CG and PR have really blossomed last few years, maybe FVC will do something soon so they can get tougher opponents. Most FVC teams don’t really give them a battle. Few years ago Huntley wanted to climb up with them, but I think it was more of a really good talented group they had, but program has gone back down
This makes the most sense to me, as size and location does not align with balance out here
Not sure what the motivation for the Fox Valley teams would be to split into two five-team divisions.
First of all, the math listed on this forum is wrong: If the plan is non-conference games Weeks 1-2, crossover games Weeks 3-4, then each week 5-9, there will be one crossover game each week, so the actual alignment would be four division games, three crossover games and two nonconference games.
Now, for the "weak" division, there is real danger here. If a team goes 3-1 and wins its division title, goes 0-3 which obviously is very likely against the powerhouse division, and splits its two season-opening nonconference games, it is a division champion with a 4-5 record and does not qualify for the playoffs.
That's a bad situation. Right now, you have teams in the league finishing 4-5 and missing the playoffs. But to finish first in a league and. not qualify for the postseason is just not good.
But here's the other thing. What is the motivation for playing nonconfernce games weeks 1-2. Right now, the schools have rivalry games out the rear-end. And short travel which saves money. And easy travel for the team's fans, which parents surely like.
And there is absolutely no legit argument for saying the Fox Valley Conference top teams would benefit from playing top competition weeks 1-2 as a replacement for two weak conference teams.
How do they benefit? In the last SEVEN years of playoffs, the Fox Valley has had a team playing for the state championship. Not many conferences in the state have that standard of excellence. So clearly, conference play already is preparing the best team for a legit state-championship run.
I am just not seeing a benefit for the top schools to dump conference rivalries in exchange for games that will better prepare a team for the playoffs that doesn't need to be better prepared, based on playoff results.
