Changes possible for area conferences

Although nothing has been finalized, changes may be coming to the South Platte Valley Association and Republican Plains Athletic Conference.
School boards at Sutherland, Elwood and Eustis-Farnam are reviewing invitations to join the RPAC.
Alan Garey, Medicine Valley Superintendent and RPAC league commissioner, said the conference offers invitations to schools that are contiguous to member school districts every four to five years to gauge interest in joining the RPAC.
This year Sutherland, currently a member of SPVA, and Elwood and Eustis-Farnam, which co-op to form Hi-Line of the Fort Kearny Conference, expressed interest in changing affiliations.
From there, more information was provided to each schools’ administrators, who share it with their respective school boards.
Garey said that’s where the process is currently.
If the school boards approve the switch, the RPAC Executive Committee would vote to accept the member(s) into the organization. With that approval a time line for full participation would be established.
If everything is approved for the current invitees, full participation will most likely be for the 2024-2025 school year.
Adding the three schools would give the RPAC two divisions with nine schools and eight teams in each.
Currently in the RPAC West Division are Dundy County Stratton, Hitchcock County, Maxwell, Paxton, Wallace and Wauneta-Palisade, plus Maywood and Hayes Center which co-op for sports.
The current RPAC East Division includes Alma, Arapahoe, Bertrand, Cambridge, Medicine Valley, Southern Valley and Southwest.
Sutherland and Hi-Line both played Class D1 eight-man football last fall. The RPAC has 10 eight-man football teams and four six-man teams.
Their basketball teams fell into Class C2 and D1. Southern Valley is the only RPAC school to compete above Class D1.
Garey said the RPAC has always tried to be progressive and provide the best experience for its member students/athletes.  
“In order to do that, the organization wanted to have a solid membership base in southwest Nebraska. If we complete the process of adding member(s), a news release will be sent out,” Garey said.
The last change to the RPAC was the addition of Maxwell for the 2015-2016 school year