The Pocket Athletic Conference (PAC) is a high school athletic conference in Southwestern Indiana with its headquarters at Forest Park. It is the largest athletic conference in the state of Indiana with 13 member schools. The conference is composed primarily of Class 3A schools, with a few 2A and one 1A. Schools are currently located in Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, and Warrick counties. All schools are members of the Indiana High School Athletic Association.
History The Pocket Athletic Conference was established in 1938 with nine founding schools: Cannelton, Chrisney, Lynnville, Mount Vernon, Owensville, Petersburg, Poseyville, Rockport, and Tell City. Seven of the nine original schools remain members in some form today. Cannelton left in 1971 and is now an independent. Mount Vernon left in 1959 to join the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference then a member of the Big Eight Conference before returning to the conference in 2020. With the exception of Washington and Pike Central, all members are located within counties along the western end of the Interstate 64 corridor within Indiana, but those two members are also both along the southern end of the Interstate 69 corridor within Indiana.
The first current member appeared in 1958 when Poseyville consolidated with Cynthiana, Griffin, and Wadesville to form North Posey. Rockport merged with Richland in 1965 to form South Spencer. Elberfeld merged with former member Lynnville in 1965 to form Tecumseh. Also in 1965, Oakland City and Francisco, both of which joined the PAC in 1939, joined to become Wood Memorial. Dale, which had joined in 1939, joined with another former member, Chrisney, to form Heritage Hills in 1972. Huntingburg joined the PAC in 1970 from the SIAC and in 1972 consolidated with Holland to become Southridge. In 1974, Owensville consolidated with Fort Branch and Haubstadt into Gibson Southern. Both Fort Branch and Owensville were members of the PAC at the time. Haubstadt was also briefly a member of the PAC. That same year Petersburg joined with Winslow, Otwell, and Stendal to form Pike Central.
Gibson Southern left the PAC in 1979 when the Big Eight Conference was formed, only to return in 1994. In 2000, Wood Memorial left the PAC and is now a member of the Blue Chip Conference. Tell City, which had left in 1953, rejoined in 2001, also came back from the Big Eight Conference but also from the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference. In 2007, Forest Park, located in Ferdinand, officially joined the PAC from the Blue Chip Conference increasing the number of members back to the original nine.
The conference expanded to thirteen members in 2020, as they accepted former members Boonville and Mount Vernon, as well as Princeton, whose component school, Mount Olympus, was a member from 1939 to 1965, and complete newcomer Washington, all from the now extinct Big Eight Conference. In all, the PAC will inherit six of the original Big Eight members with the other two joining the SIAC.
Football divisions With 13 teams in the conference, it is not possible for all football teams to play one another (9-game season). Thus, the PAC is split into two divisions for football only. Large SchoolSmall SchoolBoonvilleForest ParkGibson SouthernNorth PoseyHeritage HillsPike CentralMount VernonSouth SpencerPrincetonTecumsehSouthridgeTell CityWashington
PAC titles, since 2020 expansion Source: School YearBaseballBasketballFootball-LgFootball-SmSoftballBasketball-GVolleyball2020/21North PoseyHeritage HillsGibson SouthernSouthridgeGS / NPWashingtonTecumseh2021/22Forest ParkSouth SpencerGibson SouthernNorth PoseyNorth PoseyWashingtonTecumseh2022/23SouthridgeSouth SpencerGibson SouthernSouthridgeNorth PoseyForest ParkTecumseh2023/24North PoseyHH/ PrincetonGibson SouthernNorth PoseyGibson SouthernGibson SouthernTecumseh2024/25North Posey/GSPrincetonHeritage HillsSouthridgeTecumsehWashingtonTecumseh2025/26Gibson SouthernBoonvilleHeritage HillsNorth PoseyTecumsehGibson SouthernTecumseh
Basketball Forest Park, Southridge and Tecumseh have four state titles in both boys and girls basketball. Forest Park and Gibson Southern add three more state runner-up titles and a girls state title to the pool to make seven appearances at the state finals, not counting Tecumseh's appearance in the Tournament of Champions. Forest Park, Gibson Southern, North Posey, Southridge, and Tecumseh have all been ranked within the last eight years in either girls or boys basketball, sometimes both. In 1999, Tecumseh lost by six points in the experimental "Tournament of Champions" to the 4A State Champion, Indianapolis' North Central. Tecumseh was the 1A State Champion. Boonville and Washington bring additional strength on the conference's basketball schedule as well as two more of the state's largest gymnasiums. Starting in 2024, Gibson Southern will compete in AAAA in girls' basketball due repeated appearances in semi-state and now a state title in AAA.
Baseball and softball The Pocket Athletic Conference has been exceptionally strong in baseball and softball in the last 20 years. Tecumseh softball has 7 state championships including consecutive 2A championships in 2025 and 2026. North Posey softball won the 2A state title in 2023, South Spencer and Gibson Southern won the softball state title in their respective classes in 2015. Forest Park softball also won the 1A title in 2001. North Posey ('05, '06) and South Spencer ('07, '13, '15) have won state titles in baseball.
