Naperville North, Waubonsie Valley and Naperville Central - that's Redhawks quarterback Nick Linne pictured above - are scheduled to compete in the Raider Passing Jamboree on July 18 at Bolingbrook. The Saturday morning event begins at 9. Here's the list of teams expected to be in attendance:
Naperville North and Waubonsie Valley are scheduled to take part in the Raider Lineman Challenge - now in its 21st year - on July 15 at Bolingbrook. Here's a preliminary list of programs expected to participate (with more expected to sign up):
Bolingbrook
East Aurora
Eisenhower
Lemont
Pontiac
Proviso East
Plainfield Central
Proviso West
Plainfield South
Wheaton Warrenville South
Romeoville
Shepard
Naperville North
Minooka
Downers Grove South
Chicago Raby
Chicago Hubbard
Chicago Manley
Chicago Bogan
Chicago Julian
Yorkville
Oswego
Waubonsie Valley
Sandburg
Naperville North is one of 14 teams scheduled to participate in Bolingbrook's 7-on-7 competition on Tuesday. It's the second of five consecutive Tuesday night sessions that run through July 21.
Here's Tuesday's expected field, as provided by former Bolingbrook head coach Phil Acton:
Bolingbrook
Lockport
Plainfield Central
Plainfield East
Lockport
East Aurora
Naperville North
Proviso East
Chicago Dunbar
Chicago Robeson
Chicago Curie
Chicago Harlan
Chicago Manley
Chicago Raby
Naperville Central will announce the site of the Week 1 opener at a later date; here's what the Warriors will have to face next season:
2009 WAUBONSIE VALLEY SCHEDULE
Aug. 28 at Naperville Central
Sept. 4 vs. Oswego
Sept. 11 at Bartlett
Sept. 18 at St. Charles North
Sept. 25 vs. Neuqua Valley at North Central College
Oct. 2 vs. St. Charles East
Oct. 9 vs. Elgin
Oct. 16 at Lake Park
Oct. 23 vs. East Aurora
All games are scheduled for Fridays at 7:30 p.m.
When the ACC raided the Big East a few years ago, it created a ripple effect across the country. It can still be felt in Lincoln Park, where the DePaul hoops program is 0-13 in the rugged Big East. To make matters worse, its next two games are against Pittsburgh and Villanova, which combined are 43-7.
With that in mind - and on a much smaller scale - we looked at the recent rumblings of defections and realignment within the area's conferences. In the same way that Miami football can set off a chain of events that impacts DePaul basketball, the Western Sun's potential movement could force the DuPage Valley and Upstate Eight to make some decisions.
Before we go any further, let's stress that nothing is about to happen. Last week Metea Valley principal Jim Schmid was gracious enough to field our hypothetical questions before a single practice was held at the school, and said the UEC would require some advance notice.
"It's usually at least a year. I know that when DeKalb left, they let us know about a (year-plus) ahead of time. It's usually primarily because of scheduling," Schmid said. "It's certainly ample time where they're able (to) deal with the nuances of primarily the football schedule, (which) is the most challenging one."
Football may not drive everything at every school, but it's a major consideration. Jim Owczarski and Rick Armstrong mapped out some potential scenarios in the Beacon News. What if dominos start falling and, say, a West Chicago leaves the DVC? Or if Geneva spins out and links up with the St. Charles schools? The Glenbard schools aren't all in the same conference - should District 204 stay together?
This is entirely a game of "what-if." But if you were an area athletic director, what would you be looking for to protect your football program's interest?
The Upstate Eight Conference will expand and realign into two six-team divisions beginning in the fall of 2010.
The conference announced the anticipated move on Thursday and it took into account several geographic considerations. Metea Valley, which in scheduled to open in the fall of 2009, will become the conference's new 12th member and join District 204 rivals Neuqua Valley and Waubonsie Valley in the UEC South. The division will also include East Aurora, St. Charles East and St. Charles North.
The UEC North will be made up of Bartlett, Elgin, Lake Park, Larkin, South Elgin and Streamwood.
What's your early take? How will this impact these UEC programs?
