You won’t see Bassick’s or Harding’s boys basketball teams in the SCC any time soon. The SCC voted to reject the schools’ admission as full-time members. (Photos Hearst Connecticut Media)
The Southern Connecticut Conference has rejected Bassick and Harding’s proposal to become full-time members of the league.
Bassick and Harding, a pair of Bridgeport schools, are now independents after the Constitution State Conference folded last spring. The two schools are in its first year of a two-year agreement as associate football members.
SCC commissioner Al Carbone said a seven-person committee of three principals,three athletic directors and himself recommended to the league that the two schools “be denied full admission” due to a number of reasons, including a full complement of varsity sports.
“Schools in our league have 28 different sports. We are looking for schools with a full complement of sports,” Carbone said. “They (Bassick and Harding) have great basketball teams, but what about the other programs? Will they add to our league? … They already have some low numbers in participation.”
Chris Johnson, Bridgeport’s citywide athletic director, said he thought it was “50-50” that the two schools would join the SCC. For now, Bassick and Harding will remain independents, he said.
“Obviously I was hoping for a different outcome,” Johnson said. “I think that’s the reality right now (independent status) We will keep our options open. The kids are resilient. They just want to go out and compete. Our job is to find games and put our kids and coaches in the best situation possible.”
Carbone said not having Bridgeport Central be a part of the mix was also a main concern. Central is a longtime member of the FCIAC. Bassick and Harding were also past members of the FCIAC, leaving in the spring of 2014 for the now-defunct CSC.
When asked if the decision would have been different if Central was a part of the proposal, Carbone responded, “Yes, I think so.” When asked for a response, Johnson said, “We held a community forum about our applications to the SCC last spring and the consensus there was that Bridgeport Central was happy in the FCIAC.”
Johnson said it’s been difficult fulling schedules. For instance, the Bassick boys basketball team has just seven home games out of 20. Johnson also said spring schedules for the two schools are not yet complete.
In other news, a source indicated that Creed is considering a move to the SCC for all of its sports. The school, formerly known as Hyde Leadership, is currently an associate member of the SCC as a football co-op with Career and Whitney Tech for football.
