North Central Conference (Indiana)

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The North Central Athletic Conference in Indiana Indiana (NCAC).png
The North Central Athletic Conference in Indiana

The North Central Conference is an Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA)-sanctioned athletic conference consisting of ten large high schools in Cass, Delaware, Grant, Howard, Madison, Marion, Tippecanoe, and Wayne Counties across Central and North Central Indiana. Most of these schools are in 35,000+ population towns like Anderson, Marion, Kokomo, Lafayette, Muncie, and Richmond. Several of the nation's largest gymnasiums belong to members of this conference. [1] [2]

Contents

History

The Conference was formed on March 23, 1926, by 10 schools in the Central third of Indiana. Charter members were Anderson, Arsenal Tech of Indianapolis, Frankfort, Kokomo, Lebanon, Logansport, Muncie Central, New Castle, Richmond, and Rochester. With a couple of minor changes in the first decade (Lafayette Jeff replacing Rochester in 1930, and Marion replacing Lebanon in 1933), the conference membership remained unchanged, while the conference added more sports to its umbrella.

This changed in 1960, as Arsenal Tech was forced to join the IPS Conference, and Frankfort left to co-found the Sagamore Conference in 1967. The conference would continue on with the same eight members for the next 36 years while changes were happening in the communities outside the schools. Anderson, Kokomo, and Muncie would open up second and third city high schools, while consolidations in the rural areas outside of Lafayette would give Jeff two similar-sized local rivals. However, the economic crisis and industrial decline in the late 1970s and early 1980s hit many of these cities hard, as populations dwindled without anything replacing the lost manufacturing jobs. Anderson, Kokomo, and Muncie are now down to one high school each.

In the face of these population shifts, Lafayette Jeff joined the Hoosier Crossroads Conference in 2003, joining local rivals Harrison and McCutcheon, as well as the growing suburban schools outside of Indianapolis. Huntington North was brought in from the Olympic Conference as a replacement, where it had previously had conference rivals located in Muncie and Anderson.

New Castle elected to leave the NCC at the beginning of the 2013–2014 school year. They joined the Hoosier Heritage Conference in 2014. [3] Huntington North left the NCC at the conclusion of the 2014–15 season to become a member of the Northeast Hoosier Conference. Lafayette Jeff rejoined the conference in 2014, bringing along fellow county schools Harrison and McCutcheon. Indianapolis Arsenal Tech rejoined the NCC as of April 1, 2015, but due to travel concerns, it will exit the conference at the end of the 2022–23 school year.

Marking another round of realignment, in early 2023 the conference announced restructuring and voted out West Lafayette Harrison and Lafayette McCutcheon following the 2023–24 school year. [4] In addition, Logansport announced in May 2023 the Berries would leave the North Central Conference and join the Hoosier Athletic Conference and replace Lewis Cass following the 2023–2024 school year. [5]

Membership

SchoolLocationMascotColorsCountyEnrollment
24–25		 IHSAA Class /
Football		Year joinedPrevious conference
Anderson Anderson Indians   48
Madison 		1,7224A/5A1926Independent
Kokomo Kokomo Wildkats   34
Howard 		1,5464A/5A1926 Howard County
Lafayette
Jefferson 1		 Lafayette Bronchos   79
Tippecanoe 		2,0344A/5A1931
2014		Independent
Hoosier Crossroads
Marion Marion Giants   27
Grant 		1,0453A/4A1933 Grant County
Muncie
Central 2		 Muncie Bearcats   18
Delaware 		1,3324A/4A1926Independent
Richmond 3 Richmond Red Devils   89
Wayne 		1,3204A/4A1926Independent
  1. Lafayette Jeff played in the HCC 2003–14.
  2. Known as Muncie until 1963.
  3. Known as Morton until 1948.

Former members

SchoolLocationMascotColorsCountyEnrollment IHSAA Class /Football/SoccerYear joinedPrevious conferenceYear leftConference joined
Frankfort Frankfort Hot Dogs    12
Clinton 		8373A/3A/2A1926Independent1967 Sagamore
Huntington
North 		Huntington Vikings   35
Huntington 		1,7504A/5A/2A2003 Olympic 2015 Northeast Eight
Lebanon Lebanon Tigers   06
Boone 		1,0493A/4A/2A1926Independent1933Independent
New Castle
Chrysler 		New Castle Trojans   33
Henry 		1,1084A/4A/2A1926Independent2013 Hoosier Heritage
Rochester Rochester Zebras    25
Fulton 		5643A/3A/A1926Independent1931 Central Indiana
Arsenal Tech Indianapolis Titans   49
Marion 		2,1224A/6A/3A1926
2015		Independent
IPS 		2023Independent
Harrison (West Lafayette) West Lafayette Raiders   79 Tippecanoe 2,0794A/5A2014 Hoosier Crossroads 2024Independent
McCutcheon Lafayette Mavericks   79
Tippecanoe 		1,8074A/5A2014 Hoosier Crossroads 2024Independent
Logansport Logansport Berries   09
Cass 		1,2524A/4A1926 Cass County 2024 Hoosier

Membership timeline

McCutcheon High SchoolWilliam Henry Harrison High School (Tippecano, Indiana)Northeast Eight ConferenceHuntington North High SchoolMarion High School (Indiana)HCCJefferson High School (Indiana)Richmond High School (Richmond, Indiana)Muncie Central high SchoolHoosier Athletic ConferenceLogansport High SchoolKokomo High SchoolAnderson High School (Indiana)Hoosier Heritage ConferenceNew Castle High School (Indiana)Sagamore Conference (IHSAA)Frankfort High SchoolIndianapolis Public School ConferenceArsenal Technical High SchoolSagamore Conference (IHSAA)Western Indiana ConferenceLebanon Senior High SchoolThree Rivers Conference (Indiana)Northern Lakes Conference (Indiana)Central Indiana Athletic ConferenceRochester Community High SchoolNorth Central Conference (Indiana)

Full membersOther conference

Divisions

Starting with the 2014 season, the NCC began divisional competition. This only applies in boys and girls soccer, boys and girls tennis, boys baseball, and girls softball.

