The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, known informally as EPC, EPC18, and East Penn Conference, is an athletic conference consisting of 18 large high schools from Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Pike counties in the Lehigh Valley and Pocono Mountain regions of eastern and northeastern Pennsylvania. The conference is a part of District XI of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA).

The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference holds many Pennsylvania and national records and milestones in high school athletic competition. Many EPC athletes have gone on to compete in the Olympics and in professional sports, including Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Football League. The conference's high school wrestling programs have been labeled "among the nation’s best in the sport for nearly three decades" and WIN magazine has ranked the EPC and Lehigh Valley best in the nation for wrestling.

The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference is home to two of Pennsylvania's largest high school football stadiums, the 15,000 capacity J. Birney Crum Stadium in Allentown, the state's largest high school stadium, and the 14,000 capacity Frank Banko Field at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium in Bethlehem.

History

On October 2, 2013, the Lehigh Valley Conference, consisting of 12 schools from the Lehigh Valley, voted to invite six Mountain Valley Conference schools to the conference, expanding it to a super conference of 18 large Pennsylvania high schools. The EPC was officially announced on June 4, 2014, and the conference's play began in the 2014–15 school year. The conference is widely considered one of the premier high school athletic divisions in the nation.

High schools

The 18 high school teams in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (with location in parentheses) are:

• Mountain Division
  • East Stroudsburg High School North Timberwolves (Dingmans Ferry)
  • East Stroudsburg High School South Cavaliers (East Stroudsburg)
  • Pleasant Valley High School Bears (Brodheadsville)
  • Pocono Mountain East High School Cardinals (Swiftwater)
  • Pocono Mountain West High School Panthers (Pocono Summit)
  • Stroudsburg High School Mountaineers (Stroudsburg)
• Skyline Division
  • Allentown Central Catholic High School Vikings (Allentown)
  • Emmaus High School Green Hornets (Emmaus)
  • Nazareth Area High School Blue Eagles (Nazareth)
  • Northampton Area High School Konkrete Kids (Northampton)
  • Parkland High School Trojans (Allentown)
  • Whitehall High School Zephyrs (Whitehall Township)
• Steel Division
  • Bethlehem Catholic High School Golden Hawks (Bethlehem)
  • Dieruff High School Huskies (Allentown)
  • Easton Area High School Red Rovers (Easton)
  • Freedom High School Patriots (Bethlehem Township)
  • Liberty High School Hurricanes (Bethlehem)
  • William Allen High School Canaries (Allentown)

Conference championships and records

Baseball

Baseball uses the primary divisional conference alignment.

District and state championships

Boys basketball

Boys basketball uses the primary divisional conference alignment.

Conference Champions

District and state championships

Girls basketball

Girls basketball uses the primary divisional conference alignment.

Conference champions

District and state championships

Boys cross country

In boys cross country, no divisional conference alignment is used.

Conference champions

District and state championships

Individual state champions:

• Mickey Collins (Easton) – 1970

Girls cross country

In girls cross country, no divisional conference alignment is used.

Conference champions

District and state championships

Individual state champions:

• Janelle Thomas (Liberty) – 1992, 1994, 1995
• Frances Koons (Allentown Central Catholic) – 2003
• Jessica Cygan (Liberty) – 2008

Field hockey

In field hockey, no divisional conference alignment is used.

Conference champions

District and state championships

Football

Football uses the following adjusted divisional conference alignment, which changes slightly every two years:

North: Dieruff, East Stroudsburg North, East Stroudsburg South, Northampton, Pleasant Valley, Pocono Mountain East, Pocono Mountain West, Stroudsburg, and William Allen
South: Allentown Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Emmaus, Freedom, Liberty, Nazareth, Parkland, and Whitehall

From the 2014 through 2017 seasons, Northampton was in the South division. From the 2014 through 2015 seasons, Bethlehem Catholic was in the North division. For 2016–17, Allentown Central Catholic was in the North division.

Division champions

District and state championships

Golf

Golf does not use any divisional conference alignment.

