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Executive Board Votes for Waverly-Shell Rock to Leave NEIC

The first step towards possible removal of Waverly-Shell Rock from the Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) was taken Monday morning.

The NEIC Executive Board met to discuss and act on a resolution to the NEIC Constitution presented by New Hampton to remove Waverly-Shell Rock from the conference. For the resolution to pass, it must be voted on twice by the Executive Board at two separate meetings. A majority of Conference members plus one must vote for the Resolution for it to pass. 

Monday, the Resolution passed on a 5-1 vote with Waverly-Shell Rock casting the only dissenting vote. The Executive Board members will now take the resolution back to their respective school boards to act on the resolution and let their Executive Board members know how they should cast their vote during the next meeting of the Executive Board. 

If the resolution is passed, it will become effective at the end of the 2022-2023 school year. The NEIC Executive Board is made up of superintendents from each member school including Charles City, Decorah, Howard-Winneshiek, New Hampton, Waukon, and Waverly-Shell Rock.

New Hampton Superintendent Jay Jurrens, who authored the resolution, has said previously the push to have WSR leave the NEIC would create more competitive balance for the NEIC. He noted that WSR has become so much larger than other league schools, with an enrollment almost three times the size of New Hampton.

Oelwein left the NEIC two years ago among complaints of sportsmanship concerns against WSR. During the 2020 high school baseball season, Go-Hawks were also accused of making racial comments against a black Charles City baseball player.

If Waverly-Shell Rock is ousted, the NEIC would be down to just five teams, but Charles City Superintendent Mike Fisher expressed confidence at a recent school board meeting that other schools would join the NEIC if WSR was no longer a member.

Mark Pitz

News Director/Weekdays 10am to 2pm on 95.9 KCHA
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