LUNCH WITH BOOKS: A History of the OVAC

January 16, 2018

TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2018 AT NOON

A History of the OVAC

By 1943, a demand had arisen for an athletic conference which would help stimulate and promote a more lucrative program of competitive high school athletics in the upper Ohio Valley. Today, the OVAC is the largest and most functional high school Conference of its kind in the United States with a total of 51 schools supplying the upper Ohio Valley with over 12,000 athletes in the various competitive athletic areas. On Tuesday, January 16 at noon at the Ohio County Public Library, Thomas Rataiczak, Executive Director of the OVAC, will present a history of the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2018. 

Tom Rataiczak, a Bellaire native, currently serves as the Executive Director of the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference, the largest functional high school athletic conference in the United States, a position he has held for nineteen years. In addition to running the Conference and its programs, he also oversees the OVAC Hall of Fame and the OVAC Sports Museum, both located in WesBanco Arena. Previous to that, he served as a teacher at Bellaire High School for 32 years, researching and developing a comprehensive set of records for the various athletic teams.

- Tuesday, January 16, 2018 - 
Lunch With Books starts at noon in the Library Auditorium. 

The Ohio County Public Library's "Lunch With Books" programs are free and open to the public. Attendees are welcome to bring a bag lunch. Complimentary beverages are provided. "Bring your lunch, feed your brain." For more information, call the library at 304-232-0244.