The Principals Athletic Conference is an Ohio High School Athletic Association athletic league that began competition in 1989 and is made up of members from Stark, Summit and Wayne Counties in Ohio.
Members
| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton South | Wildcats | Canton | Red and gray |
2022– | |
| Coventry | Comets | Coventry | Blue, gold |
1989–1995;2001–2005; 2026– | |
| Fairless | Falcons | Navarre | Navy, silver |
1989– | Leaving in 2028 for Northeast Senate League |
| Manchester | Panthers | New Franklin | Red, black |
1989– | |
| Northwest | Indians | Lawrence | Red, gray, white |
2017– | |
| Orrville | Red Riders | Orrville | Red, black, white |
2016– | |
| Triway | Titans | Wooster | Purple, white |
2005– | |
| Tuslaw | Mustangs | Tuscarawas | Blue, red, white |
1989– | Leaving in 2028 for Northeast Senate League |
Future members
| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Year Joining | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloverleaf | Colts | Westfield | Green, white |
2028 |
Joining from Metro Athletic Conference |
| West Holmes | Knights | Millersburg | Blue, red, white |
2028 |
Joining from Ohio Cardinal Conference |
Former members
| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy | Royals | Cuyahoga Falls | Blue, white |
2001–2024 | left for North Coast Conference |
| East Canton | Hornets | East Canton | Blue, gold |
1989–2005 | left for Portage Trail Conference |
| Indian Valley | Braves | Gnadenhutten | Red, blue |
1992–95; 2008–2016 | left for Inter-Valley Conference |
| Sandy Valley | Cardinals | Magnolia | Red, gray |
1989–2001 | Left for Inter-Valley Conference |
| Timken | Trojans | Canton | Blue, gold |
2005–2015 | School closed, consolidated with Canton McKinley |
| Tuscarawas Valley | Trojans | Zoarville | Red, black |
1989–2016 | left for Inter-Valley Conference |
| Loudonville | Redbirds | Loudonville | Red and gray |
2017–2021 | Football only member, joined Knox Morrow Athletic Conference in 2022 |
History
The Principals Athletic Conference (also known as PAC or PAC-7) began conference play in 1989, with founding members Coventry, Fairless, Manchester, Tuslaw, East Canton, Sandy Valley, and Tuscarawas Valley. In 1992, the league expanded to eight teams following the addition of Indian Valley. Indian Valley left the league in 1995 for the East Central Ohio Conference, along with Coventry, who left in favor of becoming an independent school. The league once again expanded into seven teams in 2001 with Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy and Coventry, who rejoined after four years of being an independent school. Sandy Valley left the same year for the Inter-Valley Conference.
East Canton and Coventry left the league in favor of the new Portage Trail Conference in 2005. That same year saw the additions of Timken and Triway. In 2008, Indian Valley rejoined the league after being in the ECOC for over 10 years. Northwest High School and Orrville High School applied for membership in the PAC in 2013, but both were later turned down after a league discussion.[1]
Indian Valley and Tuscarawas Valley both announced in 2015 their intention of joining the Inter-Valley Conference beginning in the 2016-17 school year.[2] The same year, Timken would shutter their school following the consolidation plan between them and Canton McKinley High School.[3] Four schools applied to join the PAC, with two of four being accepted as full-time members.[4] Orrville began conference play in the PAC in the 2016-17 school year, and Northwest began conference play in the 2017-18 school year.[5] Loudonville was accepted into the league as a football only member[6]
In 2020, Canton South, who applied to join the PAC in 2015 but was denied, accepted an invitation to join the league effective the 2022-23 school year. Loudonville forfeited their PAC membership as a football-only school and joined the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference in 2022.[7]
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy announced in May 2023 their departure from the PAC to form the North Coast Conference in 2024 along with Elyria Catholic, Holy Name, Padua, Beaumont, Lake Catholic, and Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin.[8]
Coventry confirmed that they had accepted an offer to leave the Metro Athletic Conference and rejoin the PAC and are set to rejoin the conference in 2026. Coventry was a founding member of the PAC and was a member from 1989–1995 and 2001-2005.[9] Fairless and Tuslaw announced their intention to leave the PAC effective the 2028-29 school year for a new athletic conference with Carrollton, Claymont, Marlington, Minerva Sandy Valley, and Tuscarawas Valley all of them being former Senate League members.[10] In March 2026, Cloverleaf and West Holmes both announced their intention of joining the PAC in 2028 to replace both Fairless and Tuslaw.[11]
References
- Harpster, David (January 30, 2013). "Northwest, Orrville apply for membership in the Principals Athletic Conference". IndeOnline.com. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - Metzger, Roger (February 21, 2015). "Five high schools to join Inter-Valley Conference". Times Reporter. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - "School Board Unanimously Approves "One Community, One School"". Canton City School District. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - Dorksen, Aaron (March 4, 2015). "Orrville, Northwest Extended Invitations to Join Principals Athletic Conference". Wooster Daily Record. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
- King, Steve (March 17, 2015). "Steve King: Prinicpals [sic] Athletic Conference plans its future". The Suburbanite. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
- Dorksen, Aaron (April 18, 2015). "Loudonville to join PAC for football only in 2017-18". The Daily Record. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015.
- Popovich, Mike (July 2, 2020). "Canton South to Join Principals Athletic Conference in 2022". Canton Repository. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
- Shapiro, Todd (May 31, 2023). "Elyria Catholic finds home in new conference (UPDATED)". The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
- Leonard, Michael (July 18, 2024). "Coventry High School to join Principals Athletic Conference. When will it exit the MAC?". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
- Beaven, Chris. "Former Senate League schools forming a new high school conference". Canton Repository. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
- "Cloverleaf set to join Principals Athletic Conference". medina-gazette.com. Retrieved March 15, 2026.