Since becoming Allegan’s Athletic Director, Ron Orr has been working tirelessly to encourage students to get involved in extracurriculars by joining any of the district’s sports teams. When the opportunity arose for Allegan Public Schools to join a different athletic conference, he knew this would only help the cause.
“The Wolverine Conference has added schools that are bigger than ours and the travel is not ideal,” Mr. Orr said. “Students were getting back very late on school nights. It had been discussed for a long time that we needed to do something different.”
Recognizing that need for change, the Board of Education gave its blessing for Mr. Orr to find a new conference that Allegan Athletics could call home. As he began his search, the Southwestern Athletic Conference reached out and shared that it was looking to expand. Mr. Orr felt that the conference would be a good fit for the Tigers.
“The SAC is well-established and has many great schools in it,” Mr. Orr said. “We have competed against many of its teams over the years, and it has been good competition for us.”
Starting next fall, Allegan Athletics will compete in the SAC’s “Lakeshore” division, which will include Bridgman, Coloma, Fennville, South Haven, and Watervliet. Depending on the sport, Allegan will have the opportunity to compete against teams in the SAC’s other two divisions.
Mr. Orr is excited about the opportunities this will create. “It’s an opportunity for a fresh start,” he said. He thinks that attendance will increase since travel times will be shorter, and there will be new teams to play against.
But most importantly, team parity will help attract new student athletes. “If your athletic teams are competitive, kids will come to games and say, ‘I want to play and be involved,’” he said.
And for those fans that long for those games with their former Wolverine Conference rivals, Mr. Orr said that there will still be opportunities for those athletic contests.
“It’s tough leaving the Wolverine conference,” Mr. Orr said. “Fortunately, we will still have non-league dates, so we can fit some of those schools into our schedule.”
