WOODSFIELD — Monroe Central was one of the charter members of the Pioneer Valley Conference.

The Seminoles become the latest school to inform the league and commissioner Don Ulman that they’re departing the league and will continue as OVAC members.

Athletics Director Ryan Rosnick told Ulman and the other member schools during a meeting earlier this week and sent his formal letter of withdrawl to the conference officials.

“I talked to our assistant superintendent, our principal and our coaches and everyone was on board with what we’ve decided to do,” Rosnick said.

The status of the PVC remains in a state of flux. River and Buckeye Trail had left in recent years without replacement. Last month, the league learned that Frontier, which is another long-time member, was departing as well.

“When Frontier announced it was getting out, it really worried me for the (future) of the league,” Rosnick said. “Some of the schools that were being talked about for inviting to the league, it really worried me in terms of our travel.”

With Monroe Central and Frontier out after the completion of this school year, the PVC’s membership will stand at three with Fort Frye, Caldwell and Shenandoah.

“Obviously, those are some good schools and competition still remaining, but with four schools left, I am not sure how much of an accomplishment winning the PVC is anymore,” Rosnick said. “It just didn’t make sense for us to continue.”

Rosnick has spoken with officials from both Shenandoah and Caldwell and the schools plan to continue to play in every sport. As for Fort Frye, the Seminoles will play the Cadets next season to fulfill their contract.

“We’re fairly close to Shenandoah and Caldwell and we have good relationships with both schools, so we’re not going to drop them,” Rosnick offered. “We don’t want to leave Fort Frye in a bind for football, so we’re going to honor that contract.”

The Seminoles currently own 38 PVC championships and 13 of those have been won in football.

Speaking of football, Monroe Central’s schedule is already set for next year and it features just one change. West Muskingum is off the slate and a date with Bridgeport has been signed for week two. The annual Shadyside game is shifting to Week 10.

“One of the things some of the people said at the PVC meeting was there might be a difficult time finding games, but one of the things I’ve never had a problem doing is scheduling,” Rosnick said.

“We always seem to have different schools reaching out. I think this is going to benefit us in a lot of ways.”