CENTRAL BUCKEYE LEAGUE BEGINS PLAY DURING 2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR

WC is one of eight founding schools.

The Central Buckeye League (CBL) announces its return to high school sports in Central Ohio this forthcoming 2023-24 school year. The new league consists of eight member schools in Franklin and Delaware County. Founding members of the league are Bishop Ready, Bexley, Buckeye Valley, Columbus Academy, Columbus School for Girls, Grandview Heights, Whitehall, and Worthington Christian.

Whitehall-Yearling High School Athletic Director Bill Hughett has been named CBL President. “I am excited to see a new league in Central Ohio that has potential for growth and remains very competitive in all sports,” Hughett said. “We have a tight-knit group of schools that have a long-standing competitive history with one another while maintaining a certain level of diversity in the climate and cultures of our school districts. I am proud of my fellow athletic directors for stepping up and re-branding our league and continually modeling the growth and development we, as educators, try to instill into our student-athletes daily.”

Jim Hayes, a long-time veteran of high school sports in Central Ohio, serves as the league’s first commissioner. “It is an exciting time for this group of schools as they venture out to start a new league with competition beginning during the 2023-24 school year,” he said.

“I echo what Mr. Hughett shared as they move forward. As the athletic directors discussed the name of the new league, it was pointed out that several years ago, some of them were members of a league called the Central Buckeye League. Bexley even found a trophy they had earned while members of that league. The athletic directors decided to use that name as a return to some of their history. The schools leaving the Mid-State League look forward to building on their current relationships and developing new ones.”