White River Conference Explained

The White River Conference was an Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA)–sanctioned conference located within rural areas of East Central Indiana, that existed twice, once from 1954 to 1977, and from 1989 to 2010. The first version of the conference was founded as a home for high schools in Madison County who weren't in the Central Indiana Athletic Conference.[1] The conference would expand quickly from six to nine schools, as two new high schools in Anderson and Middletown, a school in Henry County, were added within two years. Membership was generally not stable until 1969, as Madison Heights left, Highland was forced out and eventually added back into the conference, St. Mary's closed, member schools consolidated, and schools from neighboring Delaware and Hancock counties were added. Eventually, large disparities in enrollment causing the conference to disband, as city and consolidated schools outgrew their rural counterparts.. Schools would move into the Big Blue River Conference, Classic Athletic Conference, and Mid-Eastern Conference.

The conference was refounded in 1989, with virtually the same lineup as 1977. Pendleton Heights and Yorktown had been independent since the demise of the CAC, and Mount Vernon had been independent since the original WRC folded. Lapel and Shenandoah were left without a home with the breakup of the BBRC, while Frankton and Wes-Del were eager to join a conference that sponsored football (they played independently since the MEC does not sponsor the sport). Anderson Highland was the only member who did not rejoin, as their move to the Olympic Conference caused the demise of the CAC. Delta, another former CAC school, would take their place in the reformed conference, and divisions in football were introduced to address enrollment disparity.

This lineup would remain intact until 1995, though a massive change would happen in the next three years as five schools left. Delta, Mount Vernon, and Pendleton Heights would all leave for the Hoosier Heritage Conference, while Yorktown would join the Rangeline Conference before also ending up in the HHC. Frankton would join the more geographically compact Central Indiana Athletic Conference in 1998, joining fellow northern Madison County schools Alexandria and Elwood. The WRC countered by adding two former BBRC schools: Knightstown (1995) and Eastern Hancock (1997). While the number of members in the conference shrank, its five members were of similar size and demographic. The conference remained stable for the next decade.

The end of the conference began when Wes-Del left after the 2007-08 academic year to rejoin the MEC. Lapel then joined the Indiana Crossroads Conference in 2009-10, playing in both conferences for the season before becoming a full member of the ICC for 2010-11. The three remaining schools afterward became independents. Eastern Hancock and Knightstown would join the Mid-Hoosier Conference and its football arm, the Mid-Indiana Football Conference, after being independent for a few years. The schools have since left and joined the Mid-Eastern Conference (where Shenandoah will join them, having been independent since the demise of the WRC) and Tri-Eastern Conference, respectively, in 2017. Lapel struggled to compete in the ICRC, and left that conference in 2014, playing independently since then.

Former membership (1989–2010)

SchoolLocationMascotColorsIHSAA
Class
CountyYear joinedPrevious conferenceYear leftConference joined
DeltaMuncieEaglesAAA18
Delaware
1989Independents
(CAC 1986)
1997Hoosier Heritage
FranktonFranktonEaglesAA48
Madison
1989Mid-Eastern1998Central Indiana
Lapel1LapelBulldogsA48
Madison
1989Big Blue River2010Indiana Crossroads
FortvilleMaraudersAAA30
Hancock
1989Independents
(WRC 1977)
1995Hoosier Heritage
Pendleton
Heights
PendletonArabiansAAAA48
Madison
1989Independents
(CAC 1986)
1997Hoosier Heritage
ShenandoahMiddletownRaidersAA33
Henry
1989Big Blue River2010Independents
(MEC 2017)
Wes-DelGastonWarriorsA18
Delaware
1989Mid-Eastern2008Mid-Eastern
YorktownYorktownTigersAAA18
Delaware
1989Independents
(CAC 1986)
1997Rangeline (now in
Hoosier Heritage)
KnightstownKnightstownPanthersAA33
Henry
1995Independents
(BBRC 1989)
2010Independents
(MHC 2013)
Eastern
Hancock
CharlottesvilleRoyalsA30
Hancock
1997Independents
(BBRC 1989)
2010Independents
(MHC 2012)
  1. Lapel played the 2009-10 season concurrently in the WRC and ICRC.

