A year Glenbard South's Treiber never wants to experience again

In 30 years of high school athletics, the last eight as Glenbard South's athletic director, John Treiber never has seen a school year quite like this.

He can't wait until it's over.

"I definitely need a vacation after this," he said.

"This" began last spring when an exodus of schools from the Western Sun Conference forced Glenbard South onto an independent island by itself. Caught with only a year to prepare for the unknown, Treiber was left scrambling to fill schedules and find a new conference home.

Although the turmoil mainly affected the football team, thankfully it stayed off the field. In the fall the Raiders claimed a share of the Western Sun title - the program's first conference title in 32 years.

But then came another blast of the unexpected. Head football coach Dan Starkey, who in six seasons guided the Raiders to four playoff appearances, including back-to-back state quarterfinal berths, announced his resignation on April 12 to become New Trier's football coach.

The scramble intensified.

"It's something you just can't plan for," Treiber said. "The good thing that Dan did was put us on a good platform for the next coach to follow. But we've really got to get something done in a hurry."

In only a few weeks Treiber received about 80 applications for the football job. Treiber said first-round interviews of eight candidates were completed this week, and he'll bring back three or four finalists next week to hone in on a decision. If all goes according to plan, the new hire will be in place after the District 87 board meeting on May 25.

"It's important we get this done soon," Treiber said. "We've got to have things going right after that board meeting."

While the coaching search is proving to be a whirlwind, the formation of a 2010 football schedule has been an absolute grind for Treiber.

Next school year Glenbard South will be a member of the Metro Suburban Conference in every sport except football, and life as an independent - even for one year - is a nightmare for athletic directors. Because conference commitments eat up the bulk of the season, Glenbard South has few options in finding opponents.

"I think everyone should go through this process once to realize that it's just not right to leave a school with only one year to prepare for the breakup of a conference," Treiber said, referring to the rapid dissolution of the Western Sun.

Beginning to rebuild the 2010 football schedule in the fall, Treiber finally completed the nine-week slate in March. Treiber credits assistant athletic director Andy Preuss and administrative assistant Gwyn Hay for taking on additional responsibilities while he focused on football.

"I've been very fortunate to have so much support through this," Treiber said.

Putting the pieces together was a grueling process that included a massive number of phone calls and late nights prowling high school websites to find teams with open weeks. Beyond that it came down to lucky timing.

Glenbard West and Fenton remain on the schedule as holdovers from the past couple of seasons. Nazareth, Benet and Notre Dame became available because of an opening in the East Suburban Catholic Conference due to the departure of St. Joseph at the end of this school year.

The Raiders will play Peoria Richwoods in Week 4, a matchup that arose when the closing of Peoria Woodruff opened up a week. Bloom agreed to move a game to a different week so it could play Glenbard South in Week 6.

Woodstock, which last fall beat the Raiders in the Class 5A quarterfinals, became available because of an odd number of schools in its conference next year.

Week 9 was a bear. Treiber looked for opponents in 10 states, eventually finding Fort Zumwalt South while scouring Missouri websites.

After eight months the pieces formed a completed puzzle. Treiber's already working on the 2011 football schedule that includes a slate of Metro Suburban Conference games.

Although there's still work to be done - in addition to finalizing the football hiring, interviews begin next week to find a new boys soccer coach - Treiber sees light at the end of the tunnel.

Eventually, though, the whirlwind's bound to end.

"I don't want to jinx myself," he said, "but after something like this you almost feel like you can handle anything."

kschmit@dailyherald.com