History
On April 9th 1959 at the Belle Plaine High School 8 area school voted on the creation of a conference that would last for 64 years. The Minnesota River Conference was born with Montgomery Superintendent Gerorge Feipel elected as the 1st President of the MRC. The schools were part of the now defunct District 13, the original schools included Le Sueur, Le Center, Arlignton, Montgomery, Belle Plaine, Jordan, Lakeville, & New Prague. The sports the conference would sponsor would be Football, Boys Basketball, Wrestling, Baseball, Track & Field, and Boys Golf.
But not every team was in agreement of how the conference would work, according to a Le Sueur News Herald in 1959 Arlington questioned the proposal calling for a double round robin in basketball. Eventually the schools agreed to not do double round robin until the 1960-61 school year. Waterville was also a school that had a desire to join the conference but ultimately did not. Rosemont and Norwood (who joined the conference a year later) also had a desire to join the conference and would have been let in had Le Center decided to not join.
Change in population, enrollment and the sports offered have changed so much in 6 ½ decades since the conference was founded. This was so long ago that when Lakeville joined they had a population of only 924 according to the 1960 U.S. Census and New Prague’s population was 2,533. Lakeville did not ever play football in the MRC and was only a part of the conference for the first year. Even though Lakeville high school was mentioned as a “member” in early newspaper accounts, their participation in conference sports seemed “sporadic” in that first year. There are some news articles about them competing in Basketball and Track & Field but also could not find a reason as to why they did not continue as a member. The conference presented regular season championship trophies to the leading teams in these sports.
One of the first changes to the MRC occurred in just the second year of the conference when Norwood joined the MRC to compete in athletics. Norwood was the first “non-District 13” member to belong to the MRC.
The conference membership was stable until 1978, when New Prague withdrew from the conference. New Prague was about to be voted out of the conference by a vote of the member schools, but it officially discontinued MRC play after the 1978-79 season, to be admitted into the Missota conference. It was deemed by a majority of the conference schools that New Prague’s superior size in enrollment, when compared to the other MRC schools, gave them a “competitive advantage”. Like many things in this world, things change and the MRC was no exception to this rule.
With New Prague out of the MRC, the conference looked to include another school to keep the membership at eight teams, which would provide for a more convenient and “balanced” scheduling process. The MRC then invited its first private school member, Mankato Loyola, to join the league. Loyola had been a previous member of the DeSmet conference. The MRC remained constant until the 2001-02 school year, when Loyola left the MRC to join the Gopher conference, which it felt better suited their enrollment. Loyola was replaced by the conference’s second private school, Mayer Lutheran, former member of the Tri-Metro conference. The following year saw another change, as long time member Le Center left to join the Gopher/Valley conference alignment. This necessitated the addition of another private school, Holy Family Catholic, which had opened its doors in 2001 and had been independent in activities. The next change occurred in 2010-11, which marked the last year of competition in the MRC for Holy Family. Like New Prague, approximately 30 years earlier, Holy Family was voted out of the MRC by a majority of the MRC schools. Their place was taken by Watertown-Mayer, which came from the Wright County Conference, once again “balancing” the league with eight members.
Changes also occurred within the MRC as certain member schools merged, formed cooperative sponsorships, and paired their sports programs as well as their districts. Mergers included Le Sueur with Henderson to form LeSueur-Henderson, Arlington-Green Isle merged with Gaylord to form the Sibley East Wolverines, and Montgomery-Lonsdale merged with LeCenter to form the Tri-City United Titans.
The changes intensified over the next decade of the MRC. Watertown-Mayer left the conference in 2015. That left the MRC with seven teams until Southwest Christian high school was admitted in 2018, as the conference sought to retain the more “desirable” number of eight schools. Longtime MRC member, Jordan, left the conference in 2020, seeking larger schools to compete against. And Southwest Christian’s membership did not last long as they left the conference in 2021. Lester Prairie was admitted in 2021, giving the MRC seven members.
The final months of the conference came as TCU decided to leave the MRC after the 2023-24 season to enter the Big South conference, seeking conference schedules for all of their sports. With TCU leaving, this would have left the MRC with only six teams. This led Belle Plaine, and then Norwood Young America to begin seeking other conferences. And so, Le Sueur-Henderson and Sibley East also began looking for alternatives. LSH and SE will become part of a new athletic conference with Maple River, St. Clair, Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial, and Minnesota Valley Lutheran. Belle Plaine will join TCU in the Big South conference, while Norwood Young America is set to enter the Wright County Conference. Mayer Lutheran will move to the Minnesota Classical Athletic Association and Lester Prairie will be placed by the MSHSL in the Tomahawk- Valley Conference. A new conference merging between two staples, the Tomahawk and the Valley.
