Pocket Athletic Conference

Pocket Athletic Conference (PAC)
Established	1938
Members	4 Class 3A, 4 Class 2A, and 1 Class A
Region	7 Counties: Dubois, Gibson, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, and Warrick, Indiana
Locations

The Pocket Athletic Conference (PAC) is a high school athletic conference in Southwestern Indiana with its headquarters at Forest Park. Its members are mainly Class 2A and 3A public high schools located in Dubois, Gibson, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, and Warrick counties. Only one, Tecumseh, is a 1A. Tecumseh operates its football program independently of the PAC and is likely to join the Southwest Seven Football Conference in the sport.

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 and is now a member of the Big Eight Conference.

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 High School. 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 and Otwell to form Pike Central.

Approximate location of the PAC schools and former schools. Abbreviations are as follows:
CHS: Cannelton FPHS: Forest Park GSHS: Gibson Southern
HHHS:Heritage Hills MVHS Mount Vernon
NPHS:North Posey PCHS: Pike Central SHS:Southridge
SSHS: South Spencer THS: Tecumseh TCHS: Tell City
WMHS: Wood Memorial

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 PAC has recently gained the reputation as a powerful football conference. Since 2000, the PAC has been represented in the state finals five 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 North Posey (2005 2A Runner-up). Another emerging school is Gibson Southern, with very strong seasons in 2012, 2013, and 2015. It is not unusual to have two or even three members ranked in their respective classes or even the same class at football.

Another sport of recognition for the PAC is basketball. 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 only six points in the experimental "Tournament of Champions" to the 4A State Champion, Indianapolis' North Central. Tecumseh was the 1A State Champion.

As one of the southernmost conferences in the state, the PAC is also gaining a reputation as a powerhouse in baseball and softball. Both Gibson Southern and Forest Park have recently won state titles in softball. North Posey ('05, '06) and South Spencer ('07, '13) have won titles in baseball.

In the last ten years, 29 Pocket Athletic Conference teams have represented their school and the conference in state championship games.

Currently there are no new candidates or applications being considered by the conference.

Member schools

Current members (9)

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. South Spencer and Lafayette Central Catholic both advance to AAA for 2 years for the same reason in Baseball. ^[1]

• Shaded schools operate on Eastern Time. The rest operate on Central Time.

Former members

Membership timeline

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.

• Sectional and Regional numbers include titles won by the nine schools' predecessors, but do not include those who left, i.e. Cannelton, Mount Vernon, and Wood Memorial or their predecessors.

State championships

Forest Park Rangers (3)

• 2001 Softball (A) ¹
• 2005 Boys Basketball (2A) ¹
• 2006 Boys Basketball (2A) ¹

Gibson Southern Titans (3)

• 2003 Softball (2A)
• 2005 Softball (3A)
• 2015 Softball (3A)

Heritage Hills Patriots (1)

• 2000 Football (3A)

North Posey Vikings (2)

• 2005 Baseball (2A)
• 2006 Baseball (2A)

Pike Central Chargers (0)

Southridge Raiders (1)

• 1998 Girls Basketball (2A)

South Spencer Rebels (5)

• 2007 Boys Baseball (2A)
• 2011 Boys Baseball (2A)
• 2013 Boys Baseball (2A)
• 2015 Boys Baseball (2A)
• 2014 Girls Softball (2A)

Tecumseh Braves (4)

• 1999 Boys Basketball (A)
• 2003 Baseball (A)
• 2009 Softball (A)
• 2011 Softball (A)

Tell City Marksmen (0)

Former Member State Titles

Cannelton Bulldogs (0)

Mount Vernon Wildcats (0)

Wood Memorial Trojans (0)

State Runner-Up Titles

Forest Park Rangers (2)

• 2003 Boys Basketball (2A) ¹
• 1999 Girls Basketball (2A) ¹

Gibson Southern Titans (5)

• 2001 Girls Softball (2A)
• 2002 Girls Basketball (3A)
• 2013 Girls Soccer (1A)
• 2014 Girls Softball (3A)
• 2014 Boys Baseball (3A)

Heritage Hills Patriots (1)

• 2005 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)

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

¹Occurred when Forest Park was a member of the Blue Chip Conference.

