The exit from Toledo's City League of the seven schools which have joined the new Three Rivers Athletic Conference has had both positive and negative impacts on the athletic programs involved.

That was already evident in the first fall sports season since the split.

Central Catholic, Clay, St. Francis de Sales, St. John's Jesuit, and Whitmer -- along with all-girls schools Notre Dame and St. Ursula -- severed some longstanding ties with the six CL members from Toledo Public Schools. Their new marriage with Findlay, Fremont Ross and Lima Senior in the TRAC appears to be a winning formula, both competitively and financially.

In its first fall, the TRAC already had two state runners-up with St. Ursula's volleyball and soccer teams, and Whitmer reached the state football semifinals.

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From the other perspective -- Bowsher, Rogers, Scott, Start, Waite, and Woodward were left behind in the City League, and will undoubtedly experience further financial strains without gate revenues once split with the departed schools.

One silver lining, however, is that the TPS fall sports teams found a more level playing field in football, volleyball, cross country, and girls tennis.

Where the City League/TRAC divide will likely have its most notable impact will be in the coming winters with basketball, specifically boys basketball. That sport was the most consistently successful athletic pursuit shared by the TPS and non-TPS members of the CL.

Counting his two varsity seasons (1966-68) as a player at St. Francis, and his 32 seasons as St. John's head coach, Ed Heintschel has participated in over 400 City League basketball games, more than any other person. As a youngster in the early 1960s, he remembers watching Butch Komives play, and he saw just about everything that followed.

"There's such a rich history with the City League," said Heintschel (574-179 coaching record), whose Titans are preseason favorites to win the first TRAC title. "The other night when Ohio State was playing Duke [on ESPN], they were talking about William Buford. Dick Vitale went through the litany of players from Toledo who were good players at Ohio State.

"Just that little bit of history, and naming those guys off, conjured up in my mind the great tradition that we had in the City League for so many years. That will never come back again."

From a team standpoint, competitive parity existed in the 1950s, and it remained through last season, when the Central and Rogers boys reached the Division I and II state semifinals, respectively. In its 85-year history, the City League had 29 teams reach the state basketball semifinals, led by Scott with eight appearances and St. John's with six.

It remains to be seen if the TRAC will match this level of excellence in basketball, especially the top-to-bottom competitiveness. Its 14-game, home-and-home league schedule makes the TRAC's title chase identical to most other prep leagues in Ohio.

"With the TRAC you've got many different school systems blending together and much more travel," said Heintschel, who advocates that his new conference create a playoff format. "I think there will be some new rivalries that will develop and be real good. But it will be very different. Not to say it will be bad, just different."

The remaining CL schools will now play a 10-game, home-and-home league schedule, and hold a late-season playoff involving all six teams. Those games will be played at the school gyms.

"You have to go with whatever hand is dealt to you," said Rogers coach Earl Morris, whose Rams are favored to win the City League boys title this season. "We get to play everybody [that's left] home and home now, and we'll still be playing a couple teams from the new league [TRAC]. You can't cry about it. I like it like it is. If we decide to bring other teams in later, that's fine. We'll go with the hand that's dealt us. Regardless of whatever happens, we're still going to all be in the same tournament draw."

The shakeup of league alignments stretches beyond the TRAC and CL as the 2011-12 boys season tips off.

Play in the new Northern Buckeye Conference begins with former Suburban Lakes League members Eastwood, Elmwood, Genoa, Lake, Otsego, and Woodmore, joining former Northern Lakes League member Rossford and former Northern Ohio League member Fostoria.

The NLL void created by Rossford's exit will be filled by Napoleon, which comes over from the now defunct Greater Buckeye Conference.

The Toledo Area Athletic Conference will have an even number of basketball members, as former SLL member Gibsonburg comes on board.

Contact Steve Junga at: sjunga@theblade.com 419-724-6461, or on Twitter @JungaBlade.