Waverly-Shell Rock (WSR) will be a part of the Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) for an extra year.
In a December 8th meeting, at the direction of the Iowa Department of Education, representatives from the schools in the NEIC, plus mediators from the Iowa High School Athletic Association and Girls Athletic Union, discussed the Go-Hawks unsuccessful efforts to find a new athletic conference.
Last spring, WSR was voted out of the NEIC as other league schools, including Charles City, New Hampton, Cresco-Crestwood, Decorah, and Waukon, demonstrated WSR had grown much larger than most other schools in the conference, creating competitive imbalance. In the NEIC since 1933, the Go-Hawks were scheduled to exit the conference at the end of this school year on June 30th of 2023.
However, after failed attempts to join Mississippi Valley and WAMAC Conferences, Waverly-Shell Rock was stuck in limbo. That was until the December 8th meeting which resulted in an agreement that WSR will remain a member of the NEIC for 2023-24 school year, at which time their membership will end.
Stipulations also include that WSR cannot take any action to extend membership past June 30, 2024; other than conference championships, any new NEIC members will not be required to compete against the Go-Hawks; and the agreement will become effective upon ratification by the WSR School Board and a majority of the School Boards of the NEIC member districts.
