With the move to Class 5A, Newcastle Public Schools continues to make changes to the athletics department. The most recent is a move from the Western Athletic Conference to the Suburban Conference.
NPS Athletic Director Brent Hodges said, “We will continue to honor playing our traditional Tri-City rivals and also adding new teams to our schedule.”
Hodges said Newcastle joins Carl Albert, Del City, Elgin, El Reno, Guthrie, Noble and Shawnee. The Racers were formerly in a conference with Anadarko, Bethany, Blanchard, Cache, Chickasha, Clinton, Elk City, Kingfisher, Tuttle and Weatherford.
As an explanation, Hodges said people get confused about the difference between District and Conference. He said the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Athletic Association tells Oklahoma schools who they are to play in District competition. Conferences give schools the ability to play and schedule teams for the non-district games.
“This gives us good competition to play in the nondistrict games, and will help us in all of our middle school sports in scheduling,” Hodges said. “If we are going to play Class 5A competition in high school, us playing 3A competition in middle school and lower grades doesn’t prepare us athletically.”
Hodges said NPS has been working on the Conference change for some time, and he believes it will benefit the school system in a lot of ways, including easier travel.
