Pocket Athletic Conference


The Pocket Athletic Conference is a high school athletic conference in Southwestern Indiana with its headquarters at Forest Park. Most of the conference's 13 members are mainly Class 2A and 3A public high schools currently located in Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, and Warrick counties. Only one, Tecumseh, is a 1A and as such operates its football program independently of the PAC and remains independent in the sport, playing schools much closer to its size than its much larger borderline 3A or 3A and 4A fellow members.

History

The Pocket Athletic Conference was established in 1938 with nine founding schools: Cannelton, Chrisney, Lynnville, Mount Vernon, Owensville, Petersburg, Poseyville, Rockport, and Tell City. Seven of the nine original schools remain members in some form today. Cannelton left in 1971 and is now an independent. Mount Vernon left in 1959 to join the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference then a member of the Big Eight Conference before returning to the conference in 2020. All of the original members, all current members, and most of the new members are in counties along the western end of the Interstate 64 corridor within Indiana.
The first current member appeared in 1958 when Poseyville consolidated with Cynthiana, Griffin, and Wadesville to form North Posey. Rockport merged with Richland in 1965 to form South Spencer. Elberfeld merged with former member Lynnville in 1965 to form Tecumseh. Also in 1965, Oakland City and Francisco, both of which joined the PAC in 1939, joined to become Wood Memorial. Dale, which had joined in 1939, joined with another former member, Chrisney, to form Heritage Hills in 1972. Huntingburg joined the PAC in 1970 from the SIAC and in 1972 consolidated with Holland to become Southridge. In 1974, Owensville consolidated with Fort Branch and Haubstadt into Gibson Southern. Both Fort Branch and Owensville were members of the PAC at the time. Haubstadt was also briefly a member of the PAC. That same year Petersburg joined with Winslow, Otwell, and Stendal to form Pike Central.
Gibson Southern left the PAC in 1979 when the Big Eight Conference was formed, only to return in 1994. In 2000, Wood Memorial left the PAC and is now a member of the Blue Chip Conference. Tell City, which had left in 1953, rejoined in 2001, also came back from the Big Eight Conference but also from the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference. In 2007, Forest Park, located in Ferdinand, officially joined the PAC from the Blue Chip Conference increasing the number of members back to the original nine.
The conference expanded to thirteen members in 2020, as they accepted former members Boonville and Mount Vernon, as well as Princeton, whose component school, Mount Olympus, was a member from 1939 to 1965, and complete newcomer Washington, all from the now extinct Big Eight Conference. In all, the PAC will inherit 6 of the original Big Eight members.
Since 2000, the PAC has been represented in the state finals seven times. The three schools that have represented the PAC recently are Heritage Hills, Southridge and North Posey.
Forest Park, Southridge and Tecumseh have four state titles in both boys and girls basketball. Forest Park and Gibson Southern add three more state runner-up titles to the pool to make seven appearances at the state finals, not counting Tecumseh's appearance in the Tournament of Champions. Forest Park, Gibson Southern, North Posey, Southridge, and Tecumseh have all been ranked within the last eight years in either girls or boys basketball, sometimes both. In 1999, Tecumseh lost by six points in the experimental "Tournament of Champions" to the 4A State Champion, Indianapolis' North Central. Tecumseh was the 1A State Champion. Boonville and Washington bring additional strength on the conference's basketball schedule as well as two more of the state's largest gymnasiums.
The Pocket Athletic Conference has been exceptionally strong in baseball and softball in the last 20 years. Both South Spencer and Gibson Southern won the softball state title in their respective classes in 2015. Forest Park also won the title in 2001. North Posey and South Spencer have won state titles in baseball. As a result, South Spencer, a AA school, plays in the AAA tournament, and Gibson Southern, a AAA school, plays in the AAAA tournament, where the Titans have made consecutive appearances at the AAAA Semi-State match, preventing their return to AAA. Likewise Tecumseh, having moved up to class AA after a state title and semi state appearance, has advanced to the AA Semi-State joining Gibson Southern in playing in a Semi State in a higher class only after beating conference rival Southridge in the regional. Southridge will also move up into AAA from AA in baseball after back-to-back State Runner-up titles.
In the last ten years, 29 Pocket Athletic Conference teams have represented their school and the conference in state championship games.

New inter conference County Rivals

Already containing two sets of two county rivals; Dubois County rivals Forest Park and Southridge, as well as Spencer County sole rivals Heritage Hills, the conference will add two more in 2020 in football; Posey County sole rivals Mount Vernon and North Posey and Gibson County rivals Gibson Southern and Princeton plus another in all other sports; Warrick County rivals Boonville and Tecumseh. In all cases except Southridge and Forest Park and Gibson Southern and Princeton, the rivals will compete in separate divisions.

