This is a list of high school athletic conferences in Ohio, separated by Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) region.[1] [2] Some conferences have schools in multiple regions, and will be listed in all applicable regions. However, the conference information is on the region page where the most schools are classified in.
Conference membership in Ohio is voluntary, rather than assigned by the state association like in some states. While this ensures that many rivalries stay intact regardless of classification changes, it also means schools can choose to change conferences pending acceptance into a different conference, or in rare cases, can be forced out of a conference. This can explain why some conferences have a lengthy list of former members, and the number of defunct conferences.
See main article: OHSAA Central Region athletic conferences. This region includes the counties of Delaware, Franklin, Knox, Licking, Madison, Morrow, and Union, as well as schools within Fairfield, Marion, and Pickaway counties. While the Central Region includes a small number of conferences, many of these leagues contain many schools with multiple divisions.
See main article: OHSAA East/Southeast Regions athletic conferences. The East region includes the counties of Belmont, Carroll, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Jefferson, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, and Tuscarawas, as well as schools within Washington County. The Southeast region includes the counties of Adams, Athens, Fayette, Gallia, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Meigs, Perry, Pike, Ross, Scioto, and Vinton, as well as schools within Brown, Fairfield, Pickaway, and Washington counties. Due to the low amount of conferences separately, and the number of conferences that contain members of both regions, these two regions are combined onto one page.
See main article: OHSAA Northeast Region athletic conferences. This region includes the counties of Ashtabula, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, and Wayne, as well as schools within Ashland and Erie counties.
See main article: OHSAA Northwest Region athletic conferences. This region includes the counties of Allen, Auglaize, Crawford, Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Huron, Lucas, Mercer, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood, and Wyandot, as well as schools within Ashland, Erie, and Marion counties.
See main article: OHSAA Southwest Region athletic conferences. This region includes the counties of Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Darke, Greene, Hamilton, Logan, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, Shelby, and Warren, as well as schools within Brown County.
See main article: Defunct Ohio high school athletic conferences.