Northern Lakes League

Current members

Future member

Former members

League history

1950s

• The Great Northern Conference had been created in 1945 with Oregon Clay, Maumee, Perrysburg, Rossford, Sylvania and Toledo Whitmer as its charter members. Anthony Wayne would join them in 1953. League expansion was brought up in 1956 as Bowling Green, Fostoria, Swanton, Oak Harbor, Genoa, Lake, Port Clinton, Toledo Rogers and Holland were considered for membership. The GNC eventually grew and split into two divisions based on size— Orange: (Bowling Green, Clay, Fostoria, Toledo Rogers, Sylvania, and Toledo Whitmer) and Blue: (Anthony Wayne, Genoa, Maumee, Perrysburg, Port Clinton and Rossford). The names were changed in 1957, with the Orange Division becoming the Great Lakes League and the Blue Division becoming the Northern Lakes League.

• The NLL begins for the 1956-57 school year with Anthony Wayne, Genoa, Maumee, Perrysburg, Port Clinton, and Rossford as its charter members.
• Eastwood joins in 1959 after being accepted in 1958.

1960s

• Elmwood and Lake both join in 1960.
• When Springfield (Holland HS until 1959) joins in 1962, the NLL will have its largest membership total at ten schools. This would only last for the 1962-63 school year.
• Port Clinton switches into the Great Lakes League (the Orange Division of the GNC) in 1963 after winning three football titles in 1957, 1960, and 1962.

1970s

• For the 1972-73 school year, Eastwood, Elmwood, and Genoa leave to help form the Suburban Lakes League (SLL), leaving 6 members for a while. Swanton and Napoleon were suggested as replacements.
• Southview joins in 1976 after Sylvania High School splits.
• Bowling Green leaves the GLL in 1978 to bring the league total to 8.

1980s

• The League membership remains consistent

1990s

• For the 1996-97 school year, Lake leaves to join the SLL, and is replaced by Northview, who leaves the former Great Lakes League. The football team remained in the GLL for the 1996 season before fully joining at season's end.
• Around 1999, Rossford first considered leaving the NLL for a league with members closer in their size. The 9-member SLL offered an opening, but Rossford initially declined.

2000s

• In 2008, Rossford sent a letter of interest to be considered as the replacement for Lakota in the SLL, who left for the MAL in 2009. The SLL could not get a 6-out-of-7 vote to accept Rossford, ensuring they would remain a member of the NLL for at least a few more years. The NLL considered adding Clay and Napoleon to make a ten-school league, but a majority vote was not reached to expand.
• In May 2009, Rossford's board of education voted unanimously to leave the Northern Lakes League and form the new Northern Buckeye Conference with Eastwood, Genoa, Lake, Otsego, and Woodmore, all schools that were withdrawing from the Suburban Lakes League. Later additions to the NBC included Elmwood and Fostoria. The new league began competition in the fall of 2011.
• In June 2009, Napoleon High School accepted the invitation to join the Northern Lakes League in 2011 as the replacement for Rossford.
• In August 2009, Maumee's school board voted 3-2 to remain members of the Northern Lakes League and to not accept the NBC's invitation to join their new league.

2020s

• In January 2021, the NLL announced a plan to expand the league to 16 members, with two divisions of eight schools each based on enrollment. Any schools interested in membership were invited to apply, and it was hinted that expansion would most likely affect the Three Rivers Athletic Conference (TRAC) more than any other leagues.
• On March 22, 2021, Maumee's school board voted unanimously to leave the NLL and join the Northern Buckeye Conference no later than the 2023-24 school year as a replacement for Elmwood High School.
• On April 9, 2021, the seven remaining NLL schools sent invitations to four schools that were currently members of the TRAC: Findlay, Fremont Ross, Oregon Clay, and Whitmer. Fremont Ross voted to accept the invitation on April 12, followed by Findlay on April 19, Clay on April 20, and Whitmer on April 21.
• On November 11, 2022, the NLL announced their division names and alignments for the 2023-24 through 2026-27 school years. The Buckeye Division will be for the larger schools and the Cardinal Division will be for the smaller schools, with a slightly different alignment for football. Springfield will play in the Buckeye Division for football during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. They will move to the Cardinal Division and Clay will play in the Buckeye Division for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. School enrollment will be considered every two years for reorganizing and balancing the divisions.
• On January 24, 2025, the NLL invited Liberty-Benton to join the league as a member of the Cardinal Division beginning in the 2026-27 school year. Liberty-Benton accepted the invitation on January 27th.