There have also been cooperative sponsorships in numerous activities. Arlington-Green Isle paired with Henderson in football for two seasons. Jordan and Belle Plaine formed Scott West for their wrestling program. Montgomery and LeCenter had paired several activities in various seasons as well as several other schools who have paired/cooped programs over the years to offer activities.
And as with many school districts across Minnesota there have been some changes in school mascots. Norwood Young America dropped the use of the name Indians and became the Raiders. Arlington-Green Isle’s merger with Gaylord also laid to rest AGI’s use of Indians as a mascot. Eventually with the advent of Title IX Girls sports more options began to open in the conference with Tennis, Volleyball, Girls Basketball, Girls Golf and Softball and so did a team name. Jordan adopted the mascot Jaguar for their girls teams.
The schools in the conference have had a lot of success at the highest level with 32 State Champions. The conference has consistently had teams in each sports' respective state tournament on a regular basis.
Membership timeline
State Champions
The Minnesota River Conference has had success on the big stage when competing in State Tournaments. Member Schools have won numerous State Championships throughout the years. The following is a list of Schools along with their respected State Championships: [1] [2] [3]
- Jordan: 1980 Softball, 1983 Football, 2006 Volleyball, 2008 Volleyball
- Le Sueur: 1982 Girls Golf, 1983 Girls Golf, 1986 Boys Basketball, 1989 Boys Golf, 2021 Softball
- Belle Plaine: 1997 Girls Golf, 2015 Volleyball, 2015 Girls Track & Field
- Holy Family Catholic: 2004 Dance, 2006 Dance, 2007 Boys Basketball
- Mankato Loyola Catholic School: 1989 Baseball, 1994 Dance, 2001 Softball
- Montgomery-Lonsdale: 1979 Girls Cross Country, 1984 Boys Cross Country, 1999 Baseball
- Mayer Lutheran: 2003 Girls Track & Field, 1982, 2016, 2017 Volleyball
- New Prague: 1973 Football, 1974 Football
- Sibley East: 1994 Baseball, 1998 Baseball, 2022 Trap Shooting, 2023 Skeet
- Le Center: 1982 Football
National Placments
- Sibley East: 2022 3rd Place Trap Shooting
All-time school records by Minnesota River Conference football wins
This list goes from 1959 through the 2014 season and includes former members, previous cooperatives and present members and lists all-time conference records, overall conference winning percentages, total football conference championships and either if they were solo or co championships and state championships. In 2015, the Minnesota State High School League created football districts instead of conferences.
| # | Minnesota River Conference | Records | Pct. | MRC Championships | Solo | co-champions | State Champions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tri-City United Titans (2012–2014) | 16-5-0 | .762 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Watertown-Mayer Royals (2011–2014) | 21-7-0 | .750 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Le Sueur Giants (1959-1989) | 152-58-6 | .718 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| 4 | Holy Family Catholic School Fire (2003-2010) | 40-16-0 | .714 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Le Sueur-Henderson Giants (1990–2014 | 116-59-0 | .663 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | Le Center Wildcats (1959-2002) | 201-102-4 | .661 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
| 7 | New Prague Trojans (1959-1978) | 88-45-6 | .655 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 8 | Mankato Loyola Catholic School Crusaders (1979-2001) | 89-72-0 | .553 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | Belle Plaine Tigers (1959–2014) | 195-193-3 | .499 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 |
| 10 | Sibley East Wolverines (1990–2014) | 87-88-0 | .497 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | Mayer Lutheran Crusaders (2002–2014) | 44-47-0 | .484 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 12 | Sibley East Bengals (1986-1989) | 13-15-0 | .464 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Jordan Hubmen (1959–2014) | 158-230-2 | .405 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 14 | Montgomery-Lonsdale Redbirds (1959-2011) | 142-226-1 | .386 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | Arlington-Green Isle (1959-1985) | 61-122-4 | .337 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Norwood Young America Central Raiders (1960–2014) | 118-265-8 | .302 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
The following table lists the years when the different school members won the conference in terms of football.
