After the 2016-2017 athletic season is concluded, the Nash Central Bulldogs will be departing from the Big East conference to join a new conference in the 2A classification for the 2017-2018 athletic season. The name of the new conference has not yet been decided and will be unveiled at a later date.
While the Bulldogs will no longer be a member of the Big East conference, Nash Central will still keep a formidable relationship with the current Big East member schools. This will be possible since the Bulldogs are hoping to schedule non-conference games with the current Big East schools, which are Northern Nash High School, Rocky Mount High School, Southern Nash High School, Hunt High School, and Fike High School. Over the years, the Bulldogs have developed a deep-rooted bond with these schools, and, despite the new alignment, this link will surely stay intact for the years to come.
As for Nash Central, the Bulldogs will be competing in a newly-formed 2A conference, which will consist of other schools in Eastern North Carolina. Schools such as Beddingfield High School (Wilson, NC), Bunn High School (Louisburg, NC), North Johnston (Kenly, NC), North Pitt (Bethel, NC), and Southwest Edgecombe (Pinetops, NC) will be joining the new conference with Nash Central.
Nash Central has already developed ties with a majority of these prospective schools, and the Bulldogs have competed against Southwest Edgecombe, Beddingfield, and Bunn on a regular basis during non-conference play. In addition, Nash Central’s football program faced all of the prospective schools with the exception of North Pitt during non-conference play in the 2015 season.
All in all, while Nash Central won’t be a Big East member school after the 2016-2017 athletic season, the association it shares with the rest of Big East will definitely not fade, and the Bulldogs should look forward to a new beginning next fall as they will be given a fresh start.