Old Big Eight Conference

[DodgerAlum]

Fort Dodge has Waterloo West, Waterloo East, Mason City and Marshalltown in its football schedule. Ames and Cedar Falls played. Marshalltown and Waterloo East played. Cedar Falls and Mason City played. Maybe it's time to get the old Big Eight Conference back together for all the other sports. Ames, Cedar Falls, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, Mason City, Waterloo East and Waterloo West. Now that football is out of the equation, a school like Waverly-Shell Rock could be the eighth team. I am sure they could compete with those teams. With the pending doom of the CIML, maybe it's time for Fort Dodge and Mason City to start looking elsewhere.

 

[screwloose]

I think this would be a better idea for Marshalltown than the current push for a conference with Indianola, Ottumwa and the Des Moines public schools. A case could be made to go all the way and consider Newton instead of W-SR, but that would just stretch the conference geographically. Waverly is within the boundaries of the other seven you mentioned and W-SR would be more than capable of holding their own in most of the other sports.

 

[GoingDeep410]

I agree with Dodger Alum. With highway 20 being four lanes to Waterloo, it is a much easier trip than it was 20 years ago. It used to take 2 hours to make that trip, now only takes an hour and a half. The "old" Big Eight schools slowly decline in enrollment, while the CIML schools continually to grow making it hard for the "old" Big Eight schools to compete against them.

 

[PNation]

I think that this sounds like a good conference.

The MVC would go from 14 to 11 but will add a 3rd Iowa City school, I would think that maybe Ottumwa would think about trying to get back into the SE Iowa conference, and I am sure the CIML would survive.

As for WSR I don't see them wanting to leave the NEIC as it is a pretty competitive conference for them in all sports.

 

[tnobd]

I believe the plan for the alternate DM City schools/Indianola/Ottumwa this summer was to just expand the current CIML Metro Conference for non-football to 8 teams by asking Marshalltown to join that group of schools in a separate conference. IMO your suggestion for a 21st Century Big Eight has the same motive as the proposal from this past summer.

I don't think Ottumwa wants to join a non football conference that has schools in lower classes in wrestling, basketball , baseball and other sports in the current Southeast Conference. There are plenty of four lanes roads from Southeast Iowa to Des Moines now too.

If you want the old Big Eight Conference, it sounds like you would need to convince the 3 CF/Waterloo schools to leave the MVC. Are they not competitive in non football sports in the MVC? It sounds like Ames wants to remain in the CIML with the suburban schools.

 

[CF_93]

Originally posted by DodgerAlum:
Fort Dodge has Waterloo West, Waterloo East, Mason City and Marshalltown in its football schedule. Ames and Cedar Falls played. Marshalltown and Waterloo East played. Cedar Falls and Mason City played. Maybe it's time to get the old Big Eight Conference back together for all the other sports. Ames, Cedar Falls, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, Mason City, Waterloo East and Waterloo West. Now that football is out of the equation, a school like Waverly-Shell Rock could be the eighth team. I am sure they could compete with those teams. With the pending doom of the CIML, maybe it's time for Fort Dodge and Mason City to start looking elsewhere.

Unfortunately there's little resurrecting the now closed Waterloo Central. Long term though, say 15 to 25 years, I could see Cedar Falls splitting into two schools, if (and this is a big IF) current populations growth trends continue. As of 2013, Cedar Falls population is 40,533, whereas in 1990, it stood at 33, 857, or an increase of roughly 20%. Factor in that the Cedar Falls school district already includes part of Waterloo, has also absorbed most of the students from the now closed NU High school, and growth trends from the lower elementary levels, I think it's very likely CF will branch off in the next couple of decades. Below are the current class sizes in the Cedar Falls school district:



K - 398

1 - 425

2 - 402

3 - 386

4 - 429

5 - 366

6 - 379

7 - 386

8 - 364

9 - 378

10- 404

11- 367

12- 355

 

[paxregis]

Highly doubt Cedar Falls is growing fast enough to warrant a second high school. Ankeny is twice the size of CF and just split. Waukee is almost the same size as Ankeny CSD and have yet to announce a two-high school plan.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[screwloose]

Cedar Falls just had plans for a new high school to replace the one they have now shot down. You never know with future growth...in any community.

