By JIM WALKER

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

WANTED: New league member for local high school athletic conference. Interested teams apply to the Ohio Valley Conference.

The OVC is advertising for a new league member following the formal announcement by Portsmouth High School to exit the league for the Southern Ohio Conference in the 2027-28 school year.

Portsmouth submitted a letter at the conference meeting on Wednesday that the school will officially be out of the OVC by 2027.

Ironton, Gallipolis Gallia Academy and Portsmouth joined the OVC in 2014 and began play the following year. The addition of the three schools made for an 8-team league that included the current members Coal Grove, Rock Hill, Chesapeake, Fairland and South Point.

“The thing about our conference is everyone gets along so well and works together really well,” said league president Dean Mader of Coal Grove Dawson-Bryant schools.

“(Portsmouth) has been a great fit. I think it came down to them in their eyes financially. They were just looking for ways to save money. Those schools in the SOC are a lot closer to them.”

Portsmouth will be part of the larger school divisions that include Portsmouth West, Lucasville Valley, Minford, Oak Hill, Northwest and Wheelersburg in football and also South Webster in basketball.

“There’s no hard feelings or bitterness. They’ve been a good member. Their coaches and everybody have been great to work with,” said Mader.

Portsmouth’s exit leaves an odd number of teams. Mader said the conference will formally begin to entertain possible candidates to fill the void.

“I’m going to put out a letter in the next day or so on Facebook and the OHSAA webpage that we are welcome to look at new schools that would like to become members of the OVC,” said Mader.

“We all talked collectively (Wednesday) that we’re going to put it out there and see if there is anybody that might be interested in joining us. We think we’re a great conference and we’d be a great fit for a lot of schools.”

There were some discussions a few years ago with the league conducting talks with some schools who showed interest. But Mader said it was imperative that the league fill the void immediately.

“I think that even with Portsmouth going, we’re still the healthiest we’ve ever been,” said Mader.

“We all communicate better and we all have like-minded goals, so we’re not going to rush into any school, but try to find a school that’s a good fit for us and them.”

The OVC had three West Virginia schools as members at one time — Buffalo, Wayne and Ceredo-Kenova — but Mader said that it is unlikely that a team from across the Ohio River will join the conference.

“We’ve had out-of-state members, but the way things are structured now, it’s not much of an option anymore,” Mader said.

“We’re an attractive conference. We all have really nice facilities. We do get along well as a conference and work together well. Hopefully, we find a good fit.”

Football is always the sport people talk about when it comes to getting a league member, but that said there are a lot of other considerations.

“The thing that John Q. Public doesn’t think about —everyone wants to think about football and then from there. You got to think about a Monday night volleyball game or soccer game,” said Mader.

“Everyone wants to talk about the ten football games in the ball and I get it. Football stirs the drink. But there are a lot of other nice things that are happening and you’ve got to think about what time your kids are getting home and that kind of thing. There’s a whole lot of sports being played during the year.”