Iowa Alliance Conference

Last updated

Iowa Alliance Conference
Iowa Alliance Conference logo.png
Conference IHSAA / IGHSAU
Founded2022
Sports fielded
  • 21
No. of teams11
RegionCentral Iowa
Official website https://www.iowaallianceconference.org/
Locations
Iowa Alliance Conference
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110km
68miles
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Des Moines inset
Iowa Alliance Conference
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3km
1.9miles
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The Iowa Alliance Conference is a high school athletic conference whose members are mostly located in the metropolitan areas of central Iowa, with five of the schools being from the Des Moines Independent Community School District.

Contents

The conference includes 11 schools and is divided into 2 divisions: North and South. 10 of the 11 schools are formerly of the Central Iowa Metro League.

Member schools

InstitutionLocationAffiliation2024-2025 BEDS [1] MascotColorsFormer Conference
North Division
Ames Ames Public1,106Little Cyclones  CIML
East Waterloo Public834Trojans  MVC
Fort Dodge Fort Dodge Public807Dodgers  CIML
Marshalltown Marshalltown Public1,242Bobcats  CIML
Mason City Mason City Public809River Hawks  CIML
South Division
East Des Moines Public1,480Scarlets  CIML
Hoover Des Moines Public660Huskies  CIML
Lincoln Des Moines Public1,823Rail Splitters  CIML
North Des Moines Public1,078Polar Bears  CIML
Ottumwa Ottumwa Public1,101Bulldogs  CIML
Roosevelt Des Moines Public1,521Rough Riders  CIML
Co-ops and Shared Sports
SchoolSport SharedCo-opting Schools
AmesBoys TennisGilbert
DM EastGirls SoccerSaydel
DM HooverBoys WrestlingDM North
DM NorthBoys WrestlingDM Hoover
Fort DodgeBoys SoccerSoutheast Valley, St. Edmond Catholic, Manson-Northwest Webster
Fort DodgeBoys TennisSoutheast Valley
Fort DodgeGirls SoccerSoutheast Valley, St. Edmond Catholic, Manson-Northwest Webster
MarshalltownBoys TennisWest Marshall, East Marshall, Nevada, BCLUW
Mason CityBaseball, Boys SoccerNorth Iowa Christian School
Mason CityBoys TennisWest Fork
Mason CityGirls SoccerCentral Springs, Newman Catholic, North Iowa Christian School, Osage, Rockford
OttumwaBaseball, Boys XC, Football, Boys TennisOttumwa Christian
OttumwaBoys SoccerDavis County
Waterloo EastBoys TennisWaterloo West, Waterloo Christian
Waterloo EastGirls SoccerWaterloo West, Waterloo Christian, Dunkerton, Wapsie Valley

History

On March 1, 2021, ten high schools made the announcement to leave the Central Iowa Metro League (CIML) and form a new conference. These schools include Ames, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, Mason City, and Ottumwa, as well as the five public Des Moines schools (East, Hoover, Lincoln, North, and Roosevelt). The schools left the CIML in the spring of 2021 to create a new conference. The withdrawal is due to a low percentage in wins from the non-suburban schools in the conference. [2] [3] The new conference was announced on November 19, 2021, and included Waterloo East High School, joining from the Mississippi Valley Conference (Iowa). [4]

Due to the size of the schools and proximity, games will still be routinely scheduled with the members whom remained in the CIML, while allowing scheduling with other schools they did not have space in their schedule for.

Mason City dropped the mascot "Mohawks" in November 2021, citing an effort to rid the district of a symbol that exploited Native American tribal imagery. The Meskwaki and Akwesasne Nations had voiced objections to the mascot. [5] On March 22, 2022, it was revealed the new mascot for Mason City would be the "River Hawks". The name was chosen by vote over "Majors" and "Monarchs", which were narrowed down from over 300 submissions. [6]

On April 21, 2025, Ames announced its withdrawal from the Iowa Alliance Conference. [7] Ames will join the Little Hawkeye conference beginning with the 2026-27 school year. [8]

Sports

The conference offers the following sports:

All the member schools field a varsity football team, however it is not sponsored by any conference in Iowa. Football is played in a separate classification system, and competition is organized by districts.

Although the member schools field freshman — and in some cases, junior varsity — teams in many of the above-mentioned sports, conference championships are determined at sophomore and varsity levels only.

References

  1. ↑ "IHSAA: Classifications".
  2. ↑ Rohlfing, Noah. "Change on the horizon: Marshalltown, others reveal CIML departure plans". Times Republican. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Understanding the CIML". j-hawks.com. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  4. ↑ Mollenbeck, Andrew. "11 schools join new Iowa athletic conference". KCCI. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Mason City School Board approves new mascot: River Hawks". Times-Republican. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  6. ↑ Jirgens, Alex. "For Mason City, it's out with the Mohawks and in with the River Hawks". KIMT 3 News. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  7. ↑ Brocker, Celia. "Ames CSD is leaving the Iowa Alliance Conference. Find out where the school is headed:". Ames Tribune. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
  8. ↑ Becker, Dana. "Another school joins Little Hawkeye Conference for sports". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 7, 2025.
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