For Immediate Release: September 6, 2023
The SCC Turns 30!
Conference looks forward to continuing its success started back in 1994
The Southern Connecticut Conference “officially” turns 30 on Thursday, Sept. 7, as competition begins in eight fall sports – football, boys and girls soccer, field hockey, boys and girls cross country, girls volleyball and girls swimming.
The 23-school “mega” conference was officially founded on February 3, 1994 with twenty member schools. Nine members of the Housatonic League (Amity Regional, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, Lyman Hall, North Haven, Sheehan and Shelton), five members from the All-Connecticut Conference (Notre Dame-West Haven, Sacred Heart Academy, Fairfield Prep, Xavier and Mercy), four from the District League (Hamden, Hillhouse, Wilbur Cross and West Haven) and two from the Shoreline Conference (Daniel Hand and Guilford), made up the original 20.
In 1997, Hill Regional Career Magnet School of New Haven was added to the conference. In 2004, two Milford schools (Foran and Jonathan Law) joined the league to bring the full member school to 24. In 2008, Derby left the SCC to join the comparably-sized Naugatuck Valley League. In 2014, Lauralton Hall of Milford accepted an invitation to join the SCC bringing the current total back to 23 schools.
Sportsmanship, Leadership, Diversity
Throughout its existence, the SCC has fulfilled its focus on sportsmanship, leadership, diversity and the arts through various programs and events. This week, the league hosted its seasonal Captains Council event at the Floyd Little Athletic Center with more than 400 fall sport captains attending. The program is designed to provide guidance of what it means to be a captain and the responsibilities that come with the position. The attendees also heard a powerful presentation on the impact of mental health by Ivy Watts.
The SCC has much to be proud of entering its 30th year,” Commissioner Al Carbone said. “From the beginning, there has been an unwavering commitment to excellence in all aspects of the high school experience, on and off the playing fields. I thank our administrators, coaches and students for their competitive spirit, but also their willingness to work together and do what’s best for our league.”
Carbone also enters his 20th years as commissioner, currently the longest-serving league leader in the state.
- The SCC has been well regarded for its on-the-field athletic success in its first 29 years with 533 state championships won by league teams in 29 different sports.
- Among the most successful sports in terms of capturing state championships include girls swimming (36), boys outdoor track & field (34), football (33), boys cross country (32), boys ice hockey (32), girls indoor track (29) and baseball (29).
- Entering the 2023-24 academic year, Hillhouse has captured the most state titles of any SCC member school with 79, followed by Cheshire (67), Daniel Hand (63), Xavier (44), Amity Regional (41), Guilford (41) and Fairfield Prep (38).
- Since 1994, there have been 40 All-SCC state championship game matchups in 12 different sports, including 12 in the last five years.
Kicking Off 2023-24
Here is a quick look at the some of the 2023 fall sport season opening games of note…
Girls Soccer – Defending league champion Cheshire will travel to Amity Regional for a 3:45 p.m. Last season’s SCC runner-up and eventual Class M champion Mercy will host non-league rival Pomperaug on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 2 p.m.
Boys Soccer – Three SCC teams – Xavier, Cheshire, and Fairfield Prep – will participate in season-opening matches against CCC opponents at the Farmington Sports Arena on Saturday, Sept. 9. Defending Class L state champion Cheshire will play Simsbury at 5:30 p.m. Defending SCC champion Xavier will meet non-league Hall also at 5:30 p.m., while 2023 runner-up Fairfield Prep will Farmington at 3 p.m..
Field Hockey – Cheshire, who won the 2022 SCC title, travels to SCC-rival Sacred Heart Academy on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 4 p.m. 2022 SCC runner-up and eventual Class M state champion Branford will host FCIAC-power New Canaan on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 11:30 a.m.
Girls Volleyball – Defending SCC champion Cheshire will host SCC-rival Shelton on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 6:30 p.m., while 2022 SCC-runner-up Amity Regional will host Lauralton Hall on 5:30 p.m.
Girls Swimming – Cheshire, which has won 27 of the 29 SCC titles, opens up the 2023 campaign on Tuesday, Sept. 12 with a road meet at Mercy at 3:45 p.m. 2022 runner-up Amity Regional will travel to Hamden on Monday, Sept. 11 at 4 p.m.
Boys Cross Country – Seven-time defending SCC champion Xavier will open up the 2023 campaign on Saturday, Sept. 9 at the Stratton Brook Invitational in Simsbury. 2022 SCC runner-up Guilford will compete at the Wilton Invitational on Saturday.
