| Conference | IHSAA / IGHSAU |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1941? |
| Sports fielded |
|
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Region | Central Iowa |
| Official website | www |
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.
| Institution | Location | Mascot | Colors | Affiliation | 2024-2025 BEDS [1] | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADM | Adel | Tigers | Public | 523 | 1956–57 | |
| Ballard | Huxley | Bombers | Public | 432 | 1988–89 | |
| Bondurant–Farrar | Bondurant | Bluejays | Public | 610 | 2011–12 | |
| Boone | Boone | Toreadors | Public | 549 | 2009–10 | |
| Carlisle | Carlisle | Wildcats | Public | 561 | 1996–97 | |
| Carroll | Carroll | Tigers | Public | 395 | 1994–95 | |
| Gilbert | Gilbert | Tigers | Public | 390 | 2020–21 | |
| North Polk | Alleman | Comets | Public | 487 | 2020–21 | |
| Winterset | Winterset | Huskies | Public | 411 | 1998–99 | |
• * Indicates that school is no longer operating
| Institution | Location | Mascot | Colors | Left for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas Center * | Dallas Center | Mustangs | Consolidated with Grimes to form Dallas Center-Grimes | |
| Dallas Center-Grimes | Grimes | Mustangs | Little Hawkeye Conference | |
| Dexfield* | Redfield | Blue Devils | consolidated with Stuart-Menlo to form West Central Valley | |
| Earlham | Earlham | Cardinals | Little Eight Conference | |
| Interstate 35 | Truro | Roadrunners | Pride of Iowa Conference | |
| Greene County | Jefferson | Rams | Heart of Iowa Conference | |
| Madrid | Madrid | Tigers | Central Valley Conference | |
| Nevada | Nevada | Cubs | Heart of Iowa Conference | |
| Norwalk | Norwalk | Warriors | Little Hawkeye Conference | |
| North Polk County | Alleman | Comets | Heart of Iowa Conference | |
| Ogden | Ogden | Bulldogs | Heart of Iowa Conference | |
| Panora* | Panora | Bluejays | conoslidates with Linden to form Panora-Linden | |
| Panora-Linden* | Panora | Hawks | Little Eight Conference | |
| Perry | Perry | Bluejays | Heart of Iowa Conference | |
| PCM | Monroe | Mustangs | South Central Conference | |
| Redfield* | Redfield | Bulldogs | consolidated with Dexter to form Dexfield | |
| Stuart* | Stuart | Dragons | Little Eight Conference | |
| Saydel | Des Moines | Eagles | Heart of Iowa Conference | |
| Waukee | Waukee | Warriors | Central Iowa Metro League | |
| West Central Valley | Stuart | Wildcats | West Central Activities Conference | |
| Woodward* | Woodward | Hawks | consolidated with Granger to form Woodward-Granger | |
| Woodward-Granger | Woodward | Hawks | Heart of Iowa Conference | |
 | This section needs additional citations for verification .(July 2020) |
The Raccoon River Conference was once[ when? ] a small school conference. The conference was made up of Bondurant–Farrar, Norwalk, Madrid, Woodward-Granger, Interstate 35 in Truro, Waukee, Dallas Center-Grimes, and Adel–De Soto at it outset. While the outer regions of the Des Moines metro began to experience growth, Bondurant–Farrar and Ogden decided to leave for the smaller Heart of Iowa Conference, while I-35 joined the Pride of Iowa Conference. Woodward-Granger soon followed their former members to the HOI conference. This flurry of change saw the league reform itself. By 1998, there were 14 members in the conference, competing in two divisions. The league now consisted of A-D-M, Ballard, Carlisle, Carroll, Dallas Center-Grimes, Jefferson–Scranton, Nevada, North Polk, Perry, Prairie City-Monroe, Saydel, Waukee, West Central Valley, and Winterset. Over the next two years, North Polk, Prairie City-Monroe, Waukee, and W.C. Valley all joined different conferences, leaving the league with ten teams. In 2007, Jefferson–Scranton left for the Heart of Iowa Conference. Nevada followed them there in 2009, the same year Boone joined the league.
Bondurant–Farrar joined the Raccoon River Conference in the 2011–12 school year. Dallas Center-Grimes, one of the league's founding members, left for the Little Hawkeye Conference in 2013.
Gilbert and North Polk both joined for the 2020–21 school year. They left their former conference, the Heart of Iowa Conference.
Des Moines is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County with parts extending into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857. It is located on, and named after, the Des Moines River, which likely was adapted from the early French name, Rivière des Moines, meaning "River of the Monks". The city's population was 214,133 as of the 2020 census. The six-county metropolitan area is ranked 81st in terms of population in the United States, with 709,466 residents according to the 2020 census by the United States Census Bureau, and is the largest metropolitan area fully located within the state.
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.
Dallas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 99,678, making it the seventh-most populous county in Iowa. Between 2010 and 2020, it was the fastest growing county in Iowa and one of the fastest growing in the country. Its county seat is Adel, and its largest city is Waukee. The county was named for George M. Dallas, Vice President of the United States under James K. Polk, the namesake of neighboring Polk County.
Dallas Center is a city in Dallas County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,901 during the 2020 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Grimes is a city in Polk and Dallas counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 15,392 at the time of the 2020 Census. Grimes is part of the Des Moines-West Des Moines metropolitan area.
Bondurant is a city in Polk County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,365 in the 2020 census, an increase of 90.8% from the 3,860 population in 2010. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines metropolitan statistical area.
The Raccoon River is a 30.8-mile-long (49.6 km) tributary of the Des Moines River in central Iowa in the United States. As measured using the longest of its three forks, its length increases to 226 miles (364 km). Via the Des Moines River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The river runs through an intensely cultivated area of croplands and livestock farming, receiving Tile drainage from slow-draining rich natural bottomland.
The Des Moines metropolitan area, officially known as the Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is located at the confluence of the Des Moines River and the Raccoon River. Des Moines serves as the capital of the U.S. state of Iowa. The metro area consists of six counties in central Iowa: Polk, Dallas, Warren, Madison, Guthrie, and Jasper. The Des Moines–Ames–West Des Moines Combined Statistical Area (CSA) encompasses the separate metropolitan area of Ames, and the separate micropolitan areas of Pella, Boone and Oskaloosa. The Des Moines area is a fast-growing metro area.
Raccoon River Valley Trail (RRVT) is a rail trail running 56 miles (90 km) from Waukee, Iowa, to Jefferson, Iowa. In 2013, an additional 33.1-mile (53.3 km) north loop was completed on the RRVT, making the RRVT nearly 90 miles (140 km) of paved trails and having a paved interior loop of more than 72 miles (116 km). The 39-mile (63 km) portion of the trail from Waukee to Herndon is part of the American Discovery Trail, which runs between Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware and Point Reyes near the Bay Area of California. In Iowa, the American Discovery Trail will be concurrent with U.S. Bicycle Route 50.
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.
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 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.
The West Central Activities Conference is a high school athletic conference made up of 2A and 3A schools in Central Iowa.
Clive Greenbelt Trail is an 11.3 miles (18.2 km) urban recreational trail in Clive, Iowa and forms part of the Central Iowa Trails network. This very busy recreational trail runs through Polk and Dallas Counties in Iowa. It is a curvy, paved asphalt and concrete trail.
The Bondurant–Farrar Community School District is a rural public school district headquartered in Bondurant, Iowa.