Waverly-Shell Rock (WSR) will not be leaving the Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC) at the end of this school year.
Officials from 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 met earlier this month to discuss the Go-Hawks efforts to find a new athletic conference.
Last spring, WSR was voted out of the NEIC by Charles City, New Hampton, Cresco-Crestwood, Decorah, and Waukon, which demonstrated the Go-Hawks had grown much larger than most other league schools, creating competitive imbalance. At that time, WSR was scheduled to exit the conference on June 30th of 2023.
New Hampton Superintendent Jay Jurrens told his School Board at their December meeting that WSR’s efforts to join other conferences failed to find them a home.
Jurrens says an agreement was reached to allow WSR to remain in the NEIC, at least temporarily.
The agreement also stipulates that, other than conference championships, any new NEIC members will not be required to compete against the Go-Hawks. It also requires ratification by the WSR School Board and a majority of the School Boards of the NEIC member districts.
