Eastern Buckeye Conference

The Eastern Buckeye Conference is an OHSAA athletic league that began competition in the 2018–19 school year and is made up of member schools from Carroll, Columbiana, Mahoning, and Stark Counties in Ohio. This conference is made up of members of the former Northeastern Buckeye Conference.

Members


School	Nickname	Location	Colors	Tenure	Notes
Alliance	Aviators	Alliance	Red, Columbia Blue	2018-
Carrollton	Warriors	Carrollton	Black, White	2018-	Leaving in 2028
Marlington	Dukes	Lexington	Orange, Black	2018-	Leaving in 2028
Minerva	Lions	Minerva	Crimson, Gray	2018-	Leaving in 2028
Salem	Quakers	Salem	Red, Black	2018-
West Branch	Warriors	Beloit	Green, White	2018-

Former Members

School	Nickname	Location	