Football divisions 1989–1995

UpperLower
DeltaFrankton
Mount VernonLapel
Pendleton
Heights
Shenandoah
YorktownWes-Del

Former membership (1954–1977)

SchoolLocationMascotColorsCountyYear joinedPrevious conferenceYear leftConference joined
FranktonFranktonEagles48
Madison
1954Independents1977Mid-Eastern
LapelLapelBulldogs48
Madison
1954Independents1977Big Blue River
MarklevilleMarklevilleArabians48
Madison
1954Independents1969none (consolidated into
Pendleton Heights)
PendletonPendletonIrish48
Madison
1954Independents1969none (consolidated into
Pendleton Heights)
St. Mary'sAndersonGaels48
Madison
1954Independents1966none (school closed)
SummitvilleSummitvilleGoblins48
Madison
1954Independents1969none (consolidated into
Madison-Grant)
Anderson HighlandAndersonScots48
Madison
1955
1969
none (new school)
Mississinewa Valley
1963
1977
Mississinewa Valley
Classic
MiddletownMiddletownCossacks33
Henry
1955East Central1967none (consolidated
into Shenandoah)
Madison HeightsAndersonPirates48
Madison
1956none (new school)1959Independents
YorktownYorktownTigers18
Delaware
1963Delaware County1977Classic
ShenandoahMiddletownRaiders33
Henry
1967none (new school)1977Big Blue River
FortvilleMarauders30
Hancock
1968East Central1977Independents
Pendleton
Heights
PendletonArabians48
Madison
1969none (new school)1977Classic
Wes-Del1GastonWarriors18
Delaware
1969Mississinewa Valley1977Mid-Eastern
  1. Wes-Del played concurrently in the WRC and MVC for its entire duration in the first incarnation of the WRC.

Membership timeline

DateFormat = yyyyImageSize = width:750 height:auto barincrement:20Period = from:1953 till:2011TimeAxis = orientation:horizontalPlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5

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PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s

bar:1 color:red from:1954 till:1977 text:Frankton (1954-1977, 1989-1998) bar:1 color:red from:1989 till:1998 text:Frankton bar:2 color:red from:1954 till:1977 text:Lapel (1954-1977, 1989-2010) bar:2 color:red from:1989 till:2010 text:Lapel bar:3 color:red from:1954 till:1969 text:Markleville (1954-1969) bar:4 color:red from:1954 till:1969 text:Pendleton (1954-1969) bar:5 color:red from:1954 till:1966 text:St. Mary's (1954-1966) bar:6 color:red from:1954 till:1969 text:Summitville (1955-1964) bar:7 color:red from:1955 till:1963 text:Anderson Highland (1955-1963, 1969-1977) bar:7 color:red from:1969 till:1977 text: bar:8 color:red from:1955 till:1967 text:Middletown (1955-1967) bar:9 color:red from:1956 till:1959 text:Madison Heights (1956-1959) bar:10 color:red from:1963 till:1977 text:Yorktown (1963-1977, 1989-1997) bar:10 color:red from:1989 till:1997 text:Yorktown bar:11 color:red from:1967 till:1977 text:Shenandoah (1967-1977, 1989-2010) bar:11 color:red from:1989 till:2010 text:Shenandoah bar:12 color:red from:1968 till:1977 text:Mount Vernon (1968-1977, 1989-1995) bar:12 color:red from:1989 till:1995 text:Mount Vernon bar:13 color:red from:1969 till:1977 text:Pendleton Heights (1969-1977, 1989-1997 bar:13 color:red from:1989 till:1997 text:Pendleton Heights bar:14 color:red from:1969 till:1977 text:Wes-Del (1969-1977, 1989-2008) bar:14 color:red from:1989 till:2008 text:Wes-Del bar:15 color:red from:1989 till:1997 text:Delta (1989-1997) bar:16 color:red from:1995 till:2010 text:Knightstown (1995-2010) bar:17 color:red from:1997 till:2010 text:Eastern Hancock (1997-2010) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1955

TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(175,30) # tabs:(0-center) text:"WRC Membership History"

Resources

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Marleville and Lapel Are Tied . Anderson Herald, Anderson, IN . 1954-11-14 . 2012-08-11.