In 2015, Eagle Grove left a central location in one of the oldest conferences in the state, the North Central Conference. At that time, the average bus ride commute was 33 miles. In their current conference, the Top of Iowa Conference, the average bus ride commute is 53 miles. The longest commute in the North Central Conference was to Clear Lake at 61 miles, the next longest commutes are 44 miles to Algona and Iowa Falls. In the Top of Iowa Conference, the longest commute is to Armstrong, at 78 miles. The next longest commute is to Lake Mills, at 76 miles. This means that on any given SCHOOL NIGHT - we are sending kids on a school bus - with no air conditioning and inconsistent heat, on an hour and 20 - hour and 30 minute bus ride.  

It was originally said that we would leave the NCC to "compete" in this conference. Over the last 4 years, the Top of Iowa has been filled with teams ranked at the state level in 1A, 2A, and 3A. Essentially, we are traveling farther, to have less support, (sometimes ZERO fans and parents), to get beat by greater margins than we were getting beat by in the North Central Conference. Two different examples of this occurred, once during volleyball season, when the only fan in the stands was the bus driver. The second example is when the basketball team returned to Eagle Grove at 11:30 on a Tuesday night - with semester tests taking place the next day.

We need to start the ball rolling to get back into the North Central Conference. We were an original member of one of the oldest conferences in the state. I believe we threw away something that was a legacy in our state for the easy way out. It has not been easy and in many occasions it has been down right miserable. Let's get back in the North Central Conference!