Conference History
- Thread starter Alum-Ni
- Start date
Working on conferences this weekend. Fleshed out the Capitol Conference history. Can't quite find Conestoga's leave year. Thought someone might know.
• Begins in 1968 with 9 schools. (Spring note about Art Clinic says 9 of 10 schools attended) Members: Wahoo, Raymond Central, Gretna, Elkhorn, Ashland, Centennial, Platteview, Norris, Arlington.
By fall of 1970, Waverly and Valley have joined league.
Valley seems to leave league after spring of 1975
Centennial not at 1980 boys track meet.
During the football playoffs era, sometimes a school would not participate in the conference for that sport. For example, a Fremont Trib article saying Arlington was ‘returning’ to the Capitol probably just means they were returning to football competition.
Fall 1980 conference re-organized. Still includes Arlington, Raymond Central, Ashland and Wahoo. Valley rejoins. Syracuse and David City join for a seven school league.
By 1984 Bennington has replaced David City.
In 1988 Fort Calhoun joins the conference.
In 1990 Conestoga joins the conference.
In 2005 Valley consolidates with Waterloo and becomes Douglas County West (they take Valley’s place in conference).
Somewhere after spring 2008 and before fall 2012, Conestoga leaves the conference.
In 2012 Platteview replaces Bennington. The two schools switch conferences.
• Begins in 1968 with 9 schools. (Spring note about Art Clinic says 9 of 10 schools attended) Members: Wahoo, Raymond Central, Gretna, Elkhorn, Ashland, Centennial, Platteview, Norris, Arlington.
By fall of 1970, Waverly and Valley have joined league.
Valley seems to leave league after spring of 1975
Centennial not at 1980 boys track meet.
During the football playoffs era, sometimes a school would not participate in the conference for that sport. For example, a Fremont Trib article saying Arlington was ‘returning’ to the Capitol probably just means they were returning to football competition.
Fall 1980 conference re-organized. Still includes Arlington, Raymond Central, Ashland and Wahoo. Valley rejoins. Syracuse and David City join for a seven school league.
By 1984 Bennington has replaced David City.
In 1988 Fort Calhoun joins the conference.
In 1990 Conestoga joins the conference.
In 2005 Valley consolidates with Waterloo and becomes Douglas County West (they take Valley’s place in conference).
Somewhere after spring 2008 and before fall 2012, Conestoga leaves the conference.
In 2012 Platteview replaces Bennington. The two schools switch conferences.
Having the same problem with the SWC on when Ainsworth and Valentine joined. North Platte and Cambridge exact leave dates also alluding me so far.
Southwestern Conference
Conference formed in 1928. Original 8 members: Cambridge, Cozad, Curtis, Gothenburg, Holdrege, Lexington, McCook, and North Platte.
Kearney has joined by 1938
North Platte left conference sometime between 1947 and 1956.
Cambridge left conference sometime between 1943 and 1956.
McCook and Kearney leave after 1958 spring.
Broken Bow and Minden replace them by 1959.
Curtis leaves the conference after spring 1963 after 36 years in the conference.
(Pierce played in 1963 basketball tournament as a guest. York seems to have been a guest in 1964. Played over Christmas break both years.)
Ogallala joins in 1964.
September 1993- other six schools begin to re-organize the conference excluding Lexington which was nearly twice as large as next nearest-school Ogallala. Made official in May 1994.
Ainsworth and Valentine join the conference at some point. Maybe right after Lexington is expelled.
McCook rejoins conference in 2016-2017. Will remain in GNAC as well.
Southwestern Conference
Conference formed in 1928. Original 8 members: Cambridge, Cozad, Curtis, Gothenburg, Holdrege, Lexington, McCook, and North Platte.
Kearney has joined by 1938
North Platte left conference sometime between 1947 and 1956.
Cambridge left conference sometime between 1943 and 1956.
McCook and Kearney leave after 1958 spring.
Broken Bow and Minden replace them by 1959.
Curtis leaves the conference after spring 1963 after 36 years in the conference.
(Pierce played in 1963 basketball tournament as a guest. York seems to have been a guest in 1964. Played over Christmas break both years.)
Ogallala joins in 1964.
September 1993- other six schools begin to re-organize the conference excluding Lexington which was nearly twice as large as next nearest-school Ogallala. Made official in May 1994.
Ainsworth and Valentine join the conference at some point. Maybe right after Lexington is expelled.
McCook rejoins conference in 2016-2017. Will remain in GNAC as well.
Ainsworth and Valentine in the SWC makes zero sense. Not sure what conference they would go to though.
Ainsworth to the NVC? They’ll have to drive no matter what. Ainsworth to me fits more the mold of West Holt, Boyd County, North Central instead of Cozad, Gothenburg, Ogallala.
I agree with you that Ainsworth fits better with the NVC teams. Not sure Neligh and some of the other eastern NVC teams would want to add Ainsworth though.
Ainsworth and Valentine in the SWC never made any sense at all to me.
