Lowell Set to Leave OK Conference - News Feed
10/25 - River Cities Alliance Solidifies Plan
by Justin Scott - Sports Reporter
During Tuesday’s OK Conference vote, 48 conference members cast their votes whether to allow the River Cities Seven; Lowell, Cedar Springs, Kenowa Hills, Sparta, Greenville, Coopersville, and Allendale, to leave the OK Conference. Voting yes were the Rivers Cities Seven of course along with six other schools. 35 opposed the measure, meaning the seven schools fell well short of the 75% needed to formally leave early by conference bylaws. It didn’t matter. Lowell will be leaving the OK Conference.
The following statement was released by the River Cities Alliance:
“It is with great excitement and purpose that the member school districts announce the creation of the River Cities Alliance. Beginning in the fall of 2024, the River Cities Alliance will become a school-based conference throughout West Michigan, collaborating in athletics, the arts, and academics.
The inaugural members are Allendale Public Schools, Cedar Springs Public Schools, Coopersville Area Schools, Greenville Public Schools, Lowell Area Schools, Kenowa Hills Public Schools, and Sparta Area Schools.
The River Cities Alliance was formed to pursue a partnership between nearby school districts of similar size to create localized competition and a more community-centric atmosphere for students to share their athletic, artistic, and academic skills. “As part of the River Cities Alliance, we are committed to ensuring the best interests of our students and their families always come first,” said Kenowa Hills Public Schools Superintendent Gerald Hopkins. “Our commitment is rooted in the shared desire for all students to have the opportunity to compete at more local venues, showcasing their talents against athletes and scholars from nearby schools of similar size.”
Beginning in the fall of 2024, the school districts that make up the River Cities Alliance will compete against each other as any other athletic conference would, while continuing to compete in non-conference games. The member districts are also focused on supporting other co-curricular experiences through competition in academic groups like robotics, math, and debate clubs, as well as shining a brighter light on fine arts programs by having all-conference band and choir competitions. “We are excited to see this alliance come to life,” added Hopkins. “Hometown rivalries, closer travel for our students and their families, and a shared network of resources between seven committed districts will only enrich the experiences of our students.”
Pete Bush, a seasoned educator and leader, has been appointed Commissioner of the River Cities Alliance. With a Master of Arts in Athletic Administration from Central Michigan University, Bush’s career has been marked by a commitment to the development and well-being of young students and athletes. With a background that includes serving as athletic director in Cedar Springs and coaching varsity basketball and baseball at Lowell High School, his passion for sports education and mentorship began at the school level and progressed through his career. As a former superintendent of Sparta Area Schools, as well as a high school principal at Coopersville High School, Bush’s leadership has consistently emphasized the importance of youth sports in shaping character and fostering growth. He has previously served as President of the OK Conference and OK Blue Division and became a National Certified Athletic Administrator in 2007.
Bush's appointment signals a bright future for youth sports, with dedication and mentorship at its core. “I’m thrilled to be a part of the River Cities Alliance, working alongside educators with a student-first mindset,” said River Cities Alliance Commissioner Pete Bush. “I’ve had the privilege over my career to work with four of the seven River City Alliance schools and I’m honored to be able to return to my passion for youth sports, and also help build the alliance to further support competition in both academics and the arts.”
Bush is a former Lowell Baseball coach and math teacher from 1995-2002, will serve as the Rivers Cities’ first commissioner. He most recently worked as a senior educational consultant after serving as Sparta’s SuperIntendent for four years.
The move cements Lowell’s conference spot next year, and will eliminate what would have been lengthy road trips to three Muskegon schools; Muskegon, Reeths-Puffer, and Mona Shores. It also will force another wave of realignment within the OK Conference. The only remaining members of what would have been the OK Black are those Muskegon schools and Northview.
"We are proud to be a founding member of the River Cities Alliance. We look forward to the opportunities that it will offer our student athletes, and we hope that it will lead to additional opportunities for students in academics and the arts in the near future." - Nate Fowler, Superintendent of Lowell Area Schools said through a school release.
Next week we’re going to dive deep into this new conference and show how the conference will compare competitively to the OK White this year, where Lowell would’ve been in the OK Black, and what all of the Lowell sports teams will be facing in the River Cities Alliance.
10/10 - Next Step Awaits River Cities Alliance
Last week; Lowell, Kenowa Hills, Sparta, Greenville, Coopersville, and Allendale made their intentions to leave the OK Conference official by submitting their letter of withdrawal. Lowell's Board of Education unanimously voted to approve the move. The group of six will be promptly joined by Cedar Springs, forming what they call the “River Cities Alliance”.
Fans will quickly point out the name similarity and school similarity to the old Tri-River conference. Lowell, Sparta, Greenville, Cedar Springs, and Coopersville all have old ties there.
Now, they will face their next step. The schools seek to break their bond with the OK Conference after this year, and that letter of withdrawal isn’t a demand. It’s an ask. You see, all of the schools are looking to leave the OK Conference by the rules, and amicably. They don’t dislike the OK Conference or the schools in them, they just need to do what’s best for their programs and schools.