Conference champions

District and state championships

Boys lacrosse

Boys lacrosse uses the following adjusted divisional conference alignment:
East: Bethlehem Catholic, Liberty, Nazareth, Northampton, and Pleasant Valley
West: Allentown Central Catholic, Easton, Emmaus, Freedom, and Parkland
Dieruff, East Stroudsburg North, East Stroudsburg South, Pocono Mountain East, Pocono Mountain West, Stroudsburg, Whitehall, and William Allen do not participate in boys lacrosse.

District and state championships

Girls lacrosse

Girls lacrosse uses the following adjusted divisional conference alignment:
Mountain: Nazareth, Northampton, and Pleasant Valley
Steel: Easton, Freedom, Liberty
Skyline: Allentown Central Catholic, Emmaus, and Parkland
Bethlehem Catholic, Dieruff, East Stroudsburg North, East Stroudsburg South, Pocono Mountain East, Pocono Mountain West, Stroudsburg, Whitehall, and William Allen do not participate in girls lacrosse.

District and state championships

Boys soccer

Boys soccer uses the primary divisional conference alignment.

Conference Champions

District and state championships

Girls soccer

Girls soccer uses the primary divisional alignment.

Conference champions

District and state championships

Softball

Softball uses the primary divisional alignment.

District and state championships

Boys swimming and diving

Boys swimming and diving does not use the divisional conference alignment. Pleasant Valley and Bethlehem Catholic do not participate in boys swimming and diving. In addition, East Stroudsburg North, East Stroudsburg South, Pocono Mountain East, Pocono Mountain West, and Stroudsburg do not participate in boys diving.

Conference champions

District and state championships

Girls swimming and diving

Girls swimming and diving does not use the divisional conference alignment. Pleasant Valley and Bethlehem Catholic do not participate in girls swimming and diving. East Stroudsburg North, East Stroudsburg South, Pocono Mountain East, Pocono Mountain West, and Stroudsburg do not participate in girls diving.

Conference champions

District and state championships

Boys track and field

Boys track and field does not use any divisional conference alignment.

Girls track and field

Girls track and field does not use any divisional conference alignment.

Boys tennis

Boys tennis does not use any divisional conference alignment.

District and state championships

Individual state champions:

• Dennis Koch (William Allen) – 1960
• Rupert/Book (Liberty) – 1961
• Colin Delaney (Parkland) – 1988
• Tarek El-Bassiouni (Stroudsburg) – 1998
• Sean Montgomery (East Stroudsburg South) – 2001

Girls tennis

Girls tennis does not use any divisional conference alignment.

Conference champions

District and state championships

Individual state champions:

• Granson/Granson (Freedom) – 1996
• Granson/Granson (Freedom) – 1997

Boys volleyball

Boys volleyball does not use any divisional conference alignment.
Allentown Central Catholic, East Stroudsburg North, East Stroudsburg South, Pleasant Valley, and Stroudsburg do not participate in boys volleyball.

District and state championships

Girls volleyball

Girls volleyball uses the primary divisional conference alignment.

Conference champions

District and state championships

Wrestling

Wrestling uses the following adjusted divisional conference alignment:
Division A: Allentown Central Catholic, Dieruff, East Stroudsburg South, Easton, Freedom, Nazareth, Parkland, Pocono Mountain East, and William Allen
Division B: Bethlehem Catholic, East Stroudsburg North, Emmaus, Liberty, Northampton, Pleasant Valley, Pocono Mountain West, Stroudsburg, and Whitehall

District and state championships

Individual state champions:

Eastern Pennsylvania Conference professional and Olympic athletes

The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference is known for producing a considerable number of present and former professional and Olympic athletes, including:

Major League Baseball (MLB)

Former MLB players

• Bob Heffner, former pitcher, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, and California Angels (William Allen High School)
• Gary Lavelle, former pitcher, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, and Toronto Blue Jays (Liberty High School)
• Matt McBride, former infielder, Colorado Rockies and Oakland Athletics (Liberty High School)
• Jeff Mutis, former pitcher, Cleveland Indians and Florida Marlins (Allentown Central Catholic High School)
• Dave Schneck, former outfielder, New York Mets (Whitehall High School)
• Brian Schneider, former catcher, Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, New York Mets, and Philadelphia Phillies (Northampton Area High School)
• Curt Simmons, former pitcher, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals (Whitehall High School)

National Basketball Association (NBA)