Football The Pocket Athletic Conference has a long history of being a periodic powerhouse in football with several members having state titles or runner-ups. Since 2000, the PAC has been represented in the football state finals ten times. The three schools that have represented the PAC recently are Heritage Hills (2000 and 2024 3A State Champs, and 2004 and 2023 3A Runner-up), Southridge (2002 and 2006 2A Runner-up and again in 2018 and 2019) and North Posey (2005 and 2023 2A Runner-up) and Gibson Southern (2021 State Champs). Heritage Hills was the dominant force in the conference, winning the conference from 1996 to 2008 and winning the AAA state title in 2000 but have three runner up titles as well. Southridge added a title in AA in 2017 while Gibson Southern added another AAA title in 2021, but Southridge adds a total of 3 more runner up titles in AA while North Posey adds another pair, all within the last 25 years. The oldest state appearance as a member belongs to South Spencer, occurring in 1986. Tell City, while having an appearance just two years earlier, was a member of the Big Eight Conference at the time, before its return. Both were runner-ups and both were in AA. Pocket members Gibson Southern, Heritage Hills, Forest Park, North Posey, and Southridge have either periodically or regularly ranked in the top ten in the last 10 years and the conference title has been considerably less predictable in the last ten years, even with the divisions.
In the last ten years, 32 Pocket Athletic Conference teams have represented their school and the conference in state championship games.
Member schools
Current members (13) School School Corp. Mascot Colors Location County Gym Size Enrollment Division Other Sports Football Soccer Softball4 Baseball4 Girls' Basketball4 Year Joined Previous Conference Boonville Warrick County Pioneers Boonville 87 Warrick 5,650 891 Large AAA AAAA AA AAA AAA AAA 1939 3 2020 Big Eight SIAC PAC Forest Park Southeast Dubois Rangers Ferdinand 19Dubois 3,500 353 Small AA AA A AA AA AA 2007 Blue Chip Gibson Southern South Gibson Titans Fort Branch 26Gibson 3,870 798 Large AAA AAA A AAA AAA AAA 7 1974 1 1994 new schoolBig Eight Heritage Hills N. Spencer Patriots Lincoln City 74Spencer 2,800 617 Large AAA AAAA AAA AAA AAA AAA 1972 none(new school) Mount Vernon MSD Mount Vernon Wildcats Mount Vernon 65 Posey 3,200 586 Large AAA AAA AA AAA AAA AAA 1938 3 2020 Big Eight SIAC PAC North Posey MSD North Posey Vikings Poseyville 65Posey 2,000 499 Small AA AA A AA AA AA 1958 none (new school) Pike Central Pike County Chargers Petersburg 63Pike 3,200 415 Small AAA AAA A AAA AAA AAA 1974 none(new school) Princeton Community North Gibson Tigers Princeton 26 Gibson 3,210 531 Large AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA AAA 2020 Big Eight SIAC Southridge Southwest Dubois Raiders Huntingburg 19Dubois 6,092 541 Small AAA AAA A AA AA AA 1972 none(new school) South Spencer S. Spencer Rebels Rockport 74Spencer 3,500 345 Small AA AA A AA AAA 5 AA 1965 none(new school) Tecumseh Warrick County Braves Lynnville 87Warrick 2,600 304 Small AA A2 AA AAA 6 A AA 1965 none(new school) Tell City3 Tell City / Troy Twp. Marksmen Tell City 62Perry 3,487 423 Small AA AA A AA AA AA 19382001 IndependentsSIACBig Eight Washington Washington Community Hatchets Washington 14 Daviess 7,090 741 Large AAA AAA AA AAA AAA AAA 2020 Big Eight SIAC Bold Class indicates a sport in which the school is either currently or has competed in a higher class.
Gibson Southern competed in the Big Eight Conference from 1980 to 1994 before rejoining the PAC. Tecumseh is a 1A independent school in football. Tell City played in the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference from 1953 to 1980, then played in the Big Eight Conference 1980–2001 before rejoining. Boonville and Mount Vernon were also earlier members who left to join the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference. They were joined with Gibson Southern and Tell City to form the Big Eight Conference but returned in 2020 after the breakup of the conference. Sports in which a member is currently competing in a class above their enrollment due to the IHSAA's Tournament Success Factor. South Spencer advances to AAA for 2 years in Baseball also because of the IHSAA's Tournament Success Factor. Tecumseh advanced to AA due to the IHSAA's Tournament Success Factor. Due to the school winning consecutive State titles in AA, will now compete in Class AAA for next two years. In 2025, Gibson Southern will compete in AAAA for the next two years after two consecutive seasons at semi-state and a state championship in AAA. Returned to AAA IN 2026–27. Shaded schools operate on Eastern Time. The rest operate on Central Time.
Former members