“This recommendation comes after much thought, much deliberation. We have great respect for the OK Conference and the history of the OK Conference and our time participating in that division, but just feel like it’s time to go into this area and form a smaller conference that’s best for our student-athletes and our families based off of less travel and the stability that conference would provide,” Lowell school’s Superintendent Nate Fowler told Mlive.
Conference bylaws allow schools to end their membership before two years notice under one condition, they need three-fourths of the league’s members to approve the departure. Only four times have team’s left the conference, all single one-offs; Saugatuck (2003), Kent City (2014), Hastings (2016), and Wyoming Lee (2021). Three of which due to geography primarily, and one for competitiveness (Lee).
“We hope that through this process, we’re able to maintain positive relationships and maintain opportunities with some of those schools that we do have traditional rivalries with, but that we were not seeing in the OK Conference, as well, based off of this new realignment.”
Now in unprecedented territory, it is a wonder if the River Cities Seven will receive three-fourths majority. If they don’t, the schools are likely to leave anyway.
Allendale Superintendent Dr. Garth Cooper confirmed Allendale’s intention to leave regardless of the vote and said as of last Monday, that in the latest Superintendent’s meeting between the Rivers Cities Seven they were in agreement, it was time to go.
The ramifications of such a move against OK Conference bylaws is to be seen. Hastings left the conference in a similar way, and has seen themselves as largely blackballed by OK Conference teams. Not that many OK Conference teams are looking to play the Saxons anyway given how far south they are, but Lowell and close neighbor Thornapple-Kellogg are two schools that have scheduled the Saxons in non-conference.
So with the fate of the Red Arrows and the rest of the Rivers Cities Alliance all but assured for 2024-2025, the question becomes what next? What about Belding? Who made an attempt to leave the OK Conference for the CSAA that fell in the eleventh hour just in the last few weeks. The old Tri-River foe. Yes, a small school, but what other options outside of the OK Silver do they have? A place they’re clearly unhappy. What of Northview? The lone school left in the OK Black that doesn’t belong in Muskegon. How will the three perfect partners; Union-Ottawa Hills, Spring Lake-Fruitport, and GR Catholic Central-West Catholic, fare without their fourth, Allendale and Coopersville? Where would the Muskegon schools go? Find out in the next episode of conference roulette.
10/8 - Lowell Set to Leave OK Conference
In a surprise twist to OK Conference realignment, Lowell along with seven other schools could breakaway from the conference entirely. Those schools include a majority of the new OK Black conference; Lowell, Cedar Springs, Kenowa Hills, and Greenville, in what would be a sharp rebuke to the new OK Black. They are joined by Coopersville, Allendale, Sparta, and an unknown eighth school. Though the identity of that eighth school is unknown, signs point to Northview being that eighth school, the lone GR area school from the new OK Black not specifically named in the report.
The information broke early last week from former GR Press reporter Lenny Padilla. The article notes that four athletic directors and superintendents confirmed the seven schools' interest in the proposal. Only one of which was able to go on the record, that was Sparta Superintendent Joel Stoner, who spoke on behalf of the interests of Sparta. Sparta landed in the OK silver in conference realignment, the highest enrolled school in the league along with Godwin Heights, Belding, Comstock Park, Hopkins, NorthPointe Christian, Calvin Christian, and Kelloggsville. A division with their own geographic concerns.
“The O-K Red is the only one that doesn’t change,” Stoner said. “The rest of us, every five years, we’re one vote away from being shifted around." Stoner told Padilla.
Travel was the primary concern for athletic directors, but private schools were also a concern for some athletic directors. South Christian, Unity Christian, Holland Christian, West Catholic, Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Grand Rapids Christian, Calvin Christian, and NorthPointe Christian are the private schools in the OK Conference, though for Lowell, it is only Grand Rapids Christian who has been a consistent opponent in recent years. There were no private schools in the new OK Black.
Six schools voted against the original realignment that sent Lowell to the OK Black along with Kenowa Hills, Northview, Greenville, Cedar Springs, Muskegon, Reeths-Puffer, and Mona Shores. Lowell, then under the guidance of now retired athletic director Dee Crowley, was one of those six votes citing the concern of travel to the Muskegon area, along with a bus driver shortage, as the primary concern.
“For Greenville, how is it sensible to drive to Muskegon?” Stoner said. “I can see why the Muskegon kids wouldn’t want to be driving all this way either. How can we have our kids driving an hour away each way? Hopefully people can see the rationale in that," Stoner said to Padilla.
The new conference would form a suburban league that would be incredibly balanced socio-economically. It is demographics like income that have proven to matter more in competition than even enrollment, though enrollment is of course a huge factor in win-loss percentage based on historical data of Lowell sports teams. Travel in the new league would also be greatly improved, with Allendale as the one primary outlier.
Though this is just in discussion, and could not become reality, it is an interesting situation that has developed for the Red Arrows whose athletic conference has remained quite steady for nearly four decades.
Lowell High School athletic officials could not comment on this story at this time.
