The member schools of the TAAC. Full-members are in red and football-only members are in green.

The Toledo Area Athletic Conference (TAAC) is a high school athletic conference located in northwest Ohio, with member schools stretched across Lucas, Williams, and Wood counties. It was formed in 1988,[1] and the league sponsors football, cross country, volleyball, golf, basketball, wrestling, baseball, softball, and track & field.

Current members

School Nickname Location Boys Enrollment Girls Enrollment Colors Type Membership Type Tenure
Cardinal Stritch Catholic[2] Cardinals Oregon 60 52 Red, Black
   
Parochial No football 1995-
Edon Bombers Edon 57 Blue, White
   
Public Football-only 2005-
Emmanuel Christian Warriors Toledo 61 48 Green, White
   
Parochial No football 1988-
Hilltop Cadets West Unity 54 Red, White
   
Public Football-only 2005-
Maumee Valley Country Day Hawks Toledo 87 76 Navy, White
   
Independent No football 1988-
Montpelier Locomotives Montpelier 92 Navy Blue, Columbia Blue, White
     
Public Football-only 2016-
Northwood Rangers Northwood 122 131 Blue, Yellow
   
Public Full 2000-
Ottawa Hills Green Bears Ottawa Hills 145 114 Kelly Green, White
   
Public Full 1988-
Toledo Christian Eagles Toledo 69 76 Blue, Gold
   
Parochial No football 1988-

Edon, Hilltop, and Montpelier are primarily members of the Buckeye Border Conference for all sports, except for football, which is the only sport that they compete in the TAAC for.

Emmanuel Christian and Maumee Valley currently do not have football teams. Maumee Valley dropped football after the 1978 season.

Toledo Christian participates in 8-man football as a member of the Northern 8 Football Conference.

Former members

School Nickname Location Colors Type Membership Type Tenure in League
Tiffin Calvert Senecas Tiffin Royal Blue, White
   
Parochial Full 2014-2016
Danbury Lakers Lakeside Blue, White
   
Public Full 1988-2018
Gibsonburg Golden Bears Gibsonburg Orange, Black
   
Public Full 2011-2018
Lorain Catholic Spartans Lorain Scarlet, Gray
   
Parochial Football-only 1999-2004
Stryker Panthers Stryker Blue, White
   
Public Football-only 2018-2019

League history

The TAAC began in 1988 when long-time rivals Danbury, Emmanuel Christian (then known as Emmanuel Baptist), Maumee Valley, and Ottawa Hills joined together with the recently expanded Toledo Christian (formerly McAuley High School) to compete in basketball. When Cardinal Strich joined in 1995 after going without sports for a while, the league teamed with the Buckeye Border Conference to create the 12-team Toledo Buckeye League, which involved cross-over games with both leagues' members.[3] This setup only lasted until June 1998, but both leagues continue to have members compete against each other.[4]

The first season for TAAC football was in 1999 with Cardinal Stritch, Danbury, Ottawa Hills, Toledo Christian and the recently added football-only Lorain Catholic competing for the inaugural title.[5]

In 2000, Northwood left the Suburban Lakes League for the TAAC, wanting to compete with schools closer to their size.[6] They initially joined in all sports but football (competing as an independent in 2000), but fully joined the league the next year.

The TAAC lost its first member when Lorain Catholic closed at the end of the 2003-04 school year.[7]

Tired of competing in the Southern Central Athletic Association that was composed of several Michigan schools, Edon and Hilltop left to compete as football-only members in the TAAC in 2005. Former ties created in the old TBL made for the easy transition.

Emmanuel Baptist changed its name to Emmanuel Christian in the spring of 2006.[8]

In September 2009, Gibsonburg applied for membership when it became evident that the Suburban Lakes League was going to fold in the spring of 2011. On October 7, they were admitted as the 8th full member school in the league, after being complimented for their facilities and comparable enrollment to current members. They became a full-voting member on January 1, 2010 and joined the league for the 2011-12 school year.[9]

Former commissioner Dick Nowak noted that although the league was set with members, their five-year plan involved adding two more members and possibly going to a two-division format. He would not indicate which schools are interested in TAAC membership at the time. Rick Kaifas became the new TAAC commissioner on April 6, 2011.

In July 2012, Lakota High School and Fremont St. Joseph CC both sent letters of inquiry about joining the TAAC, concerned that the Midland Athletic League would dissolve after losing many members to other new leagues.[10]

On May 13, 2013, Tiffin Calvert announced that they would join the TAAC right after the Midland Athletic League disbanded in the spring of 2014.[11]

In May 2014, the TAAC approved adding NWOAL member Montpelier to its league for football only beginning with the 2016 season. Montpelier's school board approved the move in June 2014.[12][13]

On December 10, 2014, Tiffin Calvert announced plans to leave the TAAC early and join the Sandusky Bay Conference beginning with the 2016-17 school year as part of the SBC's expansion plans.[14]

On March 16, 2017, Danbury announced plans to join the Sandusky Bay Conference in the River Division of the Conference beginning in the 2018-2019 school year. They will be exiting the TAAC as one of the first original members of the conference when it first formed in 1988.[15]

On March 20, 2017, Gibsonburg also announced plans to leave the TAAC with Danbury to join the Sandusky Bay Conference in the River Division of the Conference beginning in the 2018-2019 school year. They will be exiting the TAAC as members since the 2011-2012 school year.[16]

In May 2017, it was announced that Stryker will join the league as a football-only member for the 2018 season.[17]

In October 2019, Stryker and Toledo Christian agreed at a meeting to form the new Northern 8 Football Conference for OHSAA schools that are committing to play 8-man football for the future.[18] The OHSAA does not currently sponsor the 8-man game,[19] but several member schools resorted to that option recently instead of playing the traditional 11-man game or choosing not to play out the season.[20] Stryker and Toledo Christian will forfeit their football membership in the TAAC, but will remain members of the Buckeye Border Conference and the TAAC respectively, for all other sports.

