Back in 1966, the Sagamore Conference was formed with six schools instead of the current eight they now have.
That is going to change in the next two or three years as Frankfort High School and four others have elected to go their own way.
“It is a minimum of two years away,” said FHS Athletic Director Ed Niehaus. “The earliest it could be is 2025-2026 and that’s not guaranteed if the other three schools that are not coming with us can find a place, then it’s going to be three years down the road.”
In February of this year, the three Montgomery County schools (Crawfordsville, North Montgomery and Southmont) all decided they were going to leave no matter what. Those schools then met with officials from Western Boone and Frankfort to see if they would be interested. They agreed with exiting the Sagamore, leaving Danville, Lebanon and Tri-West looking for another league.
Which schools would possibly join Frankfort and the four others? Niehaus said North Putnam is a virtual slam dunk to join the league with the other two being Greencastle and Cascade. Niehaus added they have talked to two others schools, but declined to mention who they are.
Frankfort, along with Crawfordsville and Lebanon, made up the original six-team league which also had Brownsburg, Carmel and Noblesville.
However, the Indiana High School Athletic Association has changed its rules on Open Enrollment, which means any student can go anywhere. That means schools are outgrowing others in their league which is especially true in the Sagamore.
“It’s happening ,” said Niehaus. “The demographics are changing. What they are doing at their schools is that they are growing. Danville especially is growing, Lebanon has been growing for several years and Tri-West is starting to grow. Open enrollment has really changed the dynamics of those schools nearer large corporations.”
Niehaus added three schools are being able to significantly better their already solid football programs and have allowed them to build much better facilities for their athletes in all sports,
Niehaus described open enrollment.
“Open enrollment has created a system where until you come into your school in your freshman year, you have the right to go to any school in the state,” said Niehaus. “And, that doesn’t matter where you’re location is. Somebody from Indianapolis could transfer up here to Frankfort. It’s just the situation the state and the IHSAA right now have developed.”
Niehaus also noted that Frankfort currently has transfers from Clinton Central and Clinton Prairie.