Former NBA players

• Aaron Gray, former center, Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, New Orleans Hornets, and Sacramento Kings (Emmaus High School)
• Darrun Hilliard, former guard, Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs (Liberty High School)
• Tyrese Martin, former shooting guard, Atlanta Hawks (William Allen High School)
• Brant Weidner, former forward, San Antonio Spurs (Parkland High School)

National Football League (NFL)

Current NFL players

• Jahan Dotson, wide receiver, Washington Commanders (Nazareth Area High School)
• Saquon Barkley, running back, Philadelphia Eagles (Whitehall High School)
• Sebastian Joseph-Day, defensive end, Los Angeles Rams (Stroudsburg High School)
• Kyzir White, linebacker, Arizona Cardinals (Emmaus High School)
• Kenny Yeboah, tight end, New York Jets (Parkland High School)

Former NFL players

• Chuck Bednarik, former center and linebacker, Philadelphia Eagles, and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Liberty High School)
• Greg DeLong, former tight end, Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Minnesota Vikings, (Parkland High School)
• Keith Dorney, former offensive tackle, Detroit Lions (Emmaus High School)
• Jim Druckenmiller, former quarterback, Miami Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers (Northampton Area High School)
• Mike Guman, former running back, Los Angeles Rams (Bethlehem Catholic High School)
• Mike Hartenstine, former defensive end, Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings (Liberty High School)
• Nate Hobgood-Chittick, former defensive tackle, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, and St. Louis Rams (William Allen High School)
• Kyshoen Jarrett, former strong safety, Washington Redskins (East Stroudsburg High School South)
• Dan Koppen, former center, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots (Whitehall High School)
• Tim Massaquoi, former tight end, Miami Dolphins (Parkland High School)
• Ed McCaffrey, former wide receiver, Denver Broncos, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers (Allentown Central Catholic High School)
• Kim McQuilken, former quarterback, Atlanta Falcons and Washington Redskins (William Allen High School)
• Joe Milinichik, former offensive guard, Detroit Lions, Los Angeles Rams, and San Diego Chargers (Emmaus High School)
• Matt Millen, former linebacker, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, and Washington Redskins (Whitehall High School)
• Jim Molinaro, former offensive tackle, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins (Bethlehem Catholic High School)
• James Mungro, former running back, Indianapolis Colts (East Stroudsburg High School South)
• Chris Neild, former nose tackle, Houston Texans (Stroudsburg High School)
• Artie Owens, former running back, Buffalo Bills, New Orleans Saints, and San Diego Chargers (Stroudsburg High School)
• Ken Parrish, former punter, Atlanta Falcons (East Stroudsburg High School South)
• Andre Reed, former wide receiver, Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins, and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2014 (Dieruff High School)
• Mike Reichenbach, former linebacker, Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins (Liberty High School)
• Ray Rissmiller, former offensive tackle, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, and New Orleans Saints (Easton Area High School)
• Larry Seiple, former punter, Miami Dolphins (William Allen High School)
• John Spagnola, former tight end, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks (Bethlehem Catholic High School)
• Tony Stewart, former tight end, Cincinnati Bengals, Oakland Raiders, and Philadelphia Eagles (Allentown Central Catholic High School)
• Devin Street, former wide receiver, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, and New York Jets (Liberty High School)
• Jimmy Terwilliger, former quarterback, Minnesota Vikings (East Stroudsburg High School South)
• Kevin White, former wide receiver, Chicago Bears, New Orleans Saints, and San Francisco 49ers (Emmaus High School)
• Andre Williams, former running back, Los Angeles Chargers and New York Giants (Parkland High School)
• Joe Williams, former running back, San Francisco 49ers (Emmaus High School)
• Joe Wolf, former offensive tackle, Arizona Cardinals (William Allen High School)

Former Arena Football League (AFL) players

• Kevin Nagle, former fullback and linebacker, Colorado Crush and Orlando Predators (Pleasant Valley High School)

Former NCAA Division I football players

• Steve Aponavicius, former placekicker, Boston College Eagles football and all-time career highest Boston College scorer (Easton Area High School)
• Dan Kendra, former quarterback, Florida State Seminoles football (Bethlehem Catholic High School)

