Staff Report

With the news Monday that the Greater Catholic League and Girls Greater Cincinnati League have come together to form a unified Greater Catholic League with three divisions, many had questions about the competition structure, the rebranding and the commissioners who will run the three divisions.

The following is a glance at those three aspects of the new league.

Commissioners

Kim Douthit is the Commissioner for the GGCL, the all-girls division of the GCL. Douthit served as the Director of the GGCL (under the prior league structure) for 14 years. She has been employed in the religious studies department at Ursuline Academy since 2000. Douthit holds a Bachelors in Science from Xavier and a Master’s in Education from the University of Cincinnati.

Tom Gamble is the Commissioner for the GCL South, the all-boys division of the GCL. Mr. Gamble is the CEO of In-Game Sports and chief organizer of the annual Crosstown Showdown event in Cincinnati. He has served in a variety of media and sports-related fields, including acting as prior host of the Gamble-n-Fin morning show. Mr. Gamble has a BA in Journalism from Northern Kentucky University and a Master’s in Sports Studies from Xavier University.

Matthew Koenig is the Commissioner of the GCL Co-Ed, the division for schools with boys and girls. Koenig most recently served as a Sales Director for Apex Awards. He was previously employed as the Director of Athletics for the Kings Local School District and an Events Coordinator for the Cintas Center at Xavier University. Koenig holds a BS from Xavier University.

Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr is the head of the GCL with Superintendent of Catholic Schools Dr. Jim Rigg working under him. Halsey Mabry will be the primary point person for the commissioners at the archdiocese.

Competition
Each division, the GCL South, GCL Co-ed and GGCL will have their own league championships. The schools will no longer be required to play schools from the other divisions. For example, the GCL South basketball league championship will be determined only by the the four schools in that division. While traditional rivalries outside the new divisions will likely continue to be scheduled, those inter-division games will have no bearing on division standings.

Furthermore in the GCL Co-Ed, some sports will be broken into a North and Central division. For example, according to the GCL website, the GCL Co-Ed football divisions include Alter, Carroll, Chaminade Julienne and Fenwick in the North, and Badin, McNicholas, Purcell Marian and Roger Bacon in the Central.

That same alignment will be used for sports with all eight schools competing, while other sports, such as boys’ golf, will be a single division.

Rebranding
From the official Archdiocesan release: 

The shield represents strength, courage, and honor, fundamental principles of the GCL.

The cross is present within the shield, representing that our Catholic faith is at the center of the GCL’s mission.

The action lines represent the motion of the athlete, and the protection that God provides to our athletes.