Beginning in the fall of 2020, Pettisville has joined the league in boys soccer only.

In June, 2022 the TAAC met with the Tri-County Conference (Michigan) to discuss a possible merger between the two leagues.[21] Around this time Cardinal Stritch announced that they would not field an 11-man football team for the 2022 season. They hope to eventually return to play.[22] This brought the league to only five football members, only two of which are full members.

League championships

Football champions

YearChampions
1999 Cardinal Stritch
2000 Ottawa Hills
2001 Northwood
2002 Northwood
2003 Northwood
2004 Northwood, Ottawa Hills
2005 Ottawa Hills
2006 Cardinal Stritch
2007 Northwood
2008 Northwood
2009 Northwood
2010 Toledo Christian
2011 Northwood
2012 Northwood
2013 Northwood
2014 Calvert
2015 Gibsonburg
2016 Gibsonburg, Montpelier
2017 Gibsonburg, Ottawa Hills
2018 Northwood
2019 Northwood
2020 Northwood
2021 Edon
2022 Ottawa Hills
2023 Ottawa Hills

Boys Basketball Champions

Year Champion(s) Conference Record
1988-89 Ottawa Hills, Emmanuel Baptist 6-2
1989-90 Ottawa Hills, Emmanuel Baptist 7-1
1990-91 Ottawa Hills 7-1
1991-92 Toledo Christian 8-0
1992-93 Maumee Valley 6-2
1993-94 Danbury 8-0
1994-95 Danbury 7-1
1995-96 Ottawa Hills 9-1
1996-97 Ottawa Hills 10-0
1997-98 Emmanuel Baptist 10-0
1998-99 Danbury 8-2
1999-00 Danbury 8-2
2000-01 Danbury 9-3
2001-02 Maumee Valley 9-3
2002-03 Danbury, Ottawa Hills 10-2
2003-04 Ottawa Hills 11-1
2004-05 Danbury 12-0
2005-06 Toledo Christian 12-0
2006-07 Toledo Christian 12-0
2007-08 Ottawa Hills, Toledo Christian 11-1
2008-09 Ottawa Hills, Toledo Christian 11-1
2009-10 Ottawa Hills 12-0
2010-11 Ottawa Hills 11-1
2011-12 Maumee Valley 13-1
2012-13 Toledo Christian 13-1
2013-14 Ottawa Hills 14-0
2014-15 Gibsonburg 16-0
2015-16 Ottawa Hills 15-1
2016-17 Toledo Christian 14-0
2017-18 Cardinal Stritch 14-0
2018-19 Cardinal Stritch 9-1
2019-20 Toledo Christian 9-1
2020-21 Cardinal Stritch 5-0
2021-22 Ottawa Hills 8-2

See also

Ohio High School Athletic Conferences

References

  1. Three teams share role of favorite for basketball championship. Toledo Blade Dec 12, 1989
  2. "Stritch to add 'Catholic' to its official name".
  3. Brighter day soon may dawn in Stritch sports. Toledo Blade Dec 8, 1994
  4. As noted on a banner in Cardinal Stritch High School's gymnasium
  5. 1999 HS Football Schedules. Toledo Blade Aug 26, 1999
  6. Stritch remains top team to beat. Toledo Blade Aug 23, 2000
  7. http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/19506/2/Lorain-Catholic-High-School-closes-its-doors-
  8. "Emmanuel Christian School". Archived from the original on 2013-07-04. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  9. Gibsonburg becomes eighth member of TAAC. Toledo Blade Oct 7, 2009
  10. http://www.thecourier.com/Issues/2012/Jul/25/ar_sports_072512_story4.asp?d=072512_story4,2012,Jul,25&c=s%5B%5D
  11. Tiffin Calvert will join the Toledo Area Athletic Conference right after the Midland Athletic League disbands in the spring of 2014 Junga, Steve. Toledo Blade. May 14, 2013.
  12. "TAAC approves Montpelier for football membership | BCSN | the Blade". Archived from the original on 2014-05-17. Retrieved 2014-05-16.
  13. http://www.montpelier.k12.oh.us/userfiles/440/Montpelier%20League%20Change%20Press%20Release.pdf Montpelier League Change Press Release, June 5, 2014
  14. http://www.sanduskyregister.com/sports/football/6968216 Sandusky Bay Conference expansion finalized
  15. Behm, Jon. "Sandusky Bay Conference expands". The Morning Journal. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
  16. Behm, Jon (27 December 2000). "High school sports: Sandusky Bay Conference to add Gibsonburg". The Morning Journal. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  17. Squanda, Ryan (May 20, 2017). "Stryker football to join TAAC in 2018". Bryan Times. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  18. Junga, Steve (October 3, 2019). "Area schools establish Ohio's first eight-man football league". Toledo Blade. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  19. Watkins, Jimmy (September 16, 2019). "SMCC's 8-man football decision part of changing football landscape". Sandusky Register. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  20. Biviano, Dennis (September 19, 2019). "Smaller High Schools Resort to 8-Man Football". Spectrum News 1. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  21. Monroe, Mark (June 28, 2022). "Meeting held between TAAC and Tri-County Conference about possible merger". Toledo Blade. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  22. "Cardinal Stritch taking break from 11-man football". Toledo Blade. July 1, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
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