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All-time membership

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:25 Period = from:1956 till:2038 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5

Colors = id:barcolor id:line value:black id:bg value:white

PlotData= width:20 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:m

bar:1 color:brightblue from:1956 till:end textcolor:white text:Anthony Wayne (1956-) bar:2 color:claret from:1956 till:1972 textcolor:white text:Genoa (1956-1972) bar:3 color:purple from:1956 till:2023 textcolor:yellow text:Maumee (1956-2023) bar:4 color:black from:1956 till:end textcolor:yellow text:Perrysburg (1956-) bar:5 color:claret from:1956 till:2011 textcolor:white text:Rossford (1956-2011) bar:6 color:red from:1956 till:1963 text:Port Clinton (1956-1963) bar:7 color:red from:1959 till:1972 textcolor:white text:Eastwood (1959-1972) bar:8 color:brightblue from:1960 till:1972 textcolor:white text:Elmwood (1960-1972) bar:9 color:darkblue from:1960 till:1996 textcolor:white text:Lake (1960-1996) bar:10 color:brightblue from:1962 till:end textcolor:white text:Springfield (1962-) bar:11 color:orange from:1976 till:end text:Southview (1976-) bar:12 color:red from:1978 till:end textcolor:white text:Bowling Green (1978-) bar:13 color:yellow from:1996 till:end text:Northview (1996-) bar:14 color:darkblue from:2011 till:end textcolor:white text:Napoleon (2011-) bar:15 color:green from:2023 till:end textcolor:yellow text:Clay (2023-) bar:16 color:brightblue from:2023 till:end textcolor:yellow text:Findlay (2023-) bar:17 color:purple from:2023 till:end textcolor:white text:Fremont Ross (2023-) bar:19 color:darkblue from:2023 till:end textcolor:yellow text:Whitmer (2023-) bar:20 color:brightblue from:2026 till:end textcolor:red text:Liberty-Benton (2026-) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:10 start:1956

TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(370,30) # tabs:(0-center) text:"NLL Membership History"

Football champions

Divisional Era Champions

References

References

1. Richard, Jim. (September 19, 1946). "Rossford Plays Maumee And Perrysburg Meets Sylvania In Suburban Grid Games". [[Toledo Blade]].
2. Sama, Dominic. (October 12, 1957). "Knights Wallop Rogers; Maumee Bows to Bryan". [[Toledo Blade]].
3. (October 13, 1956). "Central, Scott Upsets Jam City League Top Spot". [[Toledo Blade]].
4. Blade Correspondent. (February 6, 1960). "Eastwood Roars To Tie For Title (explains that 1959-60 is Eastwood's first year of NLL competition)". [[Toledo Blade]].
5. (December 24, 1960). "Elmwood Quells Westwood Rally; Generals Win (shows 1960-61 NLL basketball standings with Elmwood and Lake)". [[Toledo Blade]].
6. Little, Jim. (January 26, 1963). "Rossford Trips AW, 28-8, As Jack Tisdale Runs Wild (shows Springfield in the 1962-63 NLL standings as a league member not eligible for the league title)". [[Toledo Blade]].
7. Little, Jim. (January 27, 1963). "Suburban Leagues Must Be Flexible To Survive". [[Toledo Blade]].
8. (December 16, 1970). "New Prep Conference Set". [[Toledo Blade]].
9. Goode, Mike. (December 4, 1976). "Southview Zaps AW (Southview opened in 1976; article explains this was an NLL matchup)". [[Toledo Blade]].
10. (November 3, 1978). "Lake Wins Northern Lakes League Outright". [[Toledo Blade]].
11. (August 29, 1995). "Northview to join Northern Lakes League". [[Toledo Blade]].
12. Schooley, Duane. (December 16, 1999). "SLL and TAAC mull realignment". [[Toledo Blade]].
13. (June 3, 2008). "Suburban Lakes League says no to Bulldogs' bid". [[Toledo Blade]].
14. Junga, Steve. (June 11, 2008). "NLL sticks with 8 teams; league members to reconsider expansion in September". [[Toledo Blade]].
15. Junga, Steve. (May 22, 2009). "5 from SLL join Rossford for new league". [[Toledo Blade]].
16. Junga, Steve. (May 22, 2009). "5 from SLL join Rossford for new league". [[Toledo Blade]].
17. Silka, Zach. (June 10, 2009). "Napoleon replaces Rossford in NLL". [[Toledo Blade]].
18. Junga, Steve. (July 19, 2010). "New frontier ahead for area leagues". [[Toledo Blade]].
19. Junga, Steve. (January 15, 2021). "Northern Lakes League plans to expand; announces goal of 2, 8-team divisions". [[Toledo Blade]].
20. Junga, Steve. (March 22, 2021). "Maumee to leave NLL, join NBC". [[Toledo Blade]].
21. (April 9, 2021). "In the Beginning…Constant Changing High School Athletic Conferences".
22. (April 13, 2021). "Fremont Ross accepts Northern Lakes League Invitation". [[Fremont News Messenger]].
23. (April 19, 2021). "Findlay joins Northern Lakes League". [[Findlay Courier]].
24. https://go.boarddocs.com/oh/washlsd/Board.nsf/goto?open&id=BYYH8R474A59 Washington Local Schools Board Minutes (April 21, 2021). Retrieved April 22, 2021
25. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5cddd133064ef10001330483/t/63728440dc09c60c559b5c9f/1668449345538/Press+Release+-+Divisions+11_2022.pdf Northern Lakes League Press Release - NLL Divisions (Nov. 11, 2022). Retrieved Nov. 18, 2022
26. (January 27, 2025). "Liberty-Benton accepts invitation to join Northern Lakes League".
27. Junga, Steve. (August 20, 2008). "Preview: Southview picked again in NLL". [[Toledo Blade]].