The Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) is a high school athletic conference in
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
serving eight members of the
Indiana High School Athletic Association
The Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) is the arbiter of interscholastic competition among public and private high schools in the U.S. state of Indiana. It monitors a system that divides athletically-competing high schools in Indiana ...
. Member schools are located in the counties of
Lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
,
LaPorte, and
Porter
Porter may refer to:
Companies
* Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto
* Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets
* Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer
* H.K. Porter, Inc., ...
along Indiana's Lake Michigan shore. Each school is classified based on enrollment as 6A or 5A for
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and 4A for
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, the classes for the largest schools in Indiana. The Duneland Conference is also known for its gymnastics programs which have won a combined total of 35 state championship and state runner-up titles.
Members
Current members
Former Members
Membership Timeline
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:750 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1970 till:2020
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bar:1 color:blue from:1970 till:end text: Chesterton (1970–present)
bar:2 color:blue from:1970 till:2003 text:Hobart
Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
(1970–2003)
bar:3 color:blue from:1970 till:end text:Portage
Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...
(1970–present)
bar:4 color:blue from:1970 till:end text: Valparaiso (1970–present)
bar:5 color:blue from:1972 till:end text: Michigan City Rogers (1972–1995) / Michigan City (1995–present)
bar:6 color:blue from:1975 till:end text:Merrillville
Merrillville is a town in Ross Township, Lake County, Indiana, United States. The population was 35,246 at the 2010 census. Merrillville is in east-central Lake County, in the Chicago metropolitan area. On January 1, 2015, Merrillville became the ...
(1975–present)
bar:7 color:blue from:1976 till:end text: LaPorte (1976–present)
bar:8 color:blue from:1993 till:end text: Crown Point (1993–present)
bar:9 color:blue from:2003 till:end text: Lake Central (2003–present)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:10 start:1970
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text:"Duneland Athletic Conference Membership History"
Sponsored Sports & Current Standings
History
* 1970: Chesterton, Portage, Valparaiso, and Hobart High School began competition as the Duneland Athletic Conference. Chesterton & Portage had been members of the
Calumet Conference; Hobart & Valparaiso had been independents.
* 1972: Michigan City Rogers joins the DAC.
* 1975: Merrillville joins the conference, leaving the
Lake Suburban Conference.
* 1976: LaPorte joins following its departure from the
Northern Indiana Conference
The Northern Indiana Conference (NIC) is a high school athletic conference that was founded in 1927 and spanned from as far west as Hammond and Gary to South Bend/Mishawaka and Elkhart to the east and south to Plymouth. Since its start in 1927, a ...
.
* 1993: Crown Point joins the DAC following the disbandment of the
Lake Suburban Conference.
* 1995: Michigan City Rogers is merged with Michigan City Elston, who was a member of the
Northern Indiana Conference
The Northern Indiana Conference (NIC) is a high school athletic conference that was founded in 1927 and spanned from as far west as Hammond and Gary to South Bend/Mishawaka and Elkhart to the east and south to Plymouth. Since its start in 1927, a ...
, to form Michigan City High School.
* 2003: Hobart, the only non-5A football school, leaves to join the
Lake Athletic Conference The Lake Athletic Conference (LAC) was a high school athletic conference serving members of the Indiana High School Athletic Association. The LAC existed in multiple guises from the fall of 1969 through the spring of 2007, at which time it comprise ...
. Lake Central joins in place of Hobart following being independent since the disbandment of the
Lake Suburban Conference in 1993. Hobart is currently with the
Northwest Crossroads Conference
The Northwest Crossroads Conference is a seven-member IHSAA-sanctioned athletic conference. Six of the seven institutions are in Lake County, while the sixth, Kankakee Valley, is in neighboring Jasper County. This conference was created in 2007, ...
after the 2007 disbandment of the
Lake Athletic Conference The Lake Athletic Conference (LAC) was a high school athletic conference serving members of the Indiana High School Athletic Association. The LAC existed in multiple guises from the fall of 1969 through the spring of 2007, at which time it comprise ...
.
*2013: Football has a new class, 6A, meaning that the teams to move from 5A to 6A are Portage, Lake Central, Chesterton, Crown Point, Valparaiso, & Merrillville. The only teams to remain in the 5A class were LaPorte and Michigan City.
* 2015: LaPorte moves up to Class 6A in football based on enrollment figures.
* 2017: LaPorte drops back down to Class 5A in football based on enrollment figures and
Fort Wayne Snider having to move up to Class 6A based on the Indiana High School Athletic Association's tournament success factor.
2003 Expansion
In 2002, five schools -
East Chicago Central High School
East Chicago Central High School or commonly known as Central or EC Central, is a public high school in the industrial City of East Chicago, located east of the Chicago metropolitan area.
