The Pocket Athletic Conference (PAC) is a high school athletic conference in

Southwestern Indiana Southwestern Indiana is an 11-county region of southern Indiana, United States located at the southernmost and westernmost part of the state. As of the 2010 census, the region's combined population is 474,251. Evansville, Indiana's third-largest c ...

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 Gibson may refer to: People * Gibson (surname) Businesses * Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment * Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based * Gi ...

Perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also mad ...

Pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

, 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, 3A, or 4A fellow members.

History

The Pocket Athletic Conference was established in 1938 with nine founding schools: Cannelton, Chrisney, Lynnville,

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

, Owensville, Petersburg,

Poseyville Poseyville is a town in Robb Township, Posey County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 1,045 at the 2010 census. History The town of Poseyville was originally called Palestine when the town was first surveyed and laid out by J ...

, 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 The Southern Indiana Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a high school athletic conference based in Evansville, Indiana. Five of the conferences eight schools; Bosse, Central, Harrison, North, and Reitz; comprise the public Evansville Vanderburgh Schoo ...

then a member of the Big Eight Conference before returning to the conference in 2020. All of the original members, all current members, and with the exception of Washington and Pike Central, all members are located within counties along the western end of the

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchang ...

corridor within Indiana. The first current member appeared in 1958 when Poseyville consolidated with Cynthiana, Griffin, and

Wadesville Wadesville is an unincorporated community in northern Center Township, Posey County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It lies along State Road 66 northeast of the city of Mt. Vernon, the county seat of Posey County. Its elevation is 479 fe ...

to form North Posey. Rockport merged with Richland in 1965 to form South Spencer.

Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was in a doc ...

merged with former member Lynnville in 1965 to form Tecumseh. Also in 1965, Oakland City and

Francisco Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...

, both of which joined the PAC in 1939, joined to become

Wood Memorial The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memoria ...

. 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 Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

to become Southridge. In 1974, Owensville consolidated with

Fort Branch Fort Branch was a fort built by the Confederate Army especially to defend against attacks from the Union Army along the Roanoke River in North Carolina. The fort was originally built in 1862 along Rainbow Banks in Martin County, southeast of H ...

and Haubstadt into Gibson Southern. Both

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 Winslow may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Winslow, Buckinghamshire, England, a market town and civil parish * Winslow Rural District, Buckinghamshire, a rural district from 1894 to 1974 United States and Canada * Rural Municipality of Winslo ...

, Otwell, and

Stendal The Hanseatic City of Stendal () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the Stendal District and the unofficial capital of the Altmark region. Geography Situated west of the Elbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located s ...

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 Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

, 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

, as well as

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

, whose component school, Mount Olympus, was a member from 1939 to 1965, and complete newcomer

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, all from the now extinct Big Eight Conference. In all, the PAC will inherit six 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 (2000 3A State Champs, and 2004 3A Runner-up), Southridge (2002 and 2006 2A Runner-up and again in 2018 and 2019) and North Posey (2005 2A Runner-up). 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 ('05, '06) and South Spencer ('07, '13, '15) 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. In 2022, Gibson Southern returned to class AAA, following two seasons losing at the regional level. 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 Dubois County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 43,637. The county seat is Jasper. Dubois County is part of the Jasper Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Dubois County was formed on Decem ...

rivals Forest Park and Southridge, as well as Spencer County sole rivals Heritage Hills and South Spencer, the conference will add two more in 2020 in football;

Posey County Posey may refer to: Places * Posey, California * Posey, Illinois * Posey, Texas * Posey, West Virginia * Posey County, Indiana * Posey Township, Indiana (disambiguation) People * Posey (Paiute) (1860s–1923), Paiute chief * Posey (surnam ...

sole rivals Mount Vernon and North Posey and Gibson County rivals Gibson Southern and Princeton plus another in all other sports;

Warrick County Warrick County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 63,898. The county seat is Boonville. It was organized in 1813 and was named for Captain Jacob Warrick, an Indiana militia company commander killed ...

