball and wrestling events.

Service Electric also broadcasts a weekly "Plays of the Week" segment, sponsored by Yocco's Hot Dogs, which features the best football, basketball, wrestling and other Lehigh Valley Conference sports highlights of the week.

Lehigh Valley Conference football

The Lehigh Valley Conference has been particularly successful in generating extremely successful collegiate and NFL football talent. As of the 2008-2009 NFL season, four Lehigh Valley Conference alumni--Dan Koppen of the New England Patriots, Tim Massaquoi of the Buffalo Bills, Jim Molinaro of the Dallas Cowboys, and Tony Stewart of the Oakland Raiders--are on NFL rosters.

Lehigh Valley Conference wrestling

The Lehigh Valley Conference is recognized nationally for its hugely successful wrestling programs, which are widely considered among the most competitive and elite such programs in the nation. Easton Area High School, Nazareth Area High School, Northampton Area High School, and other Lehigh Valley Conference high schools are usually national powerhouses and each competes at prestigious national tournaments. Lehigh Valley Conference wrestling matches, especially those between rival Lehigh Valley Conference high schools, are among the Lehigh Valley's most popular athletic events, often selling out large indoor high school arenas with thousands of spectators.

A sign of its national stature, at one time in the early 2000s, the National High School Coaches Association had Easton Area High School, Nazareth Area High School and Northampton High School all ranked in their "National Top 25" rankings simultaneously. Individual wrestlers from Lehigh Valley Conference schools are often a fixture in national rankings, and collegiate wrestling scouts from around the nation recruit heavily among Lehigh Valley Conference wrestling teams. Division I collegiate wrestling is filled with wrestlers from the Lehigh Valley Conference, and the U.S. Olympic wrestling team often has included wrestlers from the conference.

Lehigh Valley Conference high school wrestling is televised locally on Service Electric, WLVT-TV and other radio and television stations.

High schools

The 12 high school teams in the Lehigh Valley Conference (and their locations) are:

*William Allen High School Canaries (Allentown).
*Allentown Central Catholic High School Vikings (Allentown).
*Bethlehem Catholic High School Golden Hawks (Bethlehem).
*Dieruff High School Huskies (Allentown).
*Easton Area High School Red Rovers (Easton).
*Emmaus High School Green Hornets (Emmaus).
*Freedom High School Patriots (Bethlehem).
*Liberty High School Hurricanes (Bethlehem).
*Nazareth Area High School Blue Eagles (Nazareth).
*Northampton Area High School Konkrete Kids (Northampton).
*Parkland High School Trojans (South Whitehall Township).
*Whitehall High School Zephyrs (Whitehall Township).

Lehigh Valley Conference professional and Olympic athletes

Current and former professional and Olympic athletes who played high school athletics at the schools currently comprising the Lehigh Valley Conference include:

Major League Baseball (MLB)

Current MLB players

*Brian Schneider, catcher, New York Mets (Northampton Area High School, Northampton).

Former MLB players

*Gary Lavelle, former pitcher, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays (Liberty High School, Bethlehem).
*Curt Simmons, former pitcher, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals (Whitehall High School, Whitehall Township).

National Basketball Association (NBA)

Current NBA players

*Aaron Gray, center, Chicago Bulls (Emmaus High School, Emmaus).

National Football League (NFL)

Current NFL players

*Dan Koppen, center, New England Patriots (Whitehall High School, Whitehall Township).
*Tim Massaquoi, tight end, Buffalo Bills (Parkland High School, South Whitehall Township).
*Jim Molinaro, offensive tackle, Dallas Cowboys (Bethlehem Catholic High School, Bethlehem).
*Tony Stewart, tight end, Oakland Raiders (Allentown Central Catholic High School, Allentown).

Former NFL players

*Chuck Bednarik, former center and linebacker, Philadelphia Eagles, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Liberty High School, Bethlehem).
*Keith Dorney, former offensive tackle, Detroit Lions (Emmaus High School, Emmaus).
*Jim Druckenmiller, former quarterback, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers (Northampton Area High School, Northampton).
*Mike Guman, former running back, Los Angeles Rams (Bethlehem Catholic High School, Bethlehem).
*Mike Hartenstine, former defensive end, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings (Liberty High School, Bethlehem).
*Ed McCaffrey, former wide receiver, Denver Broncos, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers (Allentown Central Catholic High School, Allentown).
*Matt Millen, former linebacker, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers and Washington Redskins (Whitehall High School, Whitehall Township).
*Andre Reed, former wide receiver, Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins (Dieruff High School, Allentown).
*Austin Scott, former running back. Cleveland Browns (Parkland High School, South Whitehall Township).
*Larry Seiple, former punter, Miami Dolphins (William Allen High School, Allentown).
*John Spagnola, former tight end, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks (Bethlehem Catholic High School, Bethlehem).

Olympics

Olympic cycling

*Marty Nothstein, 2000 Summer Olympics gold medal winner, track cycling (Emmaus High School, Emmaus).

Olympic field hockey

*Cindy Werley, 1996 Summer Olympics women's field hockey player (Emmaus High School, Emmaus).

Olympic gymnastics

*Kristen Maloney, 2000 Summer Olympics gymnastics team member (Pen Argyl Area High School, Pen Argyl).

Olympic wrestling

*Bobby Weaver, 1984 Summer Olympics gold medal winner (Easton Area High School, Easton).

Professional cycling

*Nicole Reinhart, former professional cyclist (Emmaus High School, Emmaus).

Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)

Former WNBA players

*Michelle Marciniak, former point guard, WNBA's Portland Fire and Seattle Storm (Allentown Central Catholic High School, Allentown).

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

*Afa Anoa'i, Jr., professional wrestler (Freedom High School, Bethlehem).
*Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, former professional wrestler (Freedom High School, Bethlehem).
*Brian Knobbs, former professional wrestler (Whitehall High School, Whitehall Township).

Lehigh Valley Conference professional and collegiate coaches

Lehigh Valley Conference athletes who have gone on to athletic coaching and team management careers include:

College football coaches

*Chuck Amato, linebacker coach, Florida State University (Easton Area High School, Easton).
*K. C. Keeler, head football coach, University of Delaware (Emmaus High School, Emmaus).

National Basketball Association (NBA) coaches

*Pete Carril, former assistant coach, Sacramento Kings (Liberty High School, Bethlehem).

National Football League (NFL) coaches and management

*Matt Millen, former president and general manager, Detroit Lions (Whitehall High School, Whitehall Township).

External links

* [http://www.lviac.net/ Lehigh Valley Conference Official Web Site] .
* [http://www.mcall.com/sports/highschool/ Lehigh Valley Conference sports news at "The Morning Call] .

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