Ainsworth and Valentine in the SWC never made any sense at all to me.
LVC= Logan Valley Conference? I have some info on that one. Is that what you are looking for?
The LVC he’s referring to is the Loup Valley Conference. Anselmo-Merna, Callaway, Arnold, Ansley etc.
Do mean the old sandhills conference schools like Hyannis, Arthur, Cody-Kilgore, etc. If I'm not mistaken, Mullen and Sandhills/Thedford were a member of both the Sandhills and LVC when the two merged to form the MNAC
Here's what I have on Loup Valley in the 30s and 40s:
1930- Sargent is football champ.
1931- Sargent is football champ.
1938 members: Arcadia, Burwell, Comstock, Dannebrog, Loup City, North Loup, Ord, Sargent, Scotia, St. Paul, Taylor.
1939 members: Arcadia, Burwell, Comstock, Loup City, North Loup, Ord, Sargent, Scotia, St. Paul, Taylor
1941: Burwell is football champ
1942: Burwell is football champ (I think, if they beat Sargent on Thanksgiving)
1942 members: Burwell, Arcadia, Taylor, Scotia, Comstock, North Loup, Sargent
1944: Arcadia is football champ
1945: Burwell and Sargent are co-champs in football
For some reason I don't have any Loup Valley notes after 1945.
1930- Sargent is football champ.
1931- Sargent is football champ.
1938 members: Arcadia, Burwell, Comstock, Dannebrog, Loup City, North Loup, Ord, Sargent, Scotia, St. Paul, Taylor.
1939 members: Arcadia, Burwell, Comstock, Loup City, North Loup, Ord, Sargent, Scotia, St. Paul, Taylor
1941: Burwell is football champ
1942: Burwell is football champ (I think, if they beat Sargent on Thanksgiving)
1942 members: Burwell, Arcadia, Taylor, Scotia, Comstock, North Loup, Sargent
1944: Arcadia is football champ
1945: Burwell and Sargent are co-champs in football
For some reason I don't have any Loup Valley notes after 1945.
I love a message board that I can go to and get 1942 football score updates! Thanks.
Fortunately the Ord library has digitized copies of the Ord newspaper on their website. I had a hunch that score might be in there.
Really? Cool! I'll have to keep that in mind.
Found a Loup Valley note from 1968-69 when the newspaper called it LVSC (which I assume is Loup Valley Sports Conference).
I had a three-team note: Arcadia, Litchfield and North Loup. At least those three were involved then, though I had a question mark by North Loup for some reason.
Found another note from 1968-1969. Callaway in the conference. This note also mentions Litchfield. Then it lists Loup City C.C. Catholic school in Loup City? Does anyone have details on this? Maybe this is part of the North Loup question mark above?
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That 1938 list is the oldest complete list I have. Obviously, the conference was about ten years old already then. Will keep looking.
Answered my own question about Loup City Central Catholic. Wore red and gold and called Falcons. Opened in 1963. Members of the Loup Valley in at least the late 60s. Don't have a closed date.
Answered my own question about Loup City Central Catholic. Wore red and gold and called Falcons. Opened in 1963. Members of the Loup Valley in at least the late 60s. Don't have a closed date.
An article from September of 1938 stated that the Loup Valley basketball tourney would be in Ord and the track meet would be in Burwell. Here is the link to the library page. Look under Ord
Quiz Archives. http://www.ordlibrary.org/wp/
Quiz Archives. http://www.ordlibrary.org/wp/
Following a lead from the Mascots thread, I found dates for the NAC (Northern Activities Conference).
Fall 1986 to Spring 1995
South Sioux City, Hartington Cedar Catholic, Wayne, O'Neill.
Seems like not all four always competed in football.
Fall 1986 to Spring 1995
South Sioux City, Hartington Cedar Catholic, Wayne, O'Neill.
Seems like not all four always competed in football.
My earliest note is fall 1967:
Columbus Scotus
David City Aquinas
Fremont Bergan
Omaha Cathedral
Omaha Holy Name
Omaha St Joseph
Wahoo Neumann
West Point Central Catholic
I'll look around a bit.
I just realized, "Centennial". 1967 would make sense for the starting point. Nebraska 100 years old.
Columbus Scotus
David City Aquinas
Fremont Bergan
Omaha Cathedral
Omaha Holy Name
Omaha St Joseph
Wahoo Neumann
West Point Central Catholic
I'll look around a bit.
I just realized, "Centennial". 1967 would make sense for the starting point. Nebraska 100 years old.
Found 1966 track meet that I think is first conference competition. Order of finish:
Columbus Scotus
Wahoo Neumann
Fremont Bergan
Omaha Holy Name
Omaha Cathedral
David City Aquinas
Omaha St. Joseph
West Point Central Catholic
Found several notes that 1966 was first football season of conference.
