The Ozark Conference is a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

athletic conference An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams, playing competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels. Confe ...

represented by 11 schools in the southwest portion of

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. As the name implies, all eleven schools are in the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant port ...

region of the state and all are among the biggest in the region (only West Plains and Hillcrest are not Class 5 in basketball). The conference offers championships for girls in

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 ...

, Cross Country,

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

Diving Diving most often refers to: * Diving (sport), the sport of jumping into deep water * Underwater diving, human activity underwater for recreational or occupational purposes Diving or Dive may also refer to: Sports * Dive (American football), a ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

Track & Field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

, and

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

. In boys sports, the conference offers championships in

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, Basketball, Cross Country,

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 ...

, Golf, Soccer, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, and

Wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

. The conference features All five of the public schools in

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

and also the large central public schools in Rolla,

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, and

West Plains West Plains is a city in, and the county seat of Howell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 12,184 at the 2020 census. History The history of West Plains can be traced back to 1832, when settler Josiah Howell (after whom Howell ...

. Camdenton High School is the central school at the

Lake of the Ozarks Lake of the Ozarks is a reservoir created by impounding the Osage River in the northern part of the Ozarks in central Missouri. Parts of three smaller tributaries to the Osage are included in the impoundment: the Niangua River, Grandglaize Creek ...

while Waynesville High School is the main high school for the military communities around the large

Fort Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood is a U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of The City of St. Robert. The post was created in December 1940 and named in honor of General Leonard Woo ...

army post, including Waynesville and St. Robert.

List of member schools

{, class="wikitable" border="1" , - ! School ! Team Name ! Colors ! Town ! County ! Enrollment (2015-16 & 2016–17) ! Primary MSHSAA class* ! Football class , - , Bolivar High School , Liberators , , Bolivar ,

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...

, 1000 , 4 , 4 , - , Camdenton High School , Lakers , , Camdenton , Camden , 1297 , 5 , 4 , - , Glendale High School , Falcons , ,

Greene Greene may refer to: Places United States *Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community *Greene, Iowa, a city *Greene, Maine, a town ** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene *Greene (town), New York ** Greene (village), New York, in the town ...

, 1361 , 5 , 5 , - , Hillcrest High School , Hornets , ,

, 1016 , 4 , 4 , - , Central High School , Bulldogs , ,

, 1612 , 5 , 4 , - , Kickapoo High School , Chiefs , ,

, 1800 , 5 , 6 , - , Lebanon High School , Yellowjackets , ,

, Laclede , 1466 , 5 , 5 , - , Parkview High School , Vikings , ,

, 1347 , 5 , 5 , - ,

Rolla High School Rolla Senior High School is a public secondary school located in Rolla, Missouri, United States. The school's mascot is the Bulldog with the colors of maroon and silver (formerly maroon, gray, and gold). The high school offers many clubs, includi ...

, Bulldogs , , Rolla ,

Phelps Phelps may refer to: Places in the United States * Phelps, Kentucky * Phelps, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Phelps, New York ** Phelps (village), New York * Phelps, Wisconsin, a town ** Phelps (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated co ...

, 1273 , 4 , 4 , - , Waynesville High School , Tigers , , Waynesville , Pulaski , 1627 , 5 , 5 , - , West Plains High School , Zizzers , {{Color box, white, border=silver ,

Howell Howell may refer to: Places In the United Kingdom *Howell, Lincolnshire, England In the United States *Howell, Georgia * Howell, Evansville, a neighborhood of Evansville, Indiana *Howell, Michigan *Howell, Missouri *Howell, Utah *Howell Cou ...

, 1092 , 5 , 5 As of the 2017/18 School year Joplin HS has swapped conferences to the COC. Replacing Joplin is former OC member Central. Bolivar High School applied to join the OC after the COC Small Division dissolved–leaving Bolivar as an independent school. November 5, 2019, it was announced that Bolivar's football program would enter the Ozark Conference in 2020, replacing Central. Central will become an independent in football but remain in the OC in other sports. Bolivar will be a "football only" school in the OC and their other sports programs will remain independent. As of March 2020 Bolivar has been approved as a full member of the conference and will compete in all sports.

References

External links

Conference website
High school sports conferences and leagues in the United States Missouri high school athletic conferences