Conference | IHSAA / IGHSAU |
---|---|
Founded | 1966 |
Sports fielded |
|
No. of teams | 8 |
Region | Central Iowa |
Official website | www |
The Heart of Iowa Conference is a high school athletic conference in central Iowa that dates back to the 1970s. Members are a mixture between 3A and 2A, the second- and third-largest classes.
Institution | Location | Mascot | Colors | Affiliation | 2024-2025 BEDS [1] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Greene County | Jefferson | Rams | Public | 270 | |
Nevada | Nevada | Cubs | Public | 371 | |
Perry | Perry | Bluejays | Public | 444 | |
PCM | Monroe | Mustangs | Public | 261 | |
Roland–Story | Story City | Norsemen | Public | 243 | |
Saydel | Des Moines | Eagles | Public | 340 | |
South Hamilton | Jewell | Hawks | Public | 155 | |
West Marshall | State Center | Trojans | Public | 232 | |
Institution | Location | Mascot | Colors | Affiliation | 2024-2025 BEDS [2] | Joining |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grand View Christian | Des Moines | Thunder | Private | 178 | 2024-25 | |
The conference was formed in 1966 by Ballard, Nevada, South Hamilton,Perry Community School and West Marshall after the disbanding of the Hawkeye Central Conference. [3]
In 1967, Carlisle, Johnston and North Polk joined, and in 1970, Roland–Story joined from the West Central Conference. [3]
As of 1992, the league had 10 schools in it. Bondurant–Farrar, Collins–Maxwell–Baxter, Colo–NESCO, Gilbert, Madrid, Ogden, and Woodward-Granger had joined, while Carlisle, Johnston, Nevada, and North Polk had departed. [3]
Colfax–Mingo and Pleasantville were added to the conference in 1997, following the demise of the Des Moines River Conference. Pleasantville then left the league in 2001, and North Polk rejoined. In 2006, Prairie City-Monroe joined the league from the South Central Conference. In 2007, Madrid left for the West Central Conference and was replaced by former Raccoon River Conference member Jefferson-Scranton. In 2008, West Marshall left for the NICL. The 2009 season saw Woodward-Granger jump to the West Central Conference and Nevada re-joined the league from the Raccoon River Conference. In the 2010 season, Colo–NESCO jumped to Iowa Star Conference in every sport except sharing with CMB in soccer. Ogden left the conference in 2011, in order to join former conference foes Woodward-Granger and Madrid in the West Central Conference. Bondurant-Farrar made the jump to Raccoon River Conference starting in the 2011–12 school year. Grandview Park Baptist left the Heart of Iowa Conference before the softball season to go to Rolling Hills Conference. Saydel joined the conference beginning in the fall of the 2012–13 school year. In 2015, Colfax–Mingo left for the South Iowa Cedar League.
In 2017–18 season, Collins-Maxwell & Baxter split up their sharing agreement and both schools went to the Iowa Star Conference.
In 2018, both Gilbert and North Polk agreed to leave the HOIC for the Raccoon River Conference in the 2020–21 school year. [4] .
In 2021, Perry left the Raccoon River Conference to become the 8th member of the Heart of Iowa Conference [5] . In 2023, Grand View Christian was admitted to the conference for the 2024-25 school year, despite being voted down by conference members in 2020, by the Iowa Board of Education [6] .
In March 2024, the conference extended an official invitation to Boone, which would be effective for the 2025-26 school year [7] .
Story County is a county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 98,537, making it the ninth-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Nevada; the largest city is Ames. The geographical center of Iowa lies in Story County, 5 miles (8.0 km) northeast of Ames.
Polk County is located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 492,401. It is Iowa's most populous county, and home to over 15% of the state's residents. The county seat is Des Moines, which is also the capital city of Iowa. Polk County is included in the Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
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The Central Iowa Metro League is a high school athletic conference whose members are located in the suburban cities of Des Moines, Iowa.
High Trestle Trail is a rail trail running from Ankeny to Woodward in central Iowa. The recreation trail opened on April 30, 2011. It is a paved recreational trail that runs through the Polk, Story, Boone, and Dallas counties. The trail's name is derived from a former 1913 bridge that spanned the Des Moines River between the towns of Madrid and Woodward.
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The Little Hawkeye Conference is a high school athletic conference in central Iowa. With Oskaloosa dropping from 4A to 3A for the 2010–11 school year, the conference now has only two 4A schools. The majority of the membership is made up of only 3A schools, the second largest class of schools in Iowa. Although, Norwalk is on the verge of moving up to 4A.
The Raccoon River Conference is a nine team high school athletic league in central Iowa. Made up of mid-sized school districts located mostly west of Des Moines, all schools in the conference are currently 3A schools, the second largest class of schools in Iowa.
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The West Central Activities Conference is a high school athletic conference made up of 2A and 3A schools in Central Iowa.
Colfax–Mingo Community School District is a rural public school district headquartered in Colfax, Iowa.
The Bondurant–Farrar Community School District is a rural public school district headquartered in Bondurant, Iowa.
The Winterset Community School District, is a rural public school district headquartered in Winterset, Iowa.
The Woodward-Granger Community School District is a rural public school district headquartered in Granger, Iowa.