The Lorain County League (LC8) is an Ohio high school athletic league that began with the 2019-20 school year and is made up of eight schools predominantly based in Lorain County, Ohio. All schools are members of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. Previous versions of a Lorain County League existed from 1924–61 and again from 1968-2005.
| School | Nickname | Location | District | Colors[1] | Middle school | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black River | Pirates | Sullivan | 5:15 | Black, Gold | Black River Middle School | 2019- | |
| Brookside | Cardinals | Sheffield | 4:12 | Red, Black | Sheffield Middle School | 2019- | |
| Clearview | Clippers | Lorain | 4:12 | Blue, Gold | Durling Middle School | 2019- | |
| Raiders | Columbia Station | 5:16 | Kelly Green, White | Columbia Middle School | 2019- | ||
| Firelands | Falcons | Oberlin | 4:12 | Red, White, Black | South Amherst Middle School | 2019- | |
| Keystone | Wildcats | LaGrange | 4:12 | Purple, White | Keystone Middle School | 2019- | |
| Oberlin | Phoenix | Oberlin | 6:19 | Red, Blue | Langston Middle School | 2019- | |
| Wellington | Dukes | Wellington | 5:16 | Maroon, White | McCormick Middle School | 2019- |
The most recent idea for the new LCL was formed in 2017 when the eight primarily Lorain County schools (Brookside, Clearview, Columbia, Firelands, Keystone, Oberlin, and Wellington, as well as Black River) announced they would leave the Patriot Athletic Conference (PAC) to form their own league by 2020.[2] [3]
In response to the PAC's imminent dissolution, Brooklyn and Lutheran West were accepted by a league-wide vote in April 2018 to join the Chagrin Valley Conference in 2019-20.[4]
In May 2018, Buckeye and Fairview were approved to join the Great Lakes Conference for the 2019-20 school year as their eighth and ninth members.[5]
Since the four schools that weren't invited to join the new LC8 were able to leave the PAC after the 2018-19 school year, the LC8 was able to begin a year sooner than anticipated.
The first version of the Lorain County League began in 1924 as one of several small-school county leagues across Ohio. The league survived the consolidation wave until 1961, when the schools who weren't already aligned with the Inland Conference joined the Lakeland Conference. The conference revived itself in 1986 as the Lorain County Conference when the Lakeland Conference collapsed, and the schools banded together for roughly two decades until the schools split, this time to help form the Patriot Athletic and West Shore conferences.
Division Alignments
| LCL Divisions 1924-38 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern | Western | ||
| Avon | Brighton | ||
| Avon Lake | Brownhelm | ||
| Belden | Camden | ||
| Brookside | Clearview (1928–38) | ||
| Columbia | Henrietta | ||
| Eaton | LaGrange (1933–38) | ||
| Grafton | Oberlin (1924–37) | ||
| LaGrange (1928–33) | Penfield | ||
| North Ridgeville (1924–27, 1933-) | South Amherst | ||
| Wellington (1924–27) | |||
| LCL Divisions 1938-47 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeast | Southeast | West | |||
| Avon | Belden | Brighton | |||
| Avon Lake | Columbia | Brownhelm | |||
| Brookside | Grafton | Camden | |||
| Eaton | LaGrange | Henrietta | |||
| North Ridgeville | Penfield | South Amherst | |||
| LCL Divisions 1947-55 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern | Western | ||
| Avon | Brighton (1947–52) | ||
| Avon Lake | Brownhelm (1947–52) | ||
| Belden | Brookside (1952–55) | ||
| Brookside (1947–52) | Camden (1947–52) | ||
| Columbia | Clearview (1948–53) | ||
| Eaton | Firelands (1952-) | ||
| Grafton | Henrietta (1947–52) | ||
| North Ridgeville | LaGrange | ||
| Penfield | |||
| South Amherst | |||
| School | Nickname | Location | Colors[6] | Tenure | Left for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avon | Eagles | Avon | Purple, Gold | 1986-2005 | West Shore Conference | |
| Brookside | Cardinals | Sheffield | Red, Black | 1986-2005 | Patriot Athletic Conference | |
| Clearview | Clippers | Lorain | Blue, Gold | 1986-2005 | Patriot Athletic Conference | |
| Elyria West | Wolverines | Elyria | Orange, Brown | 1986-1996 | Closed, absorbed by Elyria High School | |
| Firelands | Falcons | Oberlin | Red, White, Black | 1986-2005 | Patriot Athletic Conference | |
| Keystone | Wildcats | LaGrange | Purple, White | 1986-2005 | Patriot Athletic Conference | |
| Midview | Middies | Grafton | Blue, Silver | 1996-2005 | West Shore Conference | |
| Oberlin | Phoenix | Oberlin | Red, Blue | 1986-2005 | Patriot Athletic Conference | |
| Wellington | Dukes | Wellington | Maroon, White | 1986-2005 | Patriot Athletic Conference |