The Seven Oaks Classical School has partnered with schools in surrounding areas to create a new athletic conference.
The newly formed Tri Rivers Athletic Conference includes middle school and high school teams from Lighthouse Christian Academy in Bloomington, Mooresville Christian Academy in Mooresville, Eminence in Martinsville and Medora.
Tommy Weakley, Seven Oaks athletic director, said this new conference addresses the need for shorter driving distances for sporting events. When part of the Southern Roads Conference, Weakley said some competitions were nearly two hours away. Now, all competitions will be within an hour.
“Our kids are super excited about it,” he said. “Even our kids, I think, are aware enough to know that it's very challenging to travel two to two and a half hours on, like a weeknight, for instance, for some of our former conference opponents. So, I think they're excited about just the conveniency on their families, you know, grandma and their aunts and their friends can all attend games that are a little bit closer.”
This announcement comes after the Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corporation said last year it wouldn’t schedule sporting events with Seven Oaks due to competition for enrolling students.
“The State of Indiana has put schools in a situation in which we have to compete for students in our own area,” RBB superintendent Jerry Sanders said at the time. “As a result, schools have to maintain competitive advantages that make them an attractive option for families.”
Weakley said while Seven Oaks is not competing against RBB schools in sports, Seven Oaks is still eager to, especially since Edgewood High School is only a mile away.
But in the meantime, this new conference will help fill that gap.
“It gives us consistent contests throughout the year,” Weakley said. “…There's just all this enthusiasm to expand and become more competitive.”
The new conference, which has exclusively Indiana High School Athletic Association schools, will premiere in the 2026-27 school year. Sports offered include soccer, volleyball, cross country and basketball. Weakley said he’s working on adding wrestling and track and field.
“I think one thing we've been missing in our athletic department is kind of a summation of each season,” he said. “So typically, our seasons end with just like a Tuesday night game, for instance. And I think with a conference tournament in addition to the sectionals, we'll just have one more kind of formality to conclude our seasons. And I think that gives students something to look forward to and strive toward all season.”
