Eastern Pennsylvania Conference
The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (known informally as EPC) is an athletic conference consisting of 18 large high schools from Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Pike counties in the Lehigh Valley and Pocono Mountains regions of Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is a part of District XI of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
See also: Lehigh Valley Conference & Mountain Valley Conference. On October 2, 2013, the LVC voted to invite the six remaining MVC schools to the conference, expanding it to a large 18-school "super conference." With the merger taking place, the EPC was officially introduced on June 4, 2014, with play starting in the 2014-15 school year.[1]
High Schools
The 18 high school teams in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (and their locations) are:
- Allentown Central Catholic High School Vikings (Allentown).
- Bethlehem Catholic High School Golden Hawks (Bethlehem).
- Dieruff High School Huskies (Allentown).
- East Stroudsburg High School North Timberwolves (Lehman Township).
- East Stroudsburg High School South Cavaliers (East Stroudsburg).
- Easton Area High School Red Rovers (Easton).
- Emmaus High School Green Hornets (Emmaus).
- Freedom High School Patriots (Bethlehem).
- Liberty High School Hurricanes (Bethlehem).
- Nazareth Area High School Blue Eagles (Nazareth).
- Northampton Area High School Konkrete Kids (Northampton).
- Parkland High School Trojans (South Whitehall Township).
- Pleasant Valley High School Bears (Chestnuthill Township).
- Pocono Mountain East High School Cardinals (Paradise Township).
- Pocono Mountain West High School Panthers (Tobyhanna Township).
- Stroudsburg High School Mountaineers (Stroudsburg).
- Whitehall High School Zephyrs (Whitehall Township).
- William Allen High School Canaries (Allentown).
Divisions & Championships
To accommodate the large conference size, schools have been divided into divisions for all sports. Football, having less games, has two divisions of nine teams, while all other 18-school sports have three six-team divisions.
Football
The schools are divided into two nine-team divisions, with each division crowning a champion. The divisions are:
| Division A | Division B |
|---|---|
| Bethlehem Catholic | Allentown Central Catholic |
| Dieruff | Easton |
| East Stroudsburg North | Emmaus |
| East Stroudsburg South | Freedom |
| Pleasant Valley | Liberty |
| Pocono Mountain East | Nazareth |
| Pocono Mountain West | Northampton |
| Stroudsburg | Parkland |
| William Allen | Whitehall |
Other Sports
For sports with all 18 teams, and a tournament, there are three six-team divisions. In the regular seasons, each school will have 16 league games, twice against teams in their division (10 games), and three crossover games against both divisions. The conference tournaments consist of eight teams, the three division winners and five wild cards). Quarterfinals in these tournaments will be hosted by the higher seed, while semifinals and championships will be in neutral sites. The divisions are:
| Division A | Division B | Division C |
|---|---|---|
| East Stroudsburg North | Bethlehem Catholic | Allentown Central Catholic |
| East Stroudsburg South | Dieruff | Emmaus |
| Pleasant Valley | Easton | Nazareth |
| Pocono Mountain East | Freedom | Northampton |
| Pocono Mountain West | Liberty | Parkland |
| Stroudsburg | William Allen | Whitehall |
Eastern Pennsylvania Conference professional and Olympic athletes
Current and former professional and Olympic athletes who played high school athletics at the schools currently comprising the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference include:
Major League Baseball (MLB)
Current MLB players
- Matt McBride, infielder, Colorado Rockies (Liberty High School)
Former MLB players
- Gary Lavelle, former pitcher, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants and Toronto Blue Jays (Liberty High School).
- Brian Schneider, former catcher, Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies (Northampton Area High School).
- Curt Simmons, former pitcher, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals (Whitehall High School).
National Basketball Association (NBA)
Current NBA players
Former NBA players
- Brant Weidner, former forward, San Antonio Spurs (Parkland High School).
National Football League (NFL)
Current NFL players
- Dan Koppen, center, Denver Broncos (Whitehall High School).
- Chris Neild, Nose Tackle, Washington Redskins (Stroudsburg High School).
- Andre Williams, Running Back, New York Giants (Parkland High School).
Former NFL players
- Chuck Bednarik, former center and linebacker, Philadelphia Eagles, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Liberty High School).
- Keith Dorney, former offensive tackle, Detroit Lions (Emmaus High School).
- Jim Druckenmiller, former quarterback, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers (Northampton Area High School).