| School | Years |
|---|---|
| Belle Plaine | 1970, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 2009, 2013 |
| Le Sueur | 1960, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1968, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1985, 1987 |
| Le Center | 1963, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1982, 1986, 1994, 1999, 2000 |
| Le Sueur-Henderson | 1992, 1995, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 |
| Montgomery-Lonsdale | 1965, 1966, 1972, 1976, 1981, 1983 |
| New Prague | 1959, 1960, 1961, 1973, 1974, 1975 |
| Jordan | 1980, 1983, 1984, 1991, 2006 |
| Mankato Loyola Catholic School | 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2000 |
| Norwood Young America Central | 2001, 2003, 2011 |
| Sibley East | 1991, 1997, 2012 |
| Watertown-Mayer | 2013, 2014 |
| Arlington-Green Isle | 1971 |
| Holy Family Catholic | 2010 |
| Mayer Lutheran | 2012 |
| Tri-City United | 2013 |
All-time school records by Minnesota River Conference baseball wins
This list goes from 1959 through the 2014 season and includes former members, previous cooperatives and present members and lists all-time conference records, overall conference winning percentages, total football conference championships and state championships.
| # | Minnesota River Conference | Records | Pct. | MRC Championships | State Champions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Norood Young America Raiders (1960–2024) | 378-336 | 52.94% | 7 | 0 |
| 2 | Jordan Hubmen (1959–2019) | 370-287 | 56.32% | 11 | 0 |
| 3 | Belle Plaine Tigers (1959-2024) | 344-359 | 48.93% | 10 | 0 |
| 4 | Montgomery- Lonsdale Redbirds (1959-2024) | 324-222 | 59.34% | 10 | 1 |
| 5 | Sibley East Wolverines (1990–2024 | 252-191 | 56.88% | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | Le Sueur Henderson Giants (1959-1990) | 226-221 | 50.56% | 3 | 0 |
| 7 | Mankato Loyola Catholic School Crusaders (1980-2002) | 193-113 | 63.07% | 7 | 1 |
| 8 | Arlington- Green Isle (1959-1989) | 137-119 | 53.52% | 6 | 0 |
| 9 | Le Sueur Giants (1991–2024) | 128-144 | 47.06% | 6 | 0 |
| 10 | Tri-City United Titans (2012-2024) | 122-132 | 48% | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | New Prague Trojans (1959-1979) | 81-44 | 64.80% | 4 | 0 |
| 12 | Mayer Lutheran Crusaders (2002-2024) | 81-206 | 28.22% | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | Holy Family Catholic Fire (2008–2011) | 73-37 | 66.36% | 3 | 1 |
| 14 | Le Center Wildcats (1959-2002) | 68-230 | 22.82% | 2 | 0 |
| 15 | Watertown- Mayer Royals (2011-2014) | 51-34 | 60% | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | Le Center/ Cleveland (1990–2014) | 34-75 | 31.19% | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Lester Prarie Bulldogs (2021-2024) | 20-42 | 32.26% | 0 | 0 |
The following table lists the years when the different school members won the conference in terms of baseball.
| School | Years |
|---|---|
| Jordan | 1976, 1980, 1984, 1995, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2019 |
| Montgomery- Lonsdale | 1977, 1978, 1985, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2009 |
| Belle Plaine | 1970, 1979, 1983, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2024 |
| Sibley East | 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2003 |
| Mankato Loyola | 1981, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1995, 1996 |
| Norwood Young America Central | 1964, 1965, 1967, 1982, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| Le Sueur | 1961, 1962, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1983 |
| Arlington- Green Isle | 1971, 1972, 1975, 1988, 1989, 1990 |
| New Prague | 1960, 1967, 1973, 1974 |
| Sibley East | 1991, 1997, 2012 |
| Le Sueur- Henderson | 2002, 2012, 2024 |
| Holy Family Catholic | 2008, 2010, 2011 |
| Le Center | 1963, 1969 |
| Southwest Christan | 2021 |
Former Members
- New Prague Trojans: 1959–1979
- Mankato-Loyola Catholic School Crusaders: 1979-2002
- Le Center Wildcats: 1959-2003
- Holy Family Catholic Fire: 2003-2011
- Watertown-Mayer Royals: 2011-2015