In fall of 1986 I have only these 6 teams, but not sure I have the complete conference from then:
Columbus Scotus
Council Bluffs St. Alberts
Fremont Bergan
Omaha Cathedral
Omaha Flanagan
Wahoo Neumann
Columbus Scotus
Wahoo Neumann
Fremont Bergan
Omaha Holy Name
Omaha Cathedral
David City Aquinas
Omaha St. Joseph
West Point Central Catholic
Found several notes that 1966 was first football season of conference.
In fall of 1986 I have only these 6 teams, but not sure I have the complete conference from then:
Columbus Scotus
Council Bluffs St. Alberts
Fremont Bergan
Omaha Cathedral
Omaha Flanagan
Wahoo Neumann
Agree, that is correct on the year. Scotus, Aquinas, Bergan and Neumann the remaining charter members.
I have first note of Southern Frontier as 1958 track meet. That was the height of Red Willow's athletic prowess and they were first champs. I have original teams as Red Willow, Hayes Center, Holbrook, Bartley, Stratton, Palisade, Culbertson and Indianola.
By 1965, i have a note about East and West Divisions. Culbertson won the West and Beaver Valley won the East.
In 1968 I have Bartley and Trenton in the playoff championship game.
In 1971 I have these teams in the league:
Bartley
Beaver Valley
Eustis
Haigler
Holbrook
Maywood
Stamford
Wheatland
Wilsonville
1986 is the last note I have with these teams:
Beaver City
Culbertson
Farnam
Haigler
Hayes Center
Holbrook
Orleans
Palisade
Stratton
Trenton
Wauneta
Wheatland
By 1965, i have a note about East and West Divisions. Culbertson won the West and Beaver Valley won the East.
In 1968 I have Bartley and Trenton in the playoff championship game.
In 1971 I have these teams in the league:
Bartley
Beaver Valley
Eustis
Haigler
Holbrook
Maywood
Stamford
Wheatland
Wilsonville
1986 is the last note I have with these teams:
Beaver City
Culbertson
Farnam
Haigler
Hayes Center
Holbrook
Orleans
Palisade
Stratton
Trenton
Wauneta
Wheatland
This thread is amazing.
Being an Ord Alum, reading about that Loup Valley Conference was pretty awesome.
Talking to some former classmates about it, we thought it would have been crazy had that central portion around Ord turned into a Scottsbluff/Gering type area, maybe that conference would have been able to hang on. A lot of those places are very desolate now. Have a friend that still lives and farms around Comstock.
Being an Ord Alum, reading about that Loup Valley Conference was pretty awesome.
Talking to some former classmates about it, we thought it would have been crazy had that central portion around Ord turned into a Scottsbluff/Gering type area, maybe that conference would have been able to hang on. A lot of those places are very desolate now. Have a friend that still lives and farms around Comstock.
Not sure this will work, but I've been trying to graphically represent the histories of the A-B conferences (and a couple of others that I have good histories of). Look here.
Can anyone help me with Mid-State conference history? How does it get from 1979 to now? I assume Battle Creek and Norfolk Catholic have been in the whole way?
Mid-State 1979:
Howells
Dodge
Clarkson
Norfolk Catholic
Stanton
Leigh
Newman Grove
Battle Creek
Elkhorn Valley
Elgin Pope John
Humphrey St. Francis
Mid-State today:
Battle Creek
Wayne
Boone Central/Newman Grove
Guardian Angels Central Catholic
Hartington Cedar Catholic
Pierce
Norfolk Catholic
O'Neill
Crofton
Mid-State 1979:
Howells
Dodge
Clarkson
Norfolk Catholic
Stanton
Leigh
Newman Grove
Battle Creek
Elkhorn Valley
Elgin Pope John
Humphrey St. Francis
Mid-State today:
Battle Creek
Wayne
Boone Central/Newman Grove
Guardian Angels Central Catholic
Hartington Cedar Catholic
Pierce
Norfolk Catholic
O'Neill
Crofton
-O’Neill left whatever they were in (if they were in a conference?) for the Mid-State Around 2010-2011?
-Stanton left West Husker in 1977 to join the the Mid-State. They left the Mid-State in 2002-2003 for the East Husker.
-Wayne was In the West Husker until 1982, the conference dissolved. They tried to join the East Husker but didn’t get in. They formed a new conference with Hartington CC and other called the Northeast Conference. That held together until 1994ish. I think they joined the Mid-State After that.
1995-96
Because of shrinking enrollments of most NENAC members, charter member Pierce (who was stable and/or growing) leaves for the Mid-State Conference and trades places with Elkhorn Valley who leaves the Mid-State to take Pierce's place in the NENAC.
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Looks like 86-87 was a big change-over year. I think these teams left the Mid-State:
Humphrey St. Francis
Clarkson
Leigh
Howells
Dodge
Newman Grove
Elgin Pope John
87-88: West Point CC joins. Maybe some others?
Humphrey St. Francis
Clarkson
Leigh
Howells
Dodge
Newman Grove
Elgin Pope John
87-88: West Point CC joins. Maybe some others?
Could the Cornhusker conference be the most successful conference in Nebraska that didn’t longer than 25 years?