Member schools

Current members (13)

  1. Gibson Southern competed in the Big Eight Conference from 1980 to 1994 before rejoining the PAC.
  2. Tecumseh is a 1A independent school in football.
  3. Tell City played in the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference from 1953 to 1980, then played in the Big Eight Conference 1980–2001 before rejoining.
  4. Due to Gibson Southern making back-to-back appearances at the state finals, Gibson Southern and defending 2014 state champ and 2015 runner-up Leo High School from the Allen County Athletic Conference will move up to Class AAAA for 2 years because of the IHSAA's Tournament Success Factor. Gibson Southern, due to making back to back appearances in the AAAA Semi-State, will remain in class AAAA in softball until 2019, provided that they do not continue to advance to the Semi-State. To date neither school has returned to AAA.
  5. South Spencer advances to AAA for 2 years in Baseball also because of the IHSAA's Tournament Success Factor.
  6. Tecumseh advanced to AA also due to the IHSAA's Tournament Success Factor
  1. Concurrent with Perry CC 1938-62.
  2. Concurrent with Spencer CC: Chrisney 1938-59; Rockport 1938-65; Dale 1939-65.
  3. Concurrent with Warrick CC: Tecumseh 1938-59; Boonville 1939-41.
  4. Concurrent with Posey CC: Mount Vernon 1938-49; Poseyville 1938-58.
  5. Concurrent with Gibson CC: Owensville 1938-49; Fort Branch, Francisco, Mount Olympus, Oakland City 1939-49.
  6. Concurrent with Pike CC Petersburg 1938-49; Winslow 1939-40
  1. As of 2012-13, Princeton plays in a new 5,200 seat gym which replaced the aging 3,000 seat old gym which is still occasionally used for tourneys as of 2016.

    Membership timeline


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bar:1 color:red from:1938 till:1971 text:Cannelton
bar:2 color:red from:1938 till:1959 text:Chrisney
bar:3 color:red from:1938 till:1959 text:Lynnville
bar:4 color:red from:1938 till:1959 text:Mount Vernon
bar:4 color:red from:2020 till:end text:Mount Vernon
bar:5 color:red from:1938 till:1974 text:Owensville
bar:6 color:red from:1938 till:1974 text:Petersburg
bar:7 color:red from:1938 till:1958 text:Poseyville
bar:8 color:red from:1938 till:1965 text:Rockport
bar:9 color:red from:1938 till:1953 text:Tell City
bar:9 color:red from:2001 shift: till:end text:Tell City
bar:10 color:red from:1939 till:1941 text:Boonville
bar:10 color:red from:2020 till:end text:Boonville
bar:11 color:red from:1939 till:1972 text:Dale
bar:12 color:red from:1939 till:1974 text:Fort Branch
bar:13 color:red from:1939 till:1965 text:Francisco
bar:14 color:red from:1939 till:1965 text:Mount Olympus
bar:14 color:red from:2020 till:end text:Princeton
bar:15 color:red from:1939 till:1965 text:Oakland City
bar:16 color:red from:1939 till:1940 text:Winsolw
bar:17 color:red from:1958 till:end text:North Posey
bar:18 color:red from:1965 till:end text:South Spencer
bar:19 color:red from:1965 till:end text:Tecumseh
bar:20 color:red from:1965 till:2000 text:Wood Memorial
bar:21 color:red from:1970 till:1972 text:Huntingburg
bar:22 color:red from:1972 till:1974 text:Haubstadt
bar:23 color:red from:1972 till:end text:Heritage Hills
bar:24 color:red from:1972 till:end text:Southridge
bar:25 color:red from:1974 till:1980 text:Gibson Southern
bar:25 color:red from:1994 till:end text:Gibson Southern
bar:26 color:red from:1974 till:end text:Pike Central
bar:27 color:red from:2007 shift: till:end text:Forest Park
bar:28 color:red from:2020 till:end text:Washington
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text:"PAC Membership History"

Sponsored Sports

1As of the 2008-09 school year Tecumseh will play football as an independent. They will remain in the PAC for all other sports.
22 State Titles, however Tell City's football title was won under the Big Eight Conference.
Due to the PAC inheriting the remains of the Big Eight Conference, the PAC will split into two divisions. These divisions will affect every sport except Archery, Cross Country, Swimming and Diving, Track and Field, and Wrestling, which have no IHSAA class divisions.
Large SchoolSmall School
BoonvilleForest Park
Gibson SouthernNorth Posey
Heritage HillsPike Central
Mount VernonSouthridge
PrincetonSouth Spencer
WashingtonTecumseh
Tell City

State championships

Boonville Pioneers
Forest Park Rangers
Gibson Southern Titans
Heritage Hills Patriots
Mount Vernon Wildcats
North Posey Vikings
Pike Central Chargers
Princeton Community Tigers
Southridge Raiders
South Spencer Rebels
Tecumseh Braves
Tell City Marksmen
Washington Hatchets
Cannelton Bulldogs
Wood Memorial Trojans
Forest Park Rangers
Gibson Southern Titans
Heritage Hills Patriots
North Posey Vikings
Pike Central Chargers
Southridge Raiders
South Spencer Rebels
Tecumseh Braves
Tell City Marksmen
1Occurred when Forest Park was a member of the Blue Chip Conference.
2Occurred as a member of the Big Eight Conference.

PAC titles

News and facts