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)

# Gibson Southern competed in the Big Eight Conference from 1980 to 1994 before rejoining the PAC. # Tecumseh is a 1A independent school in football. # Tell City played in the

from 1953 to 1980, then played in the Big Eight Conference 1980–2001 before rejoining. # 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 The Allen County Athletic Conference (ACAC) is a seven-member Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) conference. While all of its charter schools are and were located in Allen County, it also has member schools from Adams, Jay, and W ...

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. # South Spencer advances to AAA for 2 years in Baseball also because of the IHSAA's ''Tournament Success Factor''. # Tecumseh advanced to AA also due to the IHSAA's ''Tournament Success Factor'' * Shaded schools operate on

Eastern Time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...

. The rest operate on Central Time.

Former members

# Concurrent with Perry CC 1938-62. # Concurrent with Spencer CC: Chrisney 1938-59; Rockport 1938-65; Dale 1939-65. # Concurrent with Warrick CC: Tecumseh 1938-59; Boonville 1939-41. # Concurrent with Posey CC: Mount Vernon 1938-49; Poseyville 1938-58. # Concurrent with Gibson CC: Owensville 1938-49; Fort Branch, Francisco, Mount Olympus, Oakland City 1939-49. # Concurrent with Pike CC Petersburg 1938-49; Winslow 1939-40 * Schools that operate on

. # 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

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:750 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1938 till:2023 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:10 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7) id:line value:black id:bg value:white PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:red from:1938 till:1971 text: Cannelton (1938–1971) bar:2 color:red from:1938 till:1959 text: Chrisney (1938–1959) bar:3 color:red from:1938 till:1959 text: Lynnville (1938–1959) bar:4 color:red from:1938 till:1959 text:

(1938–1959) bar:4 color:red from:2020 shift:(-108,-5) till:end text:Mount Vernon (2020–present) bar:5 color:red from:1938 till:1974 text: Owensville (1938–1974) bar:6 color:red from:1938 till:1974 text: Petersburg (1938–1974) bar:7 color:red from:1938 till:1958 text:

(1938–1958) bar:8 color:red from:1938 till:1965 text: Rockport (1938–1965) bar:9 color:red from:1938 till:1953 text: Tell City (1938–1953) bar:9 color:red from:2001 shift:(3,-4) till:end text:Tell City (2001–present) bar:10 color:red from:1939 till:1941 text: Boonville (1939–1941) bar:10 color:red from:2020 shift:(-86,-4) till:end text:Boonville (2020–present) bar:11 color:red from:1939 till:1972 text: Dale (1939–1972) bar:12 color:red from:1939 till:1974 text:

(1939–1974) bar:13 color:red from:1939 till:1965 text:

(1939–1965) bar:14 color:red from:1939 till:1965 text:

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

(1939–1965) bar:14 color:red from:2020 shift:(-87,-4) till:end text:

(2020–present) bar:15 color:red from:1939 till:1965 text: Oakland City (1939–1965) bar:16 color:red from:1939 till:1940 text: Winsolw (1939–1940) bar:17 color:red from:1958 till:end text: North Posey (1958–present) bar:18 color:red from:1965 till:end text: South Spencer (1965–present) bar:19 color:red from:1965 till:end text: Tecumseh (1965–present) bar:20 color:red from:1965 till:2000 text:

(1965–2000) bar:21 color:red from:1970 till:1972 text: Huntingburg (1970–1972) bar:22 color:red from:1972 till:1974 text: Haubstadt (1972-1974) bar:23 color:red from:1972 till:end text: Heritage Hills (1972–present) bar:24 color:red from:1972 till:end text: Southridge (1972–present) bar:25 color:red from:1974 till:1980 text: Gibson Southern (1974–1980) bar:25 color:red from:1994 till:end text:Gibson Southern (1994–present) bar:26 color:red from:1974 till:end text: Pike Central (1974–present) bar:27 color:red from:2007 till:end text: Forest Park (2007–present) bar:28 color:red from:2020 shift:(-95,-3) till:end text:

(2020-present) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1938 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(175,30) # tabs:(0-center) text:"PAC Membership History"

Divisions

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.