History
The School City of East Chicago built East Chicago ...
,
Elkhart Central High School
Elkhart Central High School (ECHS) was a public secondary school in Elkhart, Indiana. It was a part of Elkhart Community Schools.
History
In the fall of 1972 when Elkhart High School (est. 1872) was split into Elkhart Memorial High School and ...
,
Lake Central High School
Lake Central High School (LCHS) is a high school in St. John, Indiana, for students in grades nine through twelve. Its students come from St. John Township which includes the towns of St. John and Dyer (north of 101st Ave), the entire town of ...
, Mishawaka High School, &
Penn High School
Penn High School is a Public education, public high school located just outside Mishawaka, Indiana, United States, near South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. It is the only high school in the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation, Penn-Harris-Madis ...
- submitted proposals to join the DAC when expansion talks began following Hobart's announcement it would leave to join the Lake Athletic Conference. Lake Central, Mishawaka and Penn were invited to join the DAC. Mishawaka, shortly followed by Penn, opted to not join the conference.
Mishawaka says no to DAC; Penn next? / nwi.com
/ref>[Eight is enough](_blank)
Penn votes to decline invitation to DAC / nwi.com
/ref> These two schools cited wanting Elkhart Central and East Chicago Central to have been invited to join as well.Northern Indiana Conference
The Northern Indiana Conference (NIC) is a high school athletic conference that was founded in 1927 and spanned from as far west as Hammond and Gary to South Bend/Mishawaka and Elkhart to the east and south to Plymouth. Since its start in 1927, a ...
.
Conference Champions
Football
Boys Basketball
Girls Basketball
*Champions before the 2000–01 season are unverified.
State Champions
Chesterton Trojans (13)
* 1989 Wrestling
* 1993 Gymnastics
* 2000 Gymnastics
* 2002 Gymnastics
* 2008 Boys Swimming
* 2009 Boys Swimming
* 2013 Boys Swimming
* 2014 Boys Swimming
* 2018 Gymnastics
* 2018 Boys Soccer
* 2019 Gymnastics
* 2020 Boys Soccer
* 2020 Gymnastics
Crown Point Bulldogs (10)
* 1971 Boys Tennis
* 1984 Girls Basketball
* 1985 Girls Basketball
* 2009 Wrestling
* 2011 Boys Soccer (2A)
* 2013 Boys Soccer (2A)
* 2017 Softball (4A)
* 2021 Girls Basketball (4A)
* 2022 Gymnastics
* 2022 Wrestling
LaPorte Slicers (12)
* 1960 Boys Golf
* 1967 Baseball
* 1968 Boys Tennis
* 1971 Baseball
* 1976 Baseball
* 1976 Boys Golf
* 1978 Girls Golf
* 1982 Baseball
* 1987 Baseball (Easton National Champions)
* 1990 Baseball
* 1992 Baseball
* 2000 Baseball (4A)
Lake Central Indians (7)
* 1987 Boys Swimming
* 1992 Softball
* 1994 Girls Basketball
* 2002 Softball (3A)
* 2004 Softball (4A)
* 2010 Boys Soccer
* 2012 Baseball (4A)
Merrillville Pirates (6)
* 1976 Football (3A)
* 1986 Gymnastics
* 1992 Gymnastics
* 1993 Softball
* 1997 Softball
* 2017 Unified Track & Field
Michigan City Wolves (1)
* 1995 Volleyball
Portage Indians (9)
* 1974 Boys Cross Country
* 1975 Gymnastics
* 1977 Football (3A)
* 1984 Boys Cross Country
* 1992 Boys Cross Country
* 1999 Boys Cross Country
* 2000 Softball (3A)
* 2013 Gymnastics
* 2013 Softball (4A)
Valparaiso Vikings (29)
* 1966 Boys Cross Country
* 1975 Football (3A)
* 1981 Gymnastics
* 1983 Boys Cross Country
* 1985 Boys Cross Country
* 1986 Boys Cross Country
* 1991 Gymnastics
* 1994 Gymnastics
* 1997 Boys Cross Country
* 1997 Gymnastics
* 1998 Gymnastics
* 1999 Girls Cross Country
* 2000 Girls Cross Country
* 2000 Boys Cross Country
* 2002 Girls Cross Country
* 2003 Girls Cross Country
* 2004 Girls Cross Country
* 2004 Boys Soccer
* 2008 Gymnastics
* 2009 Gymnastics
