It's Official: Waterloo East Joining New Athletic Conference

A new high school athletic conference will have at least 11 teams when the yet unnamed league launches in the 2022-23 academic year.

The Waterloo Board of Education Monday night unanimously approved a resolution, granting Waterloo East's request to leave the Mississippi Valley Conference. The new league East is joining is a better fit for the Trojans, according to the school's Athletic Director Tim Moses.

Ames, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, Mason City, Ottumwa and the five Des Moines public schools – East, Hoover, Lincoln, North and Roosevelt – all recently announced plans to leave the Central Iowa Metro League and form the new conference. Moses says sports teams at all 11 schools have struggled for several years to be competitive against larger, growing schools in their current conferences.

Preliminary plans indicate the new conference would be split into two divisions, with Ottumwa and the five Des Moines schools competing in the South Division. Waterloo East would be in the North Division along with other former rivals from the old Big Eight Conference: Ames, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown and Mason City.

Waterloo East has been a member of the MVC since 1992. Moses says the conference switch is a positive move for the Trojans and he's excited for the student-athletes.

East's move to the new league will not affect Waterloo West. The Wahawks will continue to compete in the Mississippi Valley Conference, along with Cedar Falls and other teams from Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Epworth and Iowa City.

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