How Camdenton ended up in the CMAC and what it means moving forward

Conference realignment has taken the world by storm in the 2023 calendar year, not just at the collegiate level but also at the Missouri high school level.

On the first day of November, the Central Missouri Athletics Conference, which includes Battle, Capital City, Hickman, Helias, Jefferson City, Rock Bridge, and Smith-Cotton, spread its arms by welcoming Camdenton High School as its eighth member.

As one door closes, another opens, and that’s exactly what happened for Camdenton. The Lakers had long been a part of the Ozark Conference, comprised of schools in the southern part of the state. But as major collegiate conferences began shifting, so did the Ozark Conference.

“In over a two week period, things changed about 25 times, it felt like,” Camdenton Activities Director Dr. William Kurtz said. “Once the Springfield schools decided that they didn’t have to be a group, they could try to take care of their kids individually because frankly their schools just had different needs.”

It spiraled down to other conference members making their exits as well. The exodus left Waynesville, Lebanon, Rolla and Camdenton in a conference by themselves. It piqued the interest of the CMAC, according to first-year Battle High School Activities Director Sammie Symonds.

“All the athletic directors from the CMAC had met, and really what they did kind of poked around at it a bit by asking their coaches like, 'Hey, what are your thoughts if we expanded the CMAC,'” Symonds said, later adding, “It seemed like there were just so many pros to adding them.”

The CMAC also extended invitations to Lebanon, Rolla, and Waynesville, but only the Lakers became new members of the now 4-year-old conference.

While the exact reason why the other three did not join is not known to Kurtz, geography potentially played a factor, in his opinion.

When things finally boiled down, Lebanon and Waynesville joined Central, Glendale, Kickapoo, and Parkview in the Central Ozark Conference. Hillcrest shifted to the Ozark Mountain Conference, while Rolla elected to remain an Independent for the 2024-25 school year.

A move driven by the pigskin

The most significant driving factor in any conference realignment at the high school or collegiate level is football.

“It was predominantly about Friday nights and about getting a more competitive football schedule for their kids,” Kurtz said. “You almost need a conference to get a football schedule, so in this time of year, there was not enough games and enough individual games to be had to fill a schedule.”

With the collapse of the Ozark Conference, Kurtz described the move to the CMAC as “fantastic” timing, regarding future football schedules.

Camdenton has faced five CMAC schools in the past decade. It defeated Smith-Cotton, Helias and Jefferson City in the 2013, 2018, and 2020 state playoffs while losing to Battle in the 2014 Class 5 Playoffs. Most recently, the Lakers lost 38-35 to Capital City in the 2023 Class 5 Playoffs.

Starting in the fall of 2024, the Lakers will regularly see these five schools as well as Rock Bridge and Hickman. Kurtz described the move as competing in the playoffs every week.

“We’ll look at a little bit different types of athletes, perhaps you know, the offense that are run. Even just playing Capital City this year in the playoffs and seeing the running team is good. It’s a bit little bit different look, makes us play a little bit different,” Kurtz said. “Rock Bridge always have good athletes. They’ll have fast kids.”

Benefits outside of football

With many benefits of Camdenton joining the CMAC are football-related, it positively impacts other sports, as well other members in the conference.

“So, for me, I think one of the benefits is almost having like another miniature rivalry between your conference schools. I don’t want to say rivalry in a bad way, but I think there’s a level of importance of a conference game versus a non-conference game,” Symonds said.

While the current CMAC programs haven’t met Camdenton much in football, they have faced off plenty of times in softball and volleyball.

The benefits of joining the CMAC and any conference also expand beyond athletics, including academic competitions such as speech and debate.

“You’re looking at people coming together during those athletic meetings and talking about whatever is going on with their schools,” Kurtz said. “There are some things in the constitution where all the student councils are all going to get together.”

It won’t be too different for Camdenton, as the CMAC shares many of the characteristics as the OC. However, instead of traveling south or becoming independent, it will head north, creating a new experience for coaches and student-athletes.

“I think outside of athletics, it does help coaches and kids network and meet new people and all that,” Symonds said. “I mean that’s part of the whole goal of interscholastic sports and expanding that is a benefit to our kids.”

Excitement from the community

While Kurtz pointed out that some among the Camdenton fanbase might miss old rivalries, he said a majority of the community is excited for a new beginning.

“Well, what I’ve heard so far is excitement. The parents are excited to play the schools, again, it’s not a big, big change because we have played several of them already and have for years … but a change in the football schedule will be big, you know, it’s a complete change,” Kurtz said.

Adding strength to a mid-Missouri conference is one thing that Symonds is looking forward to with the addition of the Lakers.

“I’m excited. Camdenton is a very competitive school, so it’s not going to be easy adding them by any means,” Symonds said. “It’s great to think of the CMAC as being such a competitive conference in the middle of Missouri…I think adding a competitive school to our conference is awesome.”

Camdenton will complete the 2023-24 school year as originally planned, before joining the CMAC for the 2024-25 seasons.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Camdenton High School sports moving to CMAC for 2024-25 school year.