Walsh, STVM joining new power conference
An incredible high school sports conference has been created, and Walsh Jesuit and St. Vincent-St. Mary are part of it. Columbus St. Francis DeSales vice principal Jim Jones sent out a news release Tuesday morning announcing the formation of the Ohio Catholic Athletic Conference.
The league, which will be football only beginning in the fall of 2026, will include Columbus Bishop Hartley, Columbus Bishop Watterson, Columbus St. Francis DeSales, Walsh Jesuit, STVM, Villa Angela-St. Joseph, Youngstown Ursuline and Youngstown Cardinal Mooney.
“This unique partnership allows these eight Catholic schools the great opportunity to showcase not only their prowess in the athletic realm but their acumen in the classroom as well as their leadership in service to their respective communities,” Jones said in the release.
The conference will include all sports in the fall of 2027 as bylaws for the league are being written this summer.
“You always want to be a part of something bigger than yourself,” Walsh Jesuit athletic director Mark Hassman said. “We'll have like-minded schools and you're part of a community. With that, our kids have the opportunity to get first- and second-team honors in the conference. It's better for our kids.
“This is a great conference. All of them have some kind of history of winning in all sports. This is just the perfect match for us. I'm really excited.”
Why wait until 2026?
An undertaking of this magnitude takes some time and given the logistics of the eight-school league there's a yearning to get things right. There's also the fact many schools have the bulk of their football schedules done for 2025.
That's why there's not a rush to get the conference started next year.
That said, everyone involved is pumped to get things going.
“I think it's long overdue,” STVM athletic director Kyle Sasala said. “To incorporate ourselves with other likeminded Catholic co-ed schools is something that we've been trying to form for the longest time. I'm ecstatic about it not only for STVM, but also the other Catholic schools in this league. It creates a positive environment for our community and kids.
"Most of those schools in the Northeast Ohio area we play. To add the Columbus schools, not only in football but the other sports, and how well respected those schools are, it's a great opportunity for us. I think it's going to be amazing for our student-athletes.”
How good will OCAC be
A look at just football backs that
statement up.
Each school has at least one state title and the eight programs combined have made the state semifinals 80 times.
"It only makes sense with the background of these teams and these programs to compete against each other in a healthy Ohio football manner," Fighting Irish football coach Doran Grant said. "I think it will prepare all the teams for the playoffs. Having to go down to Columbus once, possibly twice, a year and facing those grueling road trips on a Friday night will be very beneficial."
In those 80 appearances, members of the new the league have won 29 championships and finished second 21 times.
Mooney (17 semifinal appearances, eight titles, four runners-up), STVM (12, six, one), DeSales (12, three, six), Hartley (10, four, two) lead the way in that regard.
“With the expansion of the playoffs, it allows you to get into a league like this,” Walsh Jesuit football coach Nick Alexander said. “To play competition, to get your team on a bus and have to travel, to get used to that and what is like, it will prepare our kids for college football. Every game is a big game. It's going to be awesome. We're excited.”