EastWest
AndersonHarrison
Arsenal TechKokomo
MarionLafayette Jeff
Muncie CentralLogansport
RichmondMcCutcheon

Conference championships

Football

#TeamSeasons
25Richmond1951, 1952, 1956, 1958*, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1970*, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977*, 1978,
1985, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994*, 1999, 2000*, 2001, 2012, 2013
20Kokomo1932*, 1939*, 1955, 1957*, 1960*, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1987*, 1993, 1994*, 1996, 2007, 2008, 2009,
2010, 2011,2015, 2016, state runner up 2017
17Lafayette Jeff1934*, 1936, 1937, 1943*, 1946, 1947, 1948*, 1950, 1966, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1994*, 1998,
2000*, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
14Muncie Central1932*, 1933, 1934*, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943*, 1944, 1945, 1953, 1954*, 2002, 2003, 2004
10Marion1960*, 1968, 1969, 1970*, 1986, 1987*, 1988, 1990, 1997, 2006*
7Logansport1958*, 1959, 1960*, 1977*, 1995, 2005, 2006*
5Arsenal Tech1939*, 1949, 1954*, 1957*, 1960*
5New Castle1935, 1938, 1948*, 1976, 1984
2McCutcheon2014, 2016
1Anderson1983
3Harrison (WL)2016, 2021, 2022
1Huntington North2006*
0Frankfort
0Lebanon
0Rochester

Boys basketball

#TeamSeasons
21Marion1940, 1966, 1968,1969, 1975, 1977*, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990*, 1991, 1998*,
1999, 2000*, 2007*, 2008*, 2009
20Muncie Central1927, 1928, 1929, 1938*, 1950, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1970*, 1978, 1994*, 2000*,
2004, 2005, 2007*, 2008*, 2012
19Kokomo1939, 1944, 1945, 1951, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1971*, 1976*, 1990*, 1994*, 1996, 2003*, 2010*,
2011, 2013, 2018, 2023
17Anderson1941, 1943*, 1949, 1965, 1973, 1974, 1976*, 1982, 1984, 1992, 1993, 1997*, 1998*, 2001*, 2002*,
2006, 2022
12Lafayette Jeff1935, 1942, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1964, 1967, 1968, 2001*, 2003*, 2019, 2020
10New Castle1943*, 1972, 1979, 1990*, 1995, 1997*, 2001*, 2003*, 2007*, 2010*
9Richmond1943, 1970*, 1971*, 1976*, 1977*, 1988, 2002*, 2014, 2015
5Frankfort1930, 1931, 1936, 1937, 1938*
4Logansport1933, 1934, 1977*, 2017
2Arsenal Tech1932, 1957
2McCutcheon2016, 2018
0Harrison (WL)
0Huntington North
0Lebanon
0Rochester

Girls basketball

#TeamSeasons
14Kokomo1991, 1992, 1993, 1994*, 1998, 1999, 2000*, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2008*, 2010
9Anderson1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1994*, 2005, 2008*, 2021
7Lafayette Jeff1988, 1989, 1995*, 1996, 2017, 2018, 2019
5Logansport1997, 2008*, 2012, 2013, 2014
5New Castle1979, 1995*, 2007, 2009, 2011
4Harrison (WL)2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
4Marion1980, 1981, 2016, 2019
4Richmond1985, 1990, 2000*, 2015
0Arsenal Tech
0Huntington North
0McCutcheon
0Muncie Central

Boys cross country

#TeamSeasons
19Anderson1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988
16Richmond1960, 1961, 1970, 1971, 2973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999
7Huntington North2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013
7Muncie Central1956, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1989, 2011
6Marion1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2004
6Lafayette Jeff1964, 1984, 1990, 2001, 2014, 2015, 2020
5Kokomo1952, 1955, 1985, 2000, 2005
3Harrison (WL)2018, 2019, 2022
3Logansport1967, 1969, 1972
2McCutcheon2016, 2017
0Arsenal Tech
0Franfort
0Huntington North
0Lebanon
0New Castle
0Rochester

State championships

Anderson (26)

Arsenal Tech (10)

Harrison (4)

Huntington North (2)

Kokomo (19)

Lafayette Jefferson Bronchos (14)

Logansport (5)

Marion (11)

McCutcheon (4)

Muncie Central (17)

Richmond (8)

Largest gymnasiums in nation in NCC

Neighboring conferences

See also

Resources

  1. ↑ USA Today Article on High School Gyms
  2. ↑ Johnson, Kirk (March 19, 1998). "HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL; 'Hoosiers' No More, but Heroes All the Same". The New York Times.
  3. ↑ "Leo, Huntington North join NHC schools for new conference - News-Sentinel.com". www.news-sentinel.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013.
  4. ↑ "North Central Conference Announces Restructuring, Harrison And McCutcheon Voted Out". Stateline Sports Network. April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Conference shakeup continues with Logansport added to Hoosier Conference". Journal and Courier. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
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