- Mike Guman, former running back, Los Angeles Rams (Bethlehem Catholic High School).
- Mike Hartenstine, former defensive end, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings (Liberty High School).
- Nate Hobgood-Chittick, former defensive tackle, St. Louis Rams, San Fransisco 49ers, and Kansas City Chiefs (William Allen High School).
- Mike Lush, former defensive back, Indianapolis Colts, Minnesota Vikings, and Atlanta Falcons (William Allen High School).
- Tim Massaquoi, former tight end, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Parkland High School).
- Ed McCaffrey, former wide receiver, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers (Allentown Central Catholic High School).
- Kim McQuilken, former quarterback, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins (William Allen High School).
- Joe Milinichik, former offensive guard, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams, and San Diego Chargers (Emmaus High School).
- Matt Millen, former linebacker, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, and Washington Redskins (Whitehall High School).
- Jim Molinaro, former offensive tackle, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins (Bethlehem Catholic High School).
- James Mungro, former running back, Indianapolis Colts (East Stroudsburg High School South)
- Artie Owens, former running back, San Diego Chargers, Buffalo Bills, and New Orleans Saints (Stroudsburg High School).
- Ken Parrish, former Punter, Atlanta Falcons (East Stroudsburg High School South)
- Andre Reed, former wide receiver, Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins, member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2014 (Dieruff High School).
- Mike Reichenbach, former linebacker, Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins (Liberty High School).
- Austin Scott, former running back. Cleveland Browns (Parkland High School).
- Larry Seiple, former punter, Miami Dolphins (William Allen High School).
- John Spagnola, former tight end, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks (Bethlehem Catholic High School).
- Tony Stewart, former tight end, Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland Raiders, and Philadelphia Eagles (Allentown Central Catholic High School).
- Jimmy Terwilliger, former quarterback, Minnesota Vikings (East Stroudsburg High School South)
- Joe Wolf, former offensive tackle, Arizona Cardinals (William Allen High School).
Arena Football League (AFL)
Former AFL Players
- Kevin Nagle, former Fullback and Linebacker, Colorado Crush and Orlando Predators (Pleasant Valley High School).
Olympics
Olympic cycling
- Marty Nothstein, 2000 Summer Olympics gold medal winner, track cycling (Emmaus High School).
Olympic field hockey
- Cindy Werley, 1996 Summer Olympics women's field hockey player (Emmaus High School).
Olympic wrestling
- Bobby Weaver, 1984 Summer Olympics gold medal winner, wrestling (Easton Area High School).
Professional auto racing
- Michael Andretti, former IndyCar Series driver (Nazareth Area High School).
Professional cycling
- Marty Nothstein, former professional cyclist (Emmaus High School).
- Nicole Reinhart, former professional cyclist (Emmaus High School).
Professional soccer
- Gina Lewandowski, midfielder and defender, 1. FFC Frankfurt (Allentown Central Catholic High School).
Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Former WNBA players
- Michelle Marciniak, former point guard, WNBA's Portland Fire and Seattle Storm (Allentown Central Catholic High School).
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)
- Afa Anoa'i, Jr., professional wrestler (Freedom High School).
- Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, former professional wrestler (Freedom High School).
- Billy Kidman, professional wrestler (Parkland High School).
- Brian Knobs, former professional wrestler (Whitehall High School).
- Jerry Sags, former professional wrestler (Whitehall High School).
Eastern Pennsylvania Conference professional and collegiate coaches
Eastern Pennsylvania Conference athletes who have gone on to athletic coaching and team management careers include:
College basketball coaches
- Michelle Marciniak, former assistant coach, University of South Carolina women's basketball (Allentown Central Catholic High School).
College football coaches
- Chuck Amato, former head football coach, North Carolina State University (Easton Area High School).
- K. C. Keeler, head football coach, Sam Houston State University, former head coach, University of Delaware and Rowan University (Emmaus High School).
National Basketball Association (NBA) coaches
- Pete Carril, former assistant coach, Sacramento Kings (Liberty High School).
National Football League (NFL) coaches and management
- Matt Millen, former president and general manager, Detroit Lions (Whitehall High School).
See also
References
- ^ Miller, Stephen (4 June 2014). "New Eastern Pennsylvania Conference will start with 2014-15 school year". The Morning Call. Retrieved 4 June 2014.