Western Reserve Conference

There are three earlier leagues in Northeast Ohio that used the Western Reserve name.

The first league to use the Western Reserve name was founded as the Trolley League in 1919. It assumed the name of Western Reserve League or Western Reserve Conference around 1931 after the Interurban trolley line was shut down.

The second league to use the Western Reserve name was founded as the Lake County League in the 1920s. It was renamed the Western Reserve Conference in 1948 and existed until 1968.

The third Western Reserve Conference was established in 1996 and existed until 2007.

The first conference to use the Western Reserve name was founded in 1919 as the Trolley League with its member schools being located along the Interurban trolley line. The founding members were Cuyahoga Falls, Kenmore, Ravenna, Roosevelt, and Kent State. Later, Bedford, Orrville, and Medina, had stints as members. The trolley line was shut down in 1931, so the league was renamed as the Western Reserve League or Western Reserve Conference after the Connecticut Western Reserve, with Ellet and Wadsworth joining that season. St. Vincent joined in 1938, but by the mid-1940s, the league was down to only four members: Cuyahoga Falls, Roosevelt, Ravenna, and St. Vincent. After the 1947–48 season, the league disbanded.^[3]

The second Western Reserve Conference was originally known as the Lake County League and existed from the early 1920s. It assumed the WRC name beginning in 1948 and existed until 1968.

A third Western Reserve Conference began play in 1996, as the five remaining schools from the Metro League merged with five schools from the Chagrin Valley Conference. The founding members of this third WRC were Barberton, Cuyahoga Falls, Kenston, Orange, Roosevelt, Ravenna, Solon, Stow-Munroe Falls, West Geauga, and Twinsburg. West Geauga and Orange only played two seasons in the WRC before returning to the CVC. Hudson and Nordonia joined in 1997 to bring the total to twelve schools, followed by Brush and Mayfield in 1998 to replace West Geauga and Orange. From its foundation in 1996 until 2005, it was divided into North and South divisions, with six schools in each division. After the exits of Barberton, Ravenna, Roosevelt, and Kenston in 2005, the divisions were dissolved. At the conclusion of the 2006–07 school year, the league merged with the Pioneer Conference to form the Northeast Ohio Conference.

In 2013, it was announced that a new Western Reserve Conference, the fourth to use the name, would be created, with Chardon, Kenston, Mayfield, North, Riverside, and South joining from the PAC. The conference began play in the 2015-16 school year.^[4]

The current Western Reserve Conference will break up following the 2025-26 school year, as Kenston and Mayfield accepted invitations to join the Suburban League, while North, South, and Chardon are planning on joining the Chagrin Valley Conference. Riverside will join the Greater Cleveland Conference.^[5]