* 2010 Gymnastics
* 2011 Gymnastics
* 2014 Gymnastics
* 2015 Gymnastics
* 2017 Gymnastics
* 2019 Unified Track & Field
* 2021 Unified Track & Field
* 2021 Gymnastics
* 2022 Football (5A)
Former Member State Champions
Hobart Brickies (7)
* 1957 Boys Cross Country
* 1960 Boys Cross Country
* 1987 Football (4A)
* 1989 Football (4A)
* 1991 Football (4A)
* 1993 Football (4A)
* 2004 Gymnastics
Michigan City Rogers Raiders (2)
* 1981 Girls Golf
* 1982 Girls Golf
State Runner-Up Titles
Current members
Chesterton Trojans (12)
* 1981 Wrestling
* 1985 Gymnastics
* 1995 Gymnastics
* 1995 Girls Cross Country
* 1997 Girls Cross Country
* 2001 Girls Soccer
* 2003 Gymnastics
* 2003 Girls Cross Country
* 2006 Girls Softball
* 2007 Boys Soccer
* 2009 Boys Cross Country
* 2016 Boys Soccer (2A)
* 2017 Wrestling
Crown Point Bulldogs (10)
* 1975 Boys Cross Country
* 1976 Boys Cross Country
* 1977 Boys Cross Country
* 1983 Girls Basketball
* 1978 Boys Swimming
* 1997 Girls Basketball
* 2012 Wrestling
* 2014 Girls Swimming
* 2016 Volleyball (4A)
* 2017 Volleyball (4A)
LaPorte Slicers (10)
* 1949 Boys Golf
* 1962 Boys Golf
* 1963 Boys Golf
* 1967 Boys Golf
* 1973 Baseball
* 1973 Gymnastics
* 1979 Boys Tennis
* 1980 Girls Golf
* 1989 Boys Tennis
* 2007 Boys Cross Country
* 2014 Football (5A)
Lake Central Indians (11)
* 1990 Boys Swimming
* 1998 Girls Basketball (4A)
* 1999 Boys Swimming
* 1993 Football (5A)
* 2003 Softball (3A)
* 2007 Girls Cross Country
* 2008 Girls Cross Country
* 2014 Boys Basketball (4A)
* 2015 Softball (4A)
* 2018 Softball (4A)
* 2019 Boys Soccer (3A)
Merrillville Pirates (7)
* 1979 Gymnastics
* 1982 Gymnastics
* 1988 Gymnastics
* 1990 Gymnastics
* 1995 Boys Basketball
* 1996 Baseball
* 2010 Girls Basketball
Michigan City Wolves (0)
* ''2016 Boys Track and Field''
Portage Indians (12)
* 1973 Boys Cross Country
* 1981 Boys Cross Country
* 1988 Boys Cross Country
* 1988 Girls Cross Country
* 1991 Boys Cross Country
* 1993 Boys Cross Country
* 1994 Football (5A)
* 1995 Boys Cross Country
* 1998 Softball (3A)
* 1998 Boys Cross Country
* 1998 Wrestling
* 2001 Wrestling
Valparaiso Vikings (24)
* 1982 Girls Basketball
* 1985 Football (5A)
* 1989 Girls Swimming
* 1990 Girls Swimming
* 1992 Gymnastics
* 1994 Girls Swimming
* 1995 Girls Swimming
* 1994 Boys Basketball
* 1996 Girls Basketball
* 1996 Gymnastics
* 1999 Gymnastics
* 2000 Girls Basketball (4A)
* 2001 Girls Cross Country
* 2001 Football (5A)
* 2004 Gymnastics
* 2005 Boys Cross Country
* 2005 Girls Cross Country
* 2006 Girls Track & Field
* 2006 Girls Cross Country
* 2013 Gymnastics
* 2016 Gymnastics
* 2018 Gymnastics
* 2019 Football (5A)
* 2020 Gymnastics
Former members
Hobart Brickies (8)
* 1955 Boys Cross Country
* 1979 Football (3A)
* 1980 Football (4A)
* 1982 Football (4A)
* 1984 Football (4A)
* 1985 Football (4A)
* 1990 Football (4A)
* 1996 Football (4A)
Michigan City Rogers Raiders (1)
* 1986 Softball
See also
* Hoosier Hysteria
Hoosier Hysteria is the state of excitement surrounding basketball in Indiana or, more specifically, the Indiana high school basketball tournament. In part, the enthusiasm stemmed from the one-class tournament, in which a small town's David migh ...
* Largest high school gyms in the United States
The largest high school basketball gyms in the United States refers to gymnasiums primarily used by secondary schools for basketball purposes. 14 of the 16 largest high school gymnasiums are located in the state of Indiana.
In March 2019, The Indi ...
Related links
Northern Indiana Football History
Indiana High School Athletic Association
References
{{Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA)
Indiana high school athletic conferences
1970 establishments in Indiana