End of an Era: Sagamore Conference enters summer of change
In doing so, it also ended the way the conference has been for the past quarter of a century.
Advertisement
With the end of the year, five of the eight members – Crawfordsville, Frankfort, North Montgomery, Southmont and Western Boone – are off to be part of the new Monon Athletic Conference, which will debut this fall with Cascade, Greencastle and North Putnam.
Tri-West, who originally was going to stick with the Sagamore, will also be leaving for the newly formed Hoosier Legends Conference.
Harrison and McCutcheon will be joining the Sagamore next year, with Terre Haute North and South coming the following year to create a six-team Sagamore Conference with Lebanon and Danville.
While it is a lot of change, this isn't the first time the conference has had a makeover.
Advertisement
Founded in December of 1966, the conference was originally made up of teams with some of the oldest IHSAA histories in Lebanon, Brownsburg, Carmel, Crawfordsville, Frankfort and Noblesville.
That group stayed together for seven years before Carmel left in 1973, with Noblesville following them in 1979.
North Montgomery was added in 1975, with Western Boone coming in 1983 and Southmont two years later before Brownsburg left the conference in 1985.
The six schools remained the same until the 1999-00 season, when Tri-West and Danville joined to become the eight teams the conference had for the next 26 years.
Advertisement
During the last 26 years, the conference has been one of the more successful conferences for its size in Indiana.
The eight schools have combined to win 380 sectional titles over the past 26 years, with every school capturing at least 23. They have added 66 regional titles and 15 semi-states.
The schools have won 12 state titles over the last 26 years, coming in four different sports, and seven of the eight teams have played for a state title during that time frame.
The eight schools added 23 individual state champions as well and numerous All-State athletes.
In a perfect world, the conference would stay together.
Advertisement
But in the changing world of sports at the high school and collegiate level, it just wasn't realistic for the long run.
Size wise, Lebanon already has 200 more students than the second largest school in the conference in Danville, and is expected to continue to grow as LEAP district continues to develop. With 1,033 students, Lebanon has more than twice the enrollment of Western Boone, Southmont and North Montgomery.
And while the overall conference titles were fairly evenly distributed across all sports – Lebanon, Tri-West and Danville dominated the big three sports of football, boys basketball and girls basketball – especially in recent years.
In football, Lebanon, Tri-West and Danville combined to win at least 19 of the 26 titles, with only nine other schools earning at least a share during that stretch (Western Boone had five of those).
Advertisement
Over the past five years, those teams went 64-7 against the five schools leaving for the Monon (Western Boone accounting for five of those wins) with an average margin of victory of more than four touchdowns.
In boys basketball, the three schools have won at least a share of 23 of 26 conference titles, with seven other teams earning at least a share at some point. Lebanon, Tri-West and Danville have a record of 63-11 in 74 games against the five leaving for the Monon, with an average margin of victory of 18.6 in the wins.
Girls basketball has seen the three win 22 of 26 titles, with only six other teams earning at least a share over the past 26 seasons. They won 70 of 73 games against the teams leaving over the last five years, with a average margin of 34.1 points a game in those 70 wins.
In the end, the five schools leaving did what they had to do to find a more competitively balanced conference to help all of their athletic programs, and will be in a conference with every school being in the the upper enrollments of Class 2A or in Class 3A.
Advertisement
And Lebanon and Danville were able to find some new conference partners that will test them and help elevate them in the years to come.
The good news is the schools agreed to separate on good terms, and they will continue to play in non-conference action in several sports – keeping together some of the good rivalries that have been created over the decades.
And while it is technically the end of the Sagamore Conference as we have come to know it, the legacy that it created over the past 26 years will be remembered.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
It sounds like Ben Johnson has plans for Bears rookie Kyle Monangai
The Chicago Bears have high hopes for their offense this season with the arrival of head coach Ben Johnson and improvements along the offensive line. While quarterback Caleb Williams' development is key, he won't be able to thrive without a strong running game. D'Andre Swift was brought in as a free agent ahead of last season, but he hasn't been as productive as they hoped coming in. Roschon Johnson, who the Bears selected in the 2023 NFL draft, is a solid back, but he hasn't proven himself to be a number one either. In the 2025 NFL draft, Chicago selected Kyle Monangai in the seventh round to join the running back room. He was seen as the third guy on the depth chart ahead of camp, but that may not be the case as the season progresses. Head coach Ben Johnson seems to have a plan for the rookie. 'I'm very pleased with where he's at,' Johnson said after Family Fest. 'I think he's a guy we're gonna be able to trust this fall.' Does this mean that Johnson doesn't trust Swift or Johnson? Of course not, but it does mean that he plans on using Monangai, perhaps more than anyone thought. Having three running backs contributing isn't necessarily conventional in the NFL, but the Bears could make it work. Nobody has made the case to be the undisputed top running back since coming to Chicago, and Johnson is ready to try to get the most out of every player. When Johnson was the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, he found success with Jared Goff throwing the football. None of it would have worked well, however, with that strong running attack, and they had no problem using more than one running back with the duo of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. We'll see if he can duplicate it in Chicago, where Monangai could be a contributor. This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: It sounds like Ben Johnson has plans for Bears rookie Kyle Monangai
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Petty talks RFK's uptick: 'They have a resurgence going on'
Kyle Petty analyzes RFK Racing's production over the past few weeks and the role Brad Keselowski has played in the team's growth.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jaguars HC Liam Coen believes Travis Hunter can win both OROY and DROY
What kind of impact could Travis Hunter have on both sides of the ball during his rookie season with the Jacksonville Jaguars? If you ask his coach, a historic one. [Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season] Appearing on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Monday, Jaguars head coach Liam Coen said he believed that Hunter, who was selected No. 2 overall in April's NFL Draft, can win both NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year as a cornerback and wide receiver. "I do think it's possible," Coen said. "He is committed to driving, not just himself, but his teammates as well. I think his teammates, these guys are challenging him every single day. He doesn't get a free pass because he was the second overall pick and he's Travis Hunter. "They are in his grill trying to jam him up, trying to hem him up, trying to make it as hard as they can possibly make it for him in a great way, like in the most healthy way as possible where they're going at it and chirping at each other. But it's truly iron sharping iron. That's what it feels like and I wouldn't expect anything less from those guys. They think he can do it as well, but they're going to make him earn it as well in this building." Two-way players in the NFL have made impacts on the game — see: Deion Sanders — but none of them have ever done what Coen says is possible for Hunter this season. There is a little over a month until the Jaguars host the Carolina Panthers in Week 1, and Coen and his staff are still working out the percentage of snaps Hunter will take on offense and defense to start the season. "We want to play him as much as we can," Coen said. Last season, Hunter played 753 offensive snaps and 776 defensive snaps, along with 23 more on special teams with Colorado, according to Pro Football Focus. Despite the extra usage, Hunter was productive with 92 receptions, 1,152 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns on offense and 29 total tackles and four interceptions on defense. His play earned him the Heisman Trophy in December. Hunter said at the start of camp that playing both sides is more taxing mentally than physically. He'll now need to be ready to deal with NFL cornerbacks and wide receivers, like Panthers wideout Jaycee Horn come Sept. 7, who won't make life easy for the rookie. "[Horn's] not going to be like, 'Hey, man, this is cool what you're doing.' They're going to say, 'No, dude, you can't do this' and that's the beauty of it," Coen said. "I think [Hunter's] definitely driven to do it for the right reasons."
