Charles City will be joining the North Central Conference (NCC) after all.
The decision comes following a mediation process facilitated by the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa High School Athletic Association, and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. A transition plan was then developed by the executive board of the NCC to integrate Charles City into the conference, starting with the 2025-26 school year.
The Comets will be a non-voting member for the ’25-26 and ’26-27 school years. However, Charles City will participate in conference events and activities to the greatest extent possible. They will be eligible for conference championships for activities/sports in which they are full participants.
Starting with the 2027-28 school year, Charles City will be a full member of the NCC and play a full conference schedule in all conference sports.
Charles City sought a new conference affiliation with their current league, the Northeast Iowa Conference (NEIC), set to dissolve after this school year. Decorah as well as Waverly-Shell Rock (WSR), now formerly an NEIC member as of June 30th, also need new conferences.
Both schools also entered mediation last week, with WSR looking to join the WAMAC Conference and Decorah seeking membership in the Upper Iowa Conference (UIC). No ruling has been made on their individual mediations.
This school year will also be the last in the NEIC for New Hampton, Waukon, and Cresco-Crestwood, with all three departing to join the UIC starting with the ’25-26 school year.