State championships

Boonville Pioneers (2) *2006 Softball (3A) ² *2021 Softball (3A) Forest Park Rangers (4) *2001 Softball (A) ¹ *2005 Boys Basketball (2A) ¹ *2006 Boys Basketball (2A) ¹ *2022 Girls Basketball (2A) Gibson Southern Titans (4) *2003 Softball (2A) *2005 Softball (3A) *2015 Softball (3A) *2021 Football (3A) Heritage Hills Patriots (1) *2000 Football (3A) Mount Vernon Wildcats (0) North Posey Vikings (2) *2005 Baseball (2A) *2006 Baseball (2A) Pike Central Chargers (0) Princeton Community Tigers (2) * 2009 Boys' Basketball (3A) ² * 2015 Girls' Basketball (3A) ² Southridge Raiders (3) *1998 Girls Basketball (2A) *2017 Football (2A) *2021 Baseball (3A) South Spencer Rebels (5) *2007 Baseball (2A) *2011 Baseball (2A) *2013 Baseball (2A) *2014 Softball (2A) *2015 Baseball (2A) Tecumseh Braves (7) *1999 Boys Basketball (A) *2003 Baseball (A) *2009 Softball (A) *2011 Softball (A) *2017 Softball (A) *2022 Girls Basketball (A) *2022 Softball (A) Tell City Marksmen (0) Washington Hatchets (9) *1914 Boys' Track *1915 Boys' Track *1930 Boys' Basketball *1941 Boys' Basketball *1942 Boys' Basketball *2005 Boys' Basketball (3A) ² *2008 Boys' Basketball (3A) ² *2010 Boys' Basketball (3A) ² *2011 Boys' Basketball (3A) ²

Former Member State Titles

Cannelton Bulldogs (0) Wood Memorial Trojans (1) * 2017 Girls' Basketball (A)

State Runner-Up Titles

Forest Park Rangers (4) *1999 Girls Basketball (2A) ¹ *2003 Boys Basketball (2A) ¹ *2018 Boys Basketball (2A) *2022 Girls Basketball (2A) Gibson Southern Titans (6) *2001 Girls Softball (2A) *2002 Girls Basketball (3A) *2013 Boys Soccer (1A) *2013 Girls Soccer (1A) *2014 Girls Softball (3A) *2014 Boys Baseball (3A) Heritage Hills Patriots (2) *2005 Football (3A) *2019 Football (3A) North Posey Vikings (2) *2005 Football (2A) *2007 Softball (2A) Pike Central Chargers (1) *1990 Softball Southridge Raiders (4) *1982 Football (A) *1998 Girls Basketball Tournament of Champions *2002 Football (2A) *2006 Football (2A) *2018 Baseball (2A) *2019 Baseball (2A) South Spencer Rebels (2) *1988 Football (2A) *1999 Softball (2A) Tecumseh Braves (5) *1999 Boys Basketball Tournament of Champions *2002 Baseball (A) *2003 Softball (A) *2007 Softball (A) *2008 Softball (A) *2010 Baseball (A) Tell City Marksmen (1) *1986 Football (2A) ² ¹''Occurred when Forest Park was a member of the Blue Chip Conference.'' ²''Occurred as a member of the Big Eight Conference.''

PAC titles

News and facts

* 2008 was the first season since 1996 that Heritage Hills solidly lost the PAC title. North Posey, and Southridge shared the title that year.http://www.almanacsports.com/football/standings.php *Southridge's home gymnasium in Huntingburg has a capacity of 6,092 and is one of the 20 largest in Indiana. Boonville and Washington add two more of the state's largest gymnasiums

Alumni

Gil Hodges Gilbert Ray Hodges (''né'' Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. He was widely regarded as t ...

