UNION, NJ — Last year, it was spread out during two days in Hillsborough, the first gathering of all of the football teams that compete in divisions in the Big Central Conference.
This year, the second BCC Football Media Day will be on just one day and inside Kean University’s Harwood Arena in Union.
BCC President Scott Miller, who was the head coach at his alma mater, David Brearley High School, from 2002 to 2022, announced last week that the site of the event changed and that it will be one day as opposed to two.
Representatives, coaches and players from the 59 schools in the conference will descend on Kean on Thursday, Aug. 8, from 6 to 9 p.m.
Last year, the head coach and four of his players arrived in Hillsborough to meet with the media and talk about their teams.
In December 2023, the new BCC divisional alignments for the next two-season span, 2024 and 2025, were released. The conference remains constructed into 12 separate divisions, based on school size.
The 2024 and 2025 seasons will be the fifth and sixth for the BCC.
Three of the four schools in the American Gold Division are from Union County: Elizabeth, Union and Westfield.
Four of the five schools in the United Gold Division are from Union County: Cranford, Hillside, Scotch Plains–Fanwood and Summit.
Three of the four schools in the Patriot Silver Division are from Union County: Arthur L. Johnson, New Providence and Abraham Clark.
Here are the Big Central Conference divisional alignments for the 2024 and 2025 seasons:
American Gold (4 schools): Elizabeth, St. Joseph–Metuchen, Union and Westfield.
American Silver (5 schools): Bridgewater–Raritan Regional, Hillsborough, Hunterdon Central Regional, Phillipsburg and Ridge.
National Gold (5 schools): East Brunswick, Monroe Township, Old Bridge, Piscataway and South Brunswick.
National Silver (5 schools): Edison, Franklin, North Brunswick Township, St. Thomas Aquinas and Sayreville War Memorial.
Liberty Gold (5 schools): Colonia, Linden, Perth Amboy, Plainfield and Woodbridge.
Liberty Silver (5 schools): Montgomery, North Hunterdon Regional, Rahway, Somerville and Watchung Hills Regional.
United Gold (5 schools): Carteret, Cranford, Hillside, Scotch Plains–Fanwood and Summit.
United Silver (5 schools): Governor Livingston, John F. Kennedy–Iselin, New Brunswick, North Plainfield and South Plainfield.
Patriot Gold (4 schools): Bernards, Delaware Valley, J.P. Stevens and Voorhees.
Patriot Silver (4 schools): Arthur L. Johnson, Metuchen, New Providence and Abraham Clark–Roselle.
Freedom Gold (6 schools): David Brearley, Jonathan Dayton, Highland Park, Roselle Park, South River and Spotswood.
Freedom Silver (6 schools): Belvidere, Bound Brook, Dunellen, Manville, Middlesex and South Hunterdon Regional.
Changes include the American Gold Division is now just four teams, while the two other divisions with just four include the Patriot Gold and the Patriot Silver. The only two six-team divisions are the smaller schools in Freedom Gold and Freedom Silver.
Several BCC teams also scheduled games against schools from the Super Football Conference. For example, Union will play Seton Hall Prep for the first time. Back in the 1970s, they were two of the best teams in the state.
Other BCC vs. SFC matchups include Elizabeth at Bayonne and Elizabeth at Morristown, Phillipsburg vs. West Orange, Bridgewater–Raritan Regional at Morris Knolls, Piscataway at Ridgewood, Old Bridge at Morristown, Edison hosting Eastside–Paterson, Franklin at Passaic, New Providence at Verona and Manville vs. Hopatcong.
Last year, all but one of the divisions consisted of five teams, the lone exception being the four-team Liberty Silver.
Here’s a look at the 2023 BCC division champions:
American Gold: Union (3-1)
American Silver: Phillipsburg (3-1), Ridge (3-1), Hillsborough (3-1)
National Gold: South Brunswick (4-0)
National Silver: North Brunswick Township (4-0)
Liberty Gold: Woodbridge (4-0)
Liberty Silver: Montgomery (3-0)
United Gold: St. Thomas Aquinas (4-0)
United Silver: Carteret (4-0)
Patriot Gold: Bernards (4-0)
Patriot Silver: Hillside (4-0)
Freedom Gold: Spotswood (4-0)
Freedom Silver: South Hunterdon Regional (4-0)
Photo by JR Parachini