Northeast Iowa Conference is on the brink of collapse

Not so long ago, discussion surrounded the potential of Northeast Iowa Conference expansion.

Now, the more likely scenario is Northeast Iowa Conference extinction.

The high school athletic alliance, which has been one of the state’s most stable since its inception in 1920, has moved closer to oblivion with a string of events in the last few days.

“This is probably the end, but I don’t want it to be,” Decorah superintendent Tim Cronin said. “The realist in me has known that this day was coming.”

A seven-school league since the 1960s, the NEIC saw the first domino fall in 2021 when Oelwein left for the North Iowa Cedar League.

In April 2022, five other schools — citing a competitive imbalance — voted to remove Waverly-Shell Rock from the league. The Go-Hawks will exit after this school year, then become an independent for at least one year.

The final card, or cards, are being played now, which could cause the NEIC to collapse completely.

The Howard-Winneshiek Community School District (which contains Crestwood High School) has applied for, and has been approved for, entrance in the Upper Iowa Conference, effective with the start of the 2025-26 school year.

The Upper Iowa is a league currently comprised of nine schools, most of which would be considered “small schools.”

Upon Crestwood’s decision, the Upper Iowa tendered invitations to two more NEIC members, New Hampton and Waukon, the latter of which is part of the Allamakee Community School District.

March 1 is the deadline for response, according to Clayton Ridge superintendent Shane Wahls, who served as UIC president.

In a letter dated Feb. 6 from the nine Upper Iowa superintendents to their counterparts at New Hampton and Waukon, Wahls mapped out a 12-school league, with two divisions:

Large School Division: Waukon (BEDS enrollment of 293), Crestwood (285), New Hampton (246), North Fayette Valley (243), MFL MarMac (206), South Winneshiek (159).

Small School Division: Postville (196), Clayton Ridge (141), Elkader Central (111), Turkey Valley (93), Lansing Kee (74), West Central (60).

NEIC members Decorah and Charles City were not offered Upper Iowa membership.

“We don’t want to have that discussion at this time,” Wahls said.

The Charles City school board has sent a letter of inquiry to the North Central Conference.

Because of its location and its size, Decorah has limited options.

“We don’t have many schools up here that are really good fits for us in terms of size (BEDS enrollment is more than 400), and the good size fits are too far away,” Cronin said.

The most optimal Eastern Iowa league in terms of enrollment match is the Wamac, but the closest Wamac school from Decorah is Independence, 68 miles away. The farthest (Grinnell) is 145 miles away.

One potential solution is to apply for mediation, whether from the Iowa Department of Education and/or the Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union.

“Our best-case scenario would be for the Northeast Iowa Conference to survive and add schools,” Cronin said.

In 2022, the NEIC sent invitations to five schools (MFL MarMac, North Fayette Valley, Oelwein, Osage and Sumner-Fredericksburg), but that quest for expansion never gained traction.

Whither Waverly-Shell Rock?

While Decorah considers its options, Waverly-Shell Rock continues to look for an affiliation.

After its dismissal from the NEIC, the school applied for membership in the Mississippi Valley Conference and the Wamac, and was resoundingly turned down by both.

Right now, athletics director Greg Bodensteiner said, “We’re just hanging out.”

Waverly-Shell Rock will compete as an independent in 2024-25. The school has applied, again, for a home in the 12-school Wamac in ‘25-26.

“The Wamac has a superintendents’ meeting in April, and I don’t know for sure how that will go,” Bodensteiner said. “If it’s a ‘no,’ I don’t know what we will do.”

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com