, Petersburg – Class of 1941. Longtime member of the Brooklyn Dodgers, manager of the 1969 New York "Miracle" Mets. Also the greatest snub in the history of the Baseball Hall of Fame. *Bill Feix, Tell City – Class of 1950, 2-year letterman, Captain, Vanderbilt Basketball team. *

Burke Scott Burke H. Scott (born January 12, 1933) was an American basketball player and coach. He was starting shooting guard on Indiana University's 1953 championship team and coached at the high school level in his home state of Indiana. Scott, a 6'0" g ...

, Tell City – Class of 1951, 2x All-PAC basketball player, was a starter on Indiana University's 1953 NCAA title team. * Roger Kaiser, Dale – Class of 1957, Georgia Tech All-American, led the Dale Golden Aces to PAC Basketball titles in the 1954–55 (SO) and in 1956–57 (SR) seasons. *Bob Reinhart, Dale – Class of 1957, future Georgia State MBB Coach was a teammate of Kaiser and led the Dale Golden Aces to PAC Basketball titles in the 1954–55 (SO) and in 1956–57 (SR) seasons. *

Del Harris Delmer William Harris (born June 18, 1937) is an American basketball coach who is currently the vice president of the Texas Legends, the NBA G League affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. He served as a head coach for the NBA's Houston Rockets, Mil ...

, future NBA Coach, was the Dale Golden Aces Head Coach during the 1961–62 and 1962-63 seasons. * Tim Barrett, Pike Central – Class of 1979, Major League Baseball player,

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

Bruce King Bruce King (April 6, 1924 – November 13, 2009) was an American businessman and politician who for three non-consecutive four-year terms was the governor of New Mexico. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the longest-serving governor in N ...

, Heritage Hills – Class of 1981, NFL Running Back, 1984–1987 * Terry Brahm, Heritage Hills – Class of 1981; 1988 Olympian; NCAA & Big Ten Champion track athlete *

Ken Dilger Kenneth Ray Dilger (born February 2, 1971) is a retired professional American football player. Early years Ken Dilger was raised in Mariah Hill, Spencer County, Indiana. He attended Heritage Hills High School in Lincoln City, Indiana where he p ...

, Heritage Hills - Class of 1989, Super Bowl Champion Tight End, led Heritage Hills to PAC Football titles in the 1987 (JR) and 1988 (SR) seasons; Ken was also a star baseball and basketball player, helping Heritage Hills to baseball titles in 1987 and 1988; and basketball titles in 1987-88 and 1988-89. * Parrish Casebier, South Spencer - Class of 1989, Basketball star at University of Evansville. Casebier also spent several years in South American professional leagues. *

Alex Graman Alex Joseph Graman (born November 17, 1977) is former Major League Baseball pitcher. He bats and throws left-handed. He retired (as a player) in 2014. College career Graman was a three-time letterman for coach Bob Warn at Indiana State Universi ...

, Southridge – Class of 1996, Major League pitcher,

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

* Mitch Stetter, Southridge – Class of 1999, Major League pitcher, Milwaukee Brewers,

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

* Jon Goldsberry, Heritage Hills – Class of 2000,

Purdue Boilermakers The Purdue Boilermakers are the official intercollegiate athletics teams representing Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana. As is common with athletic nicknames, the Boilermakers nickname is also used as colloquial designation ...

, NFL Fullback *

Jay Cutler Jay Christopher Cutler (born April 29, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Bears. He played college football for the Van ...

- Heritage Hills - Class of 2001, former Chicago Bears quarterback, starred in high school football at Heritage Hills and led them to the 3A state title in 2000 (SR) and PAC titles in his three years as Varsity Starter (1998–2000). * Ben Braunecker - Forest Park - Class of 2012, former Chicago Bears tight end, starred in high school football & track at Forest Park; consensus All-American Tight End for Harvard.

Neighboring Conferences

* Blue Chip Conference * Patoka Lake Conference

References

External links

* {{High Schools in Southwestern Indiana Indiana high school athletic conferences Southwestern Indiana Education in Dubois County, Indiana Education in Gibson County, Indiana Education in Perry County, Indiana Education in Pike County, Indiana Education in Posey County, Indiana Education in Spencer County, Indiana Education in Warrick County, Indiana