EAST LIVERPOOL — Less than a year after turning down an invitation to join the Stark-County based Eastern Buckeye Conference, East Liverpool is pondering the move again.

East Liverpool coaches met with some administrators on Tuesday night to discuss possibly making the move.

“They weren’t totally against it,” East Liverpool athletic director Dominic Boyle said. “Nobody really backed down because of the competition. We’re weighing all our options.”

Boyle said there will be a final discussion meeting before making a recommendation to the board of education prior the Feb. 1 deadline.

EBC commissioner James Carmichael said East Liverpool sent a letter of interest after football season.

“They called and said they wanted to reapply,” Carmichael said. “They asked us to come down. We, myself and two athletic directors, went down and met with them.

“When we left, they said they would let us know by the first of February. That’s where we are at.”

He said the league has not heard from East Liverpool school officials since then.

“I was optimistic when we left,” Carmichael said. “They sounded pretty optimistic about it.”

The East Liverpool board of education meets tonight, although there is nothing related to the EBC on the agenda.

The Potters have been looking due to the uncertainty of the Buckeye 8. They play in the North Division with Beaver Local, Edison, Harrison Central and Indian Creek.

Boyle said the athletic directors from the Buckeye 8 met Wednesday.

“There are some issues they need to work out,” he said. “We have our own issues internally, which we are trying to deal with.”

He said the Potters are focusing on building programs from the grade school up.

Boyle, in his first year as athletic director, said he was a varsity football assistant at North Canton Hoover for seven years, coaching there along with current Alliance head coach Tim Goodman.

“I’m a Stark County guy, so I know what the EBC is all about,” Boyle said.

The EBC will be at six teams after the school year. Carmichael said only East Liverpool has expressed interest about the two openings this school year.

“One of the ADs contacted somebody from Beaver Local and they said they weren’t interested,” he said.

If they Potters decide to go to the EBC, they probably would have to compete in the Buckeye 8 the next two school years to satisfy their league commitment.

East Liverpool lost to EBC members Salem and West Branch during football season. The EBC also includes Alliance, Carrollton, Marlington, Minerva and Canton South, which is leaving after this school year to join the Principals Athletic Conference.

“We have six teams,” Carmichael said. “We can play with six. Seven is better and eight is perfect.”