The Lorain County League (LC8) is an

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

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 Lorain County is a county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 312,964. Its county seat is Elyria. The county was physically established in 1822, becoming judicially independent in 1824. ...

. All schools are members of the

Ohio High School Athletic Association The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) is the governing body of athletic programs for junior and senior high schools in the state of Ohio. The OHSAA governs eligibility of student athletes, resolves disputes, organizes levels of compe ...

. Previous versions of a Lorain County League existed from 1924–61 and again from 1968-2005.

League history

The most recent idea for the new LCL was formed in 2017 when the eight primarily

Lorain County Lorain County is a County (United States), county in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 312,964. Its county seat is Elyria, Ohio, Elyria. The county was physicall ...

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. In response to the PAC's imminent dissolution,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and Lutheran West were accepted by a league-wide vote in April 2018 to join the Chagrin Valley Conference in 2019-20. In May 2018, Buckeye and Fairview were approved to join the

Great Lakes Conference The Great Lakes Conference is an OHSAA athletics conference that began play with the 2015-16 school year. The following are members: Members League history As part of a significant realignment in Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the Ci ...

for the 2019-20 school year as their eighth and ninth members. 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.

Previous Lorain County League/Conference memberships

The first version of the Lorain County League began in 1924 as one of several small-school county leagues across

. 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.

First Version (Lorain County League, 1924–61)

* Avon Eagles¹ (1924–61, to Inland) *

Avon Lake Avon Lake is a city in northeastern Lorain County, Ohio, United States, located on the southern shore of Lake Erie about 17 miles west of Cleveland. The population was 25,206 at the 2020 Census. It is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. Hi ...

Shoremen (1924–1961, to Lakeland) * Belden Bees (1924–55, consolidated into Midview) * Brighton Bears (1924–52, consolidated into Wellington) * Sheffield

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...

Cardinals¹ (1924–61, to Inland) * Brownhelm Bombers (1924–52, consolidated into Firelands) * Kipton Camden Knights (1924–52, consolidated into Firelands) * Columbia Station Columbia Raiders¹ (1924–61, to Inland) * Grafton Eaton Eels (1924–55, consolidated into Midview) * Grafton Comets (1924–55, consolidated into Midview) * Henrietta Hawks (1924–52, consolidated into Firelands) * LaGrange Wildcats (1924–59, consolidated into Keystone) *

North Ridgeville North Ridgeville is a city located along the eastern border of Lorain County, Ohio. The city's population was 35,552 in 2020. North Ridgeville is the fastest-growing city in northern Ohio. It has been ranked the 13th safest city in the United Sta ...

Rangers (1924–27, to NOAL, 1933–61, to Lakeland) * Penfield Bombers (1924–59, consolidated into Keystone) * South Amherst Cavaliers¹ (1924–61, to Inland) *

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

Dukes (1924–27, to NOAL) * Lorain Clearview Clippers (1928–38, to NOAL, 1947–53, to Lakeland) * Oberlin

Firelands The Firelands, or Sufferers' Lands, tract was located at the western end of the Connecticut Western Reserve in what is now the U.S. state of Ohio. It was legislatively established in 1792, as the "Sufferers' Lands", and later became named "Fire Land ...

Falcons¹ (1952–61, to Inland) * Grafton Midview Middies (1955–61, to Lakeland) * Lagrange Keystone Wildcats² (1959–61) # Concurrent with Inland Conference 1957-61. # Concurrent with Inland Conference 1959-61. Division Alignments

Second Version (Lorain County Conference, 1986-2005)

References

External links