Solon's move to Suburban League delayed by football season

Solon's move to the Suburban League for the 2023-24 school year is moving full-steam ahead. Sort of. According to numerous sources and confirmed by SL Commissioner Keith Walker, Solon was released from its required notice of league movement by Greater Cleveland Conference administrators with one string attached: It will still be a member of the GCC in football in 2023. The Comets will compete as an SL National Conference member in all other sports beginning with the 2023-24 school year and in football starting in 2024. With Solon included for one more year, the GCC will operate as an eight-team football league when Cleveland Heights and previous member Shaker Heights come on board in 2023. The GCC will continue searching for a new member to replace the Comets the following school year. Eight-team leagues are considered ideal for football because they traditionally begin with a three-game non-league schedule, then play seven straight games against conference opponents. Operating with fewer than eight teams can create scheduling difficulties because it forces schools to try to find non-league games in the middle to latter portions of the regular season, when most programs are in the heart of their league schedules. The GCC also is a Division I league, which lessens the pool of potential opponents and can cause travel issues. Sources said a number of GCC schools had no problem with the Comets joining the SL entirely in 2023-24, but when a few schools expressed concerns about being able to play 10 regular-season football games in 2023, administrators voted unanimously to have Solon honor its contractual agreement and play one more season. In response to the GCC's decision, at least a few SL schools are considering discontinuing non-league games against that conference in other sports, but Medina County's Wadsworth and Highland are not among them, sources said. With Solon on board, the SL National will consist of Wadsworth, Brecksville, Hudson, North Royalton, Nordonia, Stow, Twinsburg and the Comets. The SL American — Highland, Aurora, Barberton, Copley, Cuyahoga Falls, Kent Roosevelt, Revere and Tallmadge — will remain unchanged. The GCC will consist of Brunswick, Medina, Euclid, Mentor, Strongsville, Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights in 2023-24, plus Solon in football. Medina tried to join the SL on several occasions in recent years but did not receive the required 75% voting approval (12 of 15 schools) from school administrators in the league. Based on Ohio High School Athletic Association figures from Oct. 31, 2021, Solon had 1,128 students in grades nine through 11. That placed it third in the SL behind Stow (1,245) and Wadsworth (1,139) and just ahead of Hudson (1,071). Brunswick (1,670) and Medina (1,629) are bigger than every SL school. Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on Twitter.