Northwest Conference (OHSAA)

Northwest Conference
Established	1947
Classification	OHSAA Division III-IV
Members	10
Sports fielded	7 for boys, 5 for girls
States	Ohio

The Northwest Conference is an OHSAA athletic league located in northwest Ohio and includes schools in Allen, Hardin, Paulding, Putnam, and Van Wert counties. The NWC originally formed in 1947. The Northwest Conference currently awards championships in 10 Varsity sports: baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf (boys), softball, soccer (girls), track, volleyball, and wrestling.

Current members

School	Nickname	Location	Colors
Ada	Bulldogs	Ada	Purple, Gold
Allen East	Mustangs	Lafayette	Royal Blue, White
Bluffton	Pirates	Bluffton	Red, White
Lima Central Catholic	Thunderbirds	Lima	Red, Turquoise
Columbus Grove	Bulldogs	Columbus Grove	Scarlet, Gray
Crestview	Knights	Convoy	Blue, Red
Jefferson	Wildcats	Delphos	Red, White
Lincolnview	Lancers	Van Wert	Blue, Gold
Paulding	Panthers	Paulding	Maroon, White
Spencerville	Bearcats	Spencerville	Black, White

NWC Rivalries

Ada vs. Allen East

Columbus Grove vs. Bluffton

Jefferson vs. Lincolnview

Paulding vs. Crestview

Crestview vs. Lincolnview

Bluffton vs. Spencerville

Former members

High School	Location	Joined NWC	Tenure of Membership	Charter Member	Current League(s)
Bath High School	Lima, Ohio	1964	1964-1966	No	Western Buckeye League
Elida High School	Lima, Ohio	1947	1947-1972	Yes	Western Buckeye League
Forest High School	Forest, Ohio	1947	1947-1962	Yes	North Central Conference (as part of Riverdale HS)
Leipsic High School	Leipsic, Ohio	1962	1962-1964	No	Blanchard Valley Conference, Putnam County League
North Baltimore High School	North Baltimore, Ohio	1967	1967-1969	No	Midland Athletic League
Ottawa-Glandorf High School	Ottawa, Ohio	1964	1964-1967	No	Western Buckeye League
Pandora-Gilboa High School	Pandora, Ohio	1947	1947-1966	Yes	Blanchard Valley Conference, Putnam County League
Perry High School	Lima, Ohio	1966	1966-2004	No	Northwest Central Conference
Shawnee High School	Lima, Ohio	1947	1947-1953	Yes	Western Buckeye League
Upper Scioto Valley High School	McGuffey, Ohio	1978	1978-2001	No	Northwest Central Conference

History

1940s

• The NWC began its inaugural season of competition in the fall of 1947 with the eight charter members of Lafayette-Jackson, Columbus Grove, Delphos Jefferson, Elida, Forest, Pandora-Gilboa, Lima Shawnee, and Spencerville.

1950s

• Shawnee left after the 1952-53 school year and was replaced by Bluffton.

1960s

• Forest left after the 1961-62 year when they consolidated into Riverdale Local Schools. They were replaced by Leipsic for the 1962-63 school year.
• Leipsic leaves after the 1963-64 school year and is replaced by Ada, Lima Bath and Ottawa-Glandorf.
• Lafayette-Jackson merges with Auglaize-Local in 1965 to create Allen East.
• Bath and Pandora-Gilboa leave after the 1965-66 school year. They are replaced by Lima Perry for the 1966-67 school year.
• Ottawa-Glandorf leaves after the 1966-67 school year. They are replaced by North Baltimore and Paulding for the 1967-68 school year.
• North Baltimore leaves after the 1968-69 school year and is replaced by Lincolnview for the 1969-70 school year.

1970s

• Crestview joins during the 1970-71 school year.
• Elida leaves for the WBL after the 1971-72 school year.
• Upper Scioto Valley joins for the 1978-79 school year.

1980s

• Crestview drops football after the 1981-82 school year, but stays in conference for all other sports.

2000s

• Crestview football rejoins in the 2000-01 school year. Their football program returned as an independent for the 1999 season. Upper Scioto Valley would leave when this school year came to end.
• Lima Perry leaves after the 2003-04 school year.
• Lima Central Catholic joins for the 2006-07 school year.

2010s

On December 1, 2011, Lima Central Catholic announced they were voted out of the NWC after the 2012-13 school year due to concerns over competitive balance and alleged "recruiting". On February 6, 2012, Lima Central Catholic announced on the FM 93.1 radio show "Sports Talk with Koza" that no other local conferences were interested in adding LCC to their leagues.

Football champions

Year	Champions
1947	Delphos Jefferson
1948	Forest
1949	Lima Shawnee
1950	Lima Shawnee
1951	Columbus Grove
1952	Columbus Grove
1953	Delphos Jefferson
1954	Forest
1955	Elida
1956	Bluffton
1957	Elida
1958	Bluffton, Elida
1959	Columbus Grove
1960	Elida
1961	Elida, Pandora-Gilboa
1962	Elida
1963	Spencerville
1964	Lima Bath
1965	Lima Bath
1966	Bluffton
1967	Allen East
1968	Allen East, Columbus Grove, Paulding
1969	Bluffton
1970	Elida
1971	Ada
1972	Ada, Allen East, Spencerville
1973	Ada
1974	Bluffton
1975	Bluffton
1976	Bluffton
1977	Paulding
1978	Paulding
1979	Ada
1980	Delphos Jefferson
1981	Delphos Jefferson
1982	Allen East
1983	Paulding
1984	Delphos Jefferson
1985	Delphos Jefferson
1986	Delphos Jefferson
1987	Delphos Jefferson
1988	Paulding
1989	Allen East
1990	Allen East
1991	Bluffton
1992	Columbus Grove
1993	Delphos Jefferson
1994	Ada
1995	Allen East
1996	Bluffton, Spencerville
1997	Columbus Grove
1998	Bluffton, Columbus Grove
1999	Bluffton, Columbus Grove, Delphos Jefferson
2000	Bluffton, Delphos Jefferson
2001	Delphos Jefferson
2002	Columbus Grove
2003	Columbus Grove
2004	Bluffton
2005	Bluffton, Columbus Grove, Crestview
2006	Lima CC
2007	Lima CC
2008	Ada
2009	Ada
2010	Lima CC
2011	Lima CC

External links

• Northwest Conference Official Website