²Occurred when Tell City was 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.^[2]
• Southridge's home gymnasium in Huntingburg has a capacity of 6,092 and is one of the 20 largest in Indiana.

Famous Conference alumni

• Gil Hodges, 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.
• Gene Cato, Oakland City – Class of 1949. Longtime Commissioner of the IHSAA, Member Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame^[3]
• Bill Feix, Tell City – Class of 1950, 2-year letterman, Captain, Vanderbilt Basketball team.
• Burke Scott, Tell City – Class of 1951, 2x All-PAC basketball player, was a starter on Indiana University's 1953 NCAA title team.
• Bud George, Tell City – Class of 1953; University of Evansville football star, All-ICC and 1956 ICC football MVP
• 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.
• Wayne Boultinghouse, Rockport – Class of 1960; Boultinghouse would later coach ISU-Evansville and Kentucky Wesleyan after spending 4 years in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system.^[4]
• Jim Haaff, Chrisney – Class of 1960; long-time HS & American Legion baseball coach – 2012 inductee to Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame^[5]
• Gene Vincent, Rockport – Class of 1962; Vincent was a baseball star for the Southern Illinois Salukies and spent two seasons in minor league baseball^[6]
• Del Harris, future NBA Coach, was the Dale Golden Aces Head Coach during the 1961–62 and 1962-63 seasons.
• Don Kirkland, Chrisney – Class of 1964; Kirkland was a baseball star for the Southern Illinois Salukies, leading them to the College World Series in 1968 and the #2 ranking in the country. Kirkland would later spend 5 seasons in minor league baseball, reaching AAA in 1972^[7]
• Tim Barrett, Pike Central – Class of 1979, Major League Baseball player, Montreal Expos
• Bruce King, 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, 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, Basketball star @ Univ of Evansville, is a 1989 graduate of South Spencer High School. Casebier also spent several years in South American professional leagues.
• Alex Graman, Southridge – Class of 1996, Major League pitcher, New York Yankees
• Jon Goldsberry, Heritage Hills – Class of 1999, Purdue Boilermakers, NFL Fullback
• Mitch Stetter, Southridge – Class of 1999, Major League pitcher, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
• Jay Cutler, current 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).
• The Conference boasts of over 50 alumni who played college basketball; at all levels from NCAA Div I to NAIA.

Neighboring Conferences

• Big Eight Conference
• Southern Indiana Athletic Conference
• Blue Chip Conference
• Patoka Lake Conference

See also

• Hoosier Hysteria
• Largest high school gyms in the United States

References

External links

• Official website

Indiana's Pocket Athletic Conference (PAC)
3A Members	Gibson Southern Heritage Hills Pike Central Southridge
2A Members	Forest Park North Posey South Spencer Tell City
1A Member Independent in Football	Tecumseh
Former Members	Cannelton (Independent) Mount Vernon (Big Eight) Wood Memorial (Blue Chip / Southwest Seven)

Southern Indiana Athletic Conference (SIAC)
Current members	Castle Evansville Bosse Evansville Central Evansville Harrison Evansville Mater Dei Evansville North Evansville Reitz Evansville Reitz Memorial
Former members	Bedford (Bedford North Lawrence) Bicknell (North Knox) Bloomington (Bloomington South) Boonville Evansville Rex Mundi Huntingburg (Southridge) Jasper Linton (Linton-Stockton) Mount Vernon New Albany Princeton (Princeton Community) Sullivan Tell City Terre Haute North Terre Haute South Vincennes Lincoln Washington
Effected/created conferences	Big Eight Blue Chip Conference Indiana Hoosier Hills Pocket Tri-River Western Indiana