By Jalen Thompson / Staff Writer
The Hoosier Heritage Conference will look very different in the coming future, with the recently announced shift in the conference being the departing of both Shelbyville and New Castle.
This change will affect many different people from the athletes to the coaches, but someone you that is truly directly affected by this shift is NPHS athletic director Brian Murphy.
With New Castle and Shelbyville’s leave, students and staff alike are curious about how the change will affect school spirit. Murphy has high hopes that our pride will stay strong.
“We’re hoping school spirit will remain strong however the conference shakes out,” Murphy said. “Our school spirit should be based on the great people who represent our school and town as well as the great things they do. Whoever is on the other sideline or bench will always be secondary.”
School spirit is just one of the benefits for the entire student body. Other benefits may come from this change as well. Murphy believes that it is difficult to see these future benefits.
“It’s hard to predict the benefits to the student athletes with a six-team conference without Shelbyville and New Castle. We all wish the conference wouldn’t change and Shelbyville and New Castle weren’t leaving, but, we certainly wish them well.”
With Shelbyville and New Castle’s leave, there will undoubtedly be changes to rivalries throughout the conference. Murphy thinks the school won’t need to expect any changes.
“We don’t expect to see big shifts in the rivalries for New Pal. Our bigger rivalries within the conference (Mt. Vernon, Greenfield-Central, & Pendleton Heights) will still be a part of our schedules.”
With the leave, we are lucky that we have such a great athletic director. Murphy also had some personal things to say about this shift.
“I would rather not see the conference change. I think it is and has been a great conference for years. But, with every change comes opportunity for improvement. So, we are looking at ways to make this change positive for our current students and for the students of the future.”