 

[CF_93]

Originally posted by paxregis:
Highly doubt Cedar Falls is growing fast enough to warrant a second high school. Ankeny is twice the size of CF and just split. Waukee is almost the same size as Ankeny CSD and have yet to announce a two-high school plan.

Posted from Rivals Mobile

Precisely why I stated 15-25 years if the current growth trends continue, which would put it in the neighborhood of 50K, plus the area in Waterloo. That said, the CF school district encompasses more than the population within it's city limits since it actually extends a ways into Waterloo. To my knowledge, I don't believe Ankeny's school district includes neighboring towns....I could be wrong though.

The bond issue was shot down partly due to poor location (right west of the dome), and because they just renovated parts of the high school, and now all of a sudden the district decides they need a new school after they just burned through $millions with renovations just a few years ago.

 

[PNation]

You have to remember with CF that at least 10k of that population is students. (Yes students at UNI count towards the population of Cedar Falls)

 

[CF_93]

Not even remotely true. When the census is taken, it counts your home of record, not university population. If what you're saying is true, then a college town such as Vermillion, SD would have roughly 400 people, because it's census population is only roughly 400 larger than the total enrollment of USD. I can tell you now that Vermillion, SD is a lot bigger than 400 people! lol. Furthermore, where do students usually vote? Where do they pay their taxes? In their home of record in most cases. Which is where the census totals come from.


This post was edited on 9/16 11:55 PM by CF_93

 

[paxregis]

It takes explosive growth (~15% every 10 years) to generate the need for more schools. Polk, Johnson & Dallas counties have seen those rates over the past three decades. Black Hawk has seen little growth during that time period. The population has yet to regain all of the losses from the 1980s. Waterloo Central existed for about 15 years and was no longer needed as a third high school when the population tanked.
Posted from Rivals Mobile

 

[CF_93]

Actually, Black Hawk county is well on it's way back to pre-1980's population. But since then, there's been a clear shift in population to the west and south. True, Waterloo never really has fully recovered from the losses in the 1980's, but Cedar Falls has MORE than recovered, and is bigger now than it ever was in 1980. As of 2013, Black Hawk county population is listed at 132,546. In 1980, Black Hawk country population was 137,961. It fell to 123,798 by 1990. Additionally, the district has purchased property south and west of Hudson Rd. for a future new elementary school, as Southdale Elementary is currently at DOUBLE capacity.

 

[franky1967]

The proposed High School location is West of the UNI Dome and new elementary secret location is where the Price Lab Building once stood. All this will be within walking distance for UNI to enhance their Education Program. This will be a different High School then when I or CF93 went there. "If you build it, they will come"

You also have to add in the factor that CF just Annexed part of Hudson into the district, I think the cutoff line was Ridgeway Ave.
If you have not been in Cedar Falls for awhile, you need to visit. I have been in the building trades for over 20plus years. CF has built houses in every direction. I agree with CF93, the student population will grow. I see CF at the High School level reaching about 1800. in the next 10 years. I do not see them building another High School no matter what the population reaches.

 

[tnobd]

Franky,
I am glad to see that UNI campus area and the Cedar Falls area are thriving. I am in the residential construction industry. Unless you are a retirement community home builder or an active adult community home builder, a homebuilder will target a good public school district for new single family development/ in a community with a healthy economy. The result of that strategy is that the enrollment jumps in all schools for that area and new school /commercial retail space is needed. If the demand for homes in that area is high enough you experience that explosive growth that Pax described. The result is that these communities get to build the nice clean new schools or have the means to improve and enlarge their
existing primary/secondary schools. The down side to that kind of suburban growth, is that folks with school aged children move to those newer school districts or move there when they are relocated to those areas. Then the older existing schools lose enrollment and are not maintained and more folks leave these areas. Is that the scenario for the existing Waterloo West and Waterloo East school districts?
This post was edited on 9/18 3:42 PM by tnobd

 

[franky1967]

Waterloo Schools won't gain anything that Cedar Falls does. The industrial park in Cedar Falls is butted up against the Residential Housing Section. The industrial Park in Waterloo is near the Airport with little residential and Businesses that are not
comparable to what Cedar Falls has, Mainly like John Deere Production Eng. Center. Get on one of the Roofs of that Building and you see nothing but Houses.