What’s wrong with the Big 16?

Published 12:56 pm Friday, April 30, 2004

By Staff
Rumor has it the Wolverine Conference is looking to expand in our direction. Apparently representatives of the Wolverine have been scouting Dowagiac and Paw Paw in an effort to add two new members to the eight-team league made up of all Class B schools.
It would make sense for Paw Paw to move from the Kalamazoo Valley Association into a league with more comparably-sized schools but why would Dowagiac want to leave the Big 16 Conference and join the Wolverine?
Certainly there are plenty of reasons on both sides of this issue, which isn't even officially a possibility yet, just a speculation.
In almost every sport, you can look at the state's Top 10 rankings and find at least one team from the Big 16 listed, either in Class A, Class B, Division 1, Division 2 or Division 3.
That caliber of competition should be enough to convince Dowagiac to stay put, giving the Chieftains an opportunity to face good teams throughout the year and prepare for postseason tournaments.
Some schools, however, look at difficult competition as a reason to leave. They would rather win league titles than push themselves to improve. I don't think that is the case with Dowagiac.
Dowagiac, like Niles and other Class B schools in the Big 16, has been very competitive in plenty of sports. Also like the rest of the league's smaller schools, the Chieftains have taken their beatings a few times.
Leaving the Big 16 Conference would mean Dowagiac abandoning several huge rivalries. If the Chieftains join the Wolverine Conference they will not be able to schedule football games against Niles or Lakeshore, two of the school's biggest rivals. Matchups with those schools in other sports would also certainly have to be dropped.
Joining the Wolverine Conference would not alleviate many concerns over long travel either as several of the Wolverine schools are around the Kalamazoo area.
Becoming a member of the Big 16 Conference was a huge step in the right direction for Dowagiac. The Chieftains will not win every league title and will not always have winning records, but there are few leagues in this area that can boast the level of competition of the Big 16. The Chieftains should stay put.
Dan Weiss is sports editor of the Niles Daily Star. Email him at dan.weiss@leaderpub.com