COLUMBIANA — Crestview’s athletic department has known the days of the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Gray Division were numbered and this week it was confirmed with the departure of the remaining Trumbull County teams from the league by the end of the next school year.

The Rebels are now the only school left standing in the MVAC Gray Division and it is trying to develop a plan to secure some kind of league membership by the time the 2026-2027 school year ends.

Crestview athletic director Casey Bogerd knows the district is in a tight spot but he’s hoping some neighboring schools get talking and that the Rebels can once again play regularly against schools in Columbiana County and surrounding communities.

“What we’d like to do is join an existing league, maybe in a new tier, and try to build it with some local teams,” Bogerd said. “We’ve been in the MVAC since 2017 and we’re the only Columbiana County team, so I think it’s important for us to get a little more local flavor. Hopefully we can start something new and then other schools may think it’s an appetizing deal and maybe want to join us and reduce a little bit of travel and try to get a little more competitive.”

Bogerd said the specific direction of the plan hasn’t been formulated yet and he is keeping a lid on who Crestview is talking to.

“I don’t really want to say who because I don’t want to throw anybody under the bus or I don’t think anybody, me included, wants to break up existing leagues, you know what I mean?,” Bogerd said. ‘The schools that we’re reaching out to are schools that are kind of also looking. They’re kind of homeless right now, too, in a similar situation with us. And it’s challenging because a perfect league is eight. I don’t know that there’s eight schools out there looking.”

Currently every public school in Columbiana County is affiliated with a league. Salem might be the only other county school without a home after the 2027-28 school year as the Eastern Buckeye Conference will dissolve. Bogerd said Crestview is open to doing something with Eastern Buckeye Conference members West Branch and Salem if the opportunity arises. West Branch is aggressively pursuing membership in the All-American Conference and Salem has not made any plans yet.

“I’m hoping we can start something with like-minded schools that are interested in doing something similar to what we’re interested in doing and then kind of grow it from there,” Bogerd said. “And maybe down the line, some of these schools would see what we’re doing as a better option and maybe want to join us. But, right now, I’ll tell you what, it’s challenging because there’s just not a lot out there and there’s a lot of hypothetical situations.”

Bogerd said Crestview was one of five schools that were turned down by the Northeast 8 Conference. He said the school has also applied to reunite with former Inter-Tri County League opponents in the Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference and that an application for entry into the MVAC Scarlet Division has been sent.

The demise of the MVAC Gray Division started with the departure of Garrettsville Garfield and Southeast stating they were leaving for the Greater Portage Athletic Conference last year. Earlier this year LaBrae, Brookfield, Champion and Liberty then set out to apply to the Northeastern Athletic Conference and were accepted this week. Newton Falls will relocate to the Scarlet Tier of the MVAC to fill Waterloo’s spot.

Bogerd thinks the big issue that drove the schools to seek more local arrangements was travel.

“I can tell you from our perspective, driving to Garfield and driving to Champion and driving to Brookfield, those are long hauls,” Bogerd said. “On a Friday night in football, it’s not that big of a deal because it’s not a school night, but when you’re in the fall and your middle school volleyball team is heading up that way into Trumbull twice a week, we feel it, so I’m certain that they would feel it coming down to Crestview as well.”

Bogerd said travel times can easily increase a half hour during winter weather and he believes it has taken a toll on the school’s multiple sport athletes.

“Looking at our numbers we ended up with nine high school girls basketball players in grades 9 through 12,” Bogerd said. “That’s a team that traditionally has been pretty competitive over the years. So, you start looking at why that happens and I kind of think it’s related to volleyball kids getting back at 9:30 at night. To extend that through fall and into basketball season, I think it just burns kids out. To think that happens a couple of times a week and after a while that gets to the kids and families.”

In the case that Crestview goes independent, Bogerd said it would be difficult but it would be doable. He said scheduling football games in weeks four through 10 would be the most challenging aspect there.

“I think as an athletic director if you go independent it ages you in dog years,” Bogerd said.