Northeast Eight Conference
An eight-member IHSAA-Sanctioned Athletic Conference within the Northeastern Indiana counties of Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, Wells, and Whitley. The conference was started in 1989 as the Northeast Hoosier Conference when six schools from the Northeastern Indiana Athletic Conference (Bellmont, Columbia City, DeKalb, East Noble, Homestead, and New Haven) joined with two schools from the Allen County Athletic Conference (Fort Wayne Carroll and Norwell). When the smaller six schools decided to pull out of the conference in 2015, the conference essentially ceased to exist, forcing the much larger Carroll and Homestead into joining the Summit Athletic Conference. The remaining schools, while settling on the current league name, added Huntington North of the North Central Conference and Leo of the Allen County Athletic Conference, who are more similar in size to the rest of the schools. While the six NEHC schools technically dropped out, they never actually left the league, having succeeded in forcing out the two large Fort Wayne schools, ended up staying in the league. This is not an unheard of tactic, as most notably Ohio's Chagrin Valley Conference pulled virtually the same move around the same time.
Founded | 1989 As Northeast Hoosier Conference 2014 As Northeast Eight Conference |
---|---|
Ceased | 2013 (Northeast Hoosier Conference) |
No. of teams | 8; 6 Class 4A, 2 Class 3A |
Region | 7 Counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Noble, Wells, and Whitley, Indiana |
Locations | |
Membership
School | Location | Mascot | Colors | Enrollment | IHSAA Class/Football Class | # / County | Year joined | Previous conference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bellmont | Decatur | Braves | 641 | AAA/AAA | 01 Adams |
1989 | Northeastern Indiana | |
Columbia City |
Columbia City | Eagles | 1,127 | AAAA/AAAA | 92 Whitley |
1989 | Northeastern Indiana | |
DeKalb | Waterloo | Barons | 1,083 | AAAA/AAAA | 17 DeKalb |
1989 | Northeastern Indiana | |
East Noble |
Kendallville | Knights | 1,045 | AAAA/AAAA | 57 Noble |
1989 | Northeastern Indiana | |
Huntington North |
Huntington | Vikings | 1,442 | AAAA/AAAA | 35 Huntington |
2015 | North Central | |
Leo | Leo | Lions | 968 | AAA/AAAA | 02 Allen |
2015 | Allen County | |
New Haven | New Haven | Bulldogs | 1,064 | AAAA/AAAA | 02 Allen |
1989 | Northeastern Indiana | |
Norwell | Ossian | Knights | 790 | AAA/AAA | 90 Wells |
1989 | Allen County |
Former members (As Northeast Hoosier Conference)
School | Location | Mascot | Colors | Enrollment | IHSAA Class | # / County | Year joined | Previous conference | Year left | Conference joined |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fort Wayne Carroll |
Fort Wayne | Chargers | 2,472 | AAAA | 02 Allen |
1989 | Allen County | 2015 | Summit | |
Fort Wayne Homestead |
Fort Wayne | Spartans | 2,502 | AAAA | 02 Allen |
1989 | Northeastern Indiana | 2015 | Summit |
State championships
Bellmont (8)
- 1987 Wrestling
- 1988 Wrestling
- 1994 Wrestling
- 2007 Volleyball (3A)
- 2008 Football (3A)
- 2010 Volleyball (3A)
- 2016 Wrestling
- 2020 Wrestling
DeKalb (3)
- 1980 Baseball
- 1986 Football (4A)
- 2021 Unified Flag Football
East Noble (1)
- 2000 Football (4A)
Leo (6)
- 2014 Softball (3A)
- 2012 Hockey (3A)
- 2014 Hockey (4A)
- 2016 Hockey (3A)
- 2018 Rugby (D-1)
- 2019 Rugby (D-1)
Carroll (2)
- 2010 Baseball (4A)
- 2011 Baseball (4A)
Homestead (10)
- 1983 Gymnastics
- 1984 Gymnastics
- 1985 Gymnastics
- 1990 Hockey (AA)
- 1991 Hockey (A)
- 1995 Hockey (AA)
- 1996 Gymnastics
- 1999 Gymnastics
- 2001 Gymnastics
- 2015 Boys Basketball
Huntington North (2)
- 1990 Girls Basketball
- 1995 Girls Basketball
Norwell (3)
- 2003 Baseball (3A)
- 2007 Baseball (3A)
- 2013 Baseball (3A)
Notable athletes
- Rob Bowen, Major League Baseball Catcher
- Chandler Harnish, [Norwell] Northern Illinois, Indianapolis Colts Quarterback
- Jarrod Parker, [Norwell] Major League Baseball Pitcher
- Josh VanMeter, [Norwell] Major League Baseball Second Baseman,Utility
- Dave Doster, New Haven High School, Major League Baseball, Philadelphia Phillies 2nd Baseman