Olympics

Olympic cycling

• Tanya Lindenmuth, 2000 Summer Olympics track cycling (Freedom High School)
• Marty Nothstein, 2000 Summer Olympics gold medal winner, track cycling (Emmaus High School)
• Lauren Tamayo, 2012 Summer Olympics, silver medalist, track cycling (Allentown Central Catholic High School)

Olympic field hockey

• Cindy Werley, 1996 Summer Olympics women's field hockey player (Emmaus High School)

Olympic gymnastics

• Hope Spivey, 1988 Summer Olympics gymnast (Allentown Central Catholic High School)

Olympic track and field

• Joe Kovacs, 2016 Summer Olympics, silver medalist, shot put (Bethlehem Catholic High School)

Olympic wrestling

• Joseph Atiyeh, 1984 Summer Olympics, silver medal winner for Syria, wrestling (Dieruff High School)
• Stanley Dziedzic, 1976 Summer Olympics bronze medal winner, wrestling (William Allen High School)
• Bobby Weaver, 1984 Summer Olympics gold medal winner, wrestling, and 1980 Summer Olympics wrestling team (boycotted) (Easton Area High School)

Professional auto racing

• Jeff Andretti, former professional race car driver (Nazareth Area High School)
• Michael Andretti, former IndyCar Series driver (Nazareth Area High School)
• Sage Karam, IndyCar Series driver (Nazareth Area High School)

Professional cycling

• Marty Nothstein, former professional track cycling (Emmaus High School)
• Nicole Reinhart, former professional track cycling (Emmaus High School)

Professional golf

• Jim Booros, former PGA Tour player (Dieruff High School)

Professional soccer

• Gina Lewandowski, defender, FC Bayern Munich (Allentown Central Catholic High School)

Track and field

• Joe Kovacs, 2015 world champion, shot put (Bethlehem Catholic High School)
• Chanelle Price, 2014 IAAF World Indoor Championships, gold medalist, 800 meters (Easton Area High School)

Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)

Former WNBA players

• Michelle M. Marciniak, former point guard, WNBA's Portland Fire and Seattle Storm (Allentown Central Catholic High School)

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)

• Afa Anoa'i Jr., professional wrestler (Freedom High School)
• Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, former professional wrestler (Freedom High School)
• Billy Kidman, former professional wrestler (Parkland High School)
• Brian Knobs, former professional wrestler (Whitehall High School)
• Jerry Sags, former professional wrestler (Whitehall High School)

Professional and collegiate coaches and managers

Eastern Pennsylvania Conference athletes who have gone on to athletic coaching and team management careers include:

College basketball coaches

• Michelle M. Marciniak, former South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball assistant coach (Allentown Central Catholic High School)
• Billy McCaffrey, former St. Bonaventure Bonnies men's basketball head coach (Allentown Central Catholic High School)

College football coaches

• Chuck Amato, former NC State Wolfpack football head coach (Easton Area High School)
• K. C. Keeler, Sam Houston State Bearkats football head coach, former Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football head coach, and Rowan University head football coach (Emmaus High School)

College wrestling coaches

• John Fritz, former Penn State Nittany Lions wrestling head coach (Liberty High School)
• Bob Ferraro, former Bucknell Bison head wrestling coach (Easton Area High School)
• Pat Santoro, Lehigh Mountain Hawks head wrestling coach and former Maryland Terrapins head wrestling coach (Bethlehem Catholic High School)
• Bryan Snyder, Nebraska Cornhuskers wrestling associate coach (Easton Area High School)
• Jay Weiss, Harvard Crimson head wrestling coach (William Allen High School)

National Basketball Association (NBA) coaches

• Pete Carril, former Sacramento Kings assistant coach and former Princeton Tigers men's basketball head coach (Liberty High School)
• Aaron Gray, former Detroit Pistons assistant coach (Emmaus High School)

National Football League (NFL) coaches and management

• Matt Millen, former Detroit Lions president and general manager (Whitehall High School)

See also

• Colonial League
• Lehigh Valley Conference
• Mountain Valley Conference
• PIAA District 11

References

External links

• Eastern Pennsylvania Conference official website
• Eastern Pennsylvania Conference on Twitter
• Eastern Pennsylvania Conference sports news at Lehigh Valley Live
• Eastern Pennsylvania Conference sports news at The Morning Call