The Siouxland Conference is a ten team high school athletic conference in the northwest corner of

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, consisting of schools ranging from the smallest class (1A) to the third largest class (3A), and known for its prominence in small school

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

Members

Incoming Member

Common cooperatives

History

The Siouxland Conference was founded in 1952 and began play in the 1953–54 school year. Originally the league was made up of: Inwood, George and Rock Rapids from Lyon County; Orange City, and

Hawarden Hawarden (; cy, Penarlâg) is a village, community and electoral ward in Flintshire, Wales. It is part of the Deeside conurbation on the Wales-England border and is home to Hawarden Castle. In the 2011 census the ward of the same name ha ...

from Sioux County; and

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city pro ...

and Le Mars Gehlen from Plymouth County. Rock Valley replaced Augustana Academy of

Canton, South Dakota Canton is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States. Canton is located 20 minutes south of Sioux Falls in southeastern South Dakota. Canton is nestled in the rolling hills of the Sioux Valley, providing an a ...

, in 1960. West Sioux of Hawarden left the conference in 1965, and rejoined for a short period in the 1970s. Boyden–Hull became a conference member by 1965. Sioux Center, formerly of the

Sioux Empire Conference The Sioux Empire Conference was a high school athletic conference formed by schools in northwest Iowa and southeast South Dakota. History The Sioux Empire Conference was established on October 20, 1964, with Central Lyon Community School District, ...

, and Central Lyon of Rock Rapids joined the Siouxland Conference in 1967. Akron withdrew from the league at the conclusion of the 1975 baseball season.

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

merged with George to become George–Little Rock in 1989. The league then went through a set of changes in the early 1990s when it added Sibley-Ocheyedan from the Lakes Conference, and Hartley–Melvin–Sanborn and Okoboji from the disbanded Sioux Valley Conference. Maurice-Orange City merged with Floyd Valley to become MOC-Floyd Valley in 1994. The conference remained the same until Hartley–Mevin–Sanborn left for the

War Eagle Conference The War Eagle Conference is a 11-team high school athletic conference in Northwest Iowa. The schools are classified as 1A and 2A, the two smallest classes in Iowa. The conference is widely recognized as one of the best small school baseball confe ...

in 2009 and longtime Sibley-Ocheyedan rival Sheldon moved in from the Lakes Conference. Current

member Unity Christian, located in

Orange City, Iowa Orange City is a city in, and the county seat of, Sioux County, Iowa, United States. Its population was 6,267 in the 2020 census, an increase from 5,582 in 2000. Named after William of Orange, the community maintains its Dutch settler tradition ...

has applied for membership to the conference at least 3 times, and been denied each time. Former

Lake Conference The Lake Conference a high school athletic conference with seven member high schools in the western and southwestern suburbs of the Twin Cities, Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Minnesota State High School League. History The Lake Conference ...

member and current independent

Western Christian Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic C ...

has applied twice, and denied each time as well. On 20 September 2022, George-Little Rock applied for membership to the

. The War Eagle Conference approved membership of the Mustangs on October 20, 2022. In October of 2022, the conference finally accepted the membership application of Unity Christian, whom will swap conferences with George-Little Rock.

Basketball

Men

As an independent school, Sioux Center won the big school state title in 1959, followed by the small school state title in 1967, in its first year within the Siouxland Conference. Maurice-Orange City claimed the 2A state championship in 1987–88 and again in 1988–89, and won the 3A title in 2004–05 as MOC-Floyd Valley. Rock Valley has won the championship in 1996, 1998, 2009, and 2010. In 2003, Boyden-Hull was class 1A state champ, while Sioux Center won the 2A title. George–Little Rock won the 1A title in 2006. Boyden-Hull won back to back 1A titles in 2012 and 2013. In 2013, Sheldon also won the 2A championship. West Lyon won the 1A championship in 2014, keeping it in the conference for three straight years. Boyden–Hull won its first 2A title in 2020. The Comets competed in the 2A basketball final again in 2021, losing to

, a team also located in Hull, as a member of the Lakes Conference. It was the first time since 2005 that the two teams had played against each other, and also the first time in

Iowa High School Athletic Association The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) is the regulating body for male Iowa high school interscholastic athletics and is a full member of the National Federation of State High School Associations. Its female counterpart, the Iowa Girl ...

history that two teams from the same city met in a title game.

Women

Sibley-Ocheyedan won two basketball titles (1986 and 1996), while Rock Valley has three (2001–2003). Central Lyon won the 1A title in 2013. MOC–Floyd Valley won the 3A championship the following season, besting their previous best result, second place in 1997.

Other sports

The schools hold many other state titles as well, including football, which is no longer a sanctioned conference sport since the state took control of the entire system in the mid-1990s and created a two-year rotating district system. Nevertheless, Sibley holds a title, while Sioux Center has two and Central Lyon holds two on their own and one more sharing with George–Little Rock with 2 runners-up in class 2A. West Lyon has won five titles (1998, 1999, 2010, 2013, 2019) and finished as class 1A runner up in 2008 and 2014 and 2A runner up in 1995. Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley was class 2A runner up for football in 2009. Before sharing sports with Rock Valley, Boyden-Hull tied West Harrison for the 1970 Class B track championship. Maurice-Orange City has won the state track championship three times, Sioux Center twice, George and Okoboji once each. Rock Valley has three state golf titles, all won as a member of the Siouxland Conference. Central Lyon and Sheldon have each won a cross country championship. Sibley-Ocheyedan won a women's Class 2A cross country title in 1997. Rock Valley is the only team in the conference to win a baseball championship.

Sports offered

The conference offers the following sports: * Summer –

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

and

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

* Fall – football,

cross country Cross country or cross-country may refer to: Places * Cross Country, Baltimore, a neighborhood in northwest Baltimore, Maryland * Cross County Parkway, an east–west parkway in Westchester County, NY * Cross County Shopping Center, a mall in Yo ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

* Winter –

and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

* Spring –

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Siouxland Conference High school sports in Iowa 1952 establishments in Iowa Sports leagues established in 1952