Girls Cross Country – Defending SCC champion Cheshire will host a season-opening quad-meet against 2022 SCC runner-up and eventual Class MM state champion Guilford, Wilbur Cross and Sacred Heart Academy on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m.
Football – The 2023 football season, presented by the Casey-O’Brien New Haven County Chapter of the National Football Foundation, will open on Thursday, Sept. 7 with one SCC Tier III contest as Guilford travels to Lyman Hall for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. In addition, 13 SCC teams will play Connecticut High School Football Alliance games in week one, highlighted by Hamden hosting Trumbull (Friday, Sept. 8 – 6 p.m.) and Sheehan traveling to Ledyard (Friday, Sept. 8 – 6:30 p.m.). 2022 Class MM state champion North Haven will host Darien (Friday, Sept. 8 – 7 p.m.), while Class M state champion Notre Dame will travel to New Milford (Friday, Sept. 8 – 7 p.m.) and there is a Saturday afternoon rematch of the 2022 Class LL state final between Fairfield Prep and Greenwich (2 p.m. at Cardinal Stadium in Greenwich).
A Little History Lession: Turn Back the Clock to 1994
Looking back to 1994, the first year of the conference, here’s what happened during the first week of fall competition looked for the league members.
In football, there was just one divisional contest in the first week– North Haven held off Hillhouse, 28-20, in a Hammonasset Division contest at Bowen Field on Saturday, Sept. 17, 1994. The previous evening, two-time defending state champion Cheshire opened its season with a 35-3 victory over new-league rival Hamden. Several SCC teams played outside the league in week one. Xavier defeated former ACC-rival St. Bernard, 7-6, while Notre Dame and Wilbur Cross both defeated teams from the South-West Conference (ND defeated Bethel, 28-0, and Wilbur Cross defeated Pomperaug, 20-13). Sheehan ventured to the CCC and defeated Middletown, 30-26, while Daniel Hand traveled down Interstate 95 and rolled over East Lyme (ECC), 35-7.
In boys soccer, Guilford won two games in the first three days as a SCC member; defeating Fairfield Prep, 4-0, on Wednesday, Sept. 14 before taking care of new Hammonasset Division-rival East Haven, 6-0, two days later. Daniel Hand and Lyman Hall recorded the first tie in league history, playing to a 2-2 overtime tie on Wednesday, Sept. 14. The SCC would not institute a league postseason tournament until 1998.
In girls soccer, two former Housatonic League foes, North Haven and Shelton, played to a 1-1 overtime tie, on Sept. 14 – the first draw in league history. With just 12 teams, the SCC would play a round robin schedule in 1994, and did not have a league tournament until the 1998 season.
In boys cross country, eventual league champion Xavier opened up its dual-meet schedule with a 15-44 victory over Hamden on Tuesday, Sept. 20. The Falcons would finish with a 7-0 dual meet record and then captured the league’s first championship with a dominating performance (47 points) on October 22 at Orange Junior High School. Notre Dame was the league runner-up (85).
In girls cross country, eventual league champion Cheshire defeated Housatonic Division-rival Sheehan, 15-44, in its initial dual-meet. The Rams would finish with a 7-0 dual meet record then captured the league’s first title with a dominating performance (37 points) on October 22 at Orange Junior High School. Mercy was the league runner-up (70).
Nine teams comprised field hockey in the first year of the league. Eventual league champion Cheshire opened up play with a non-league 5-1 victory over Brien McMahon of the FCIAC. Guilford, which would reach the Class L state finals under head coach Kitty Palmer who is still the Indians’ coach in 2023, opened up SCC play against former Shoreline Conference rival, Daniel Hand, winning 3-1, on September 17.
In girls volleyball, Amity Regional, which went on to win the Class L state title, opened up SCC play on September 19 with a 3-0 victory over East Haven. Amity Regional’s lone loss in 1994 came to Guilford, 3-1, in the inaugural SCC championship match on November 5. Guilford lost its first-SCC regular-season match, to eventual Quinnipiac Division champion Sacred Heart Academy, a five-set battle (3-2), also on September 19.
In girls swimming, Cheshire won its first SCC regular-season dual meet on Friday, Sept. 16 – a 123-66 decision over Amity Regional. The victory extended the Rams’ dual-meet winning streak, started back in 1986. Later that fall, Cheshire won the first SCC championship meet title, held on October 18 at North Haven High School.
Website/Social Media
An “History of the SCC” can be found on the league’s website at https://southernconnecticutconference.org/scc-history/
Follow the SCC on X, Facebook and Instagram @SCCcommissioner
