The Metro Athletic Conference is an Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) athletic league that began competition in the 2020-21 school year. The league is made up of member schools from Medina, Portage and Summit counties in Ohio.
Current members
edit| School | Nickname | Location | Colors[1] | Joined | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloverleaf | Colts | Westfield | Green, white
|
2020 | Leaving for Principals Athletic Conference in 2028 |
| Cuyahoga Falls | Black Tigers | Cuyahoga Falls | Black, yellow
|
2026 | |
| Field | Falcons | Brimfield | Red, white, black
|
2020 | |
| Norton | Panthers | Norton | Red, black, white
|
2020 | |
| Ravenna | Ravens | Ravenna | Blue, white, red
|
2020 | leaving for Greater Portage Athletic Conference in 2027 |
| Kent Roosevelt | Rough Riders | Kent | Red, white, black
|
2026 | |
| Springfield | Spartans | Lakemore | Red, gray
|
2020 | leaving for Greater Portage Athletic Conference in 2027 |
| Streetsboro | Rockets | Streetsboro | Blue, gold
|
2020 | |
| Tallmadge | Blue Devils | Tallmadge | Blue, yellow
|
2026 | |
| Woodridge | Bulldogs | Cuyahoga Falls | Maroon, silver, white
|
2020 | |
Former members
editHistory
editA previous Metro Athletic Conference existed primarily in Mahoning, Trumbull, and Columbiana Counties until 2008. It was founded in 1972 as the Mahoning Valley Conference and renamed Metro Athletic Conference in 1994. The conference merged with the Trumbull Athletic Conference in 2008 and formed the All-American Conference.[2]
The current Metro Athletic Conference was established in April 2019 after the superintendents of all eight school districts that made up the Portage Trail Conference (PTC) Metro Division voted to move forward with establishing a new league separate from the PTC to begin play in August 2020. Reasons given for leaving the PTC included concerns over officiating, scheduling, and league operations, along with the desire for a third-party commissioner and more educational opportunities.[3][4] The name had been chosen by the time the split from the PTC was made official in June 2019.[5]
The initial opening of conference play for many sports was put in jeopardy from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, with golf being the only sport to begin interscholastic at the outset in early August 2020. Later in August, it was announced by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine that all sports were allowed to compete under special guidelines outlined by the Ohio High School Athletic Association.
In November 2024, it was announced that Cuyahoga Falls, Kent Roosevelt, and Tallmadge, all members of the Suburban League American Conference, accepted invitations to join the Metro Conference beginning in the 2026–27 school year. At the same time, Coventry also announced its departure from the MAC at the conclusion of the 2025–26 school year to rejoin the Principals Athletic Conference (PAC), a conference they were part of from 1989 to 1995 and again from 2001 to 2005.[6]
Ravenna and Springfield announced in January 2026 they will be leaving the MAC after the 2026–27 school year in favor of the newly formed Greater Portage Athletic Conference, which will begin conference play at the start of the 2027–28 school year.[7] Cloverleaf later announced in March 2026 they plan on leaving the MAC at the conclusion of the 2027–28 school year and joining the PAC.[8]
References
edit- ↑ "Member School Directory and Athletic Schedules". MyOHSAA.org. Ohio High School Athletic Association. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
- ↑ "About the Conference". AACOhio.net. All-American Conference. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ↑ Rosenblum, Jonah; Leonard, Michael (April 11, 2020). "Portage Trail Conference shakeup?". Record-Courier. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ↑ Rosenblum, Jonah (April 15, 2019). "Portage Trail Conference Metro superintendents to 'move forward' in new conference discussions". Record Courier. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ↑ Kreider, Derek (June 20, 2019). "Norton school board OKs membership to new athletic league". Akron.com. Retrieved August 17, 2020.
- ↑ Leonard, Jonah Rosenblum, Brad Bournival and Michael. "Metro Athletic Conference could expand to 10 schools and shrink Suburban League to 13". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Rosenblum, Jonah. "Portage County schools set to form new sports conference". Record-Courier. Retrieved 2026-01-13.
- ↑ "Cloverleaf set to join Principals Athletic Conference". medina-gazette.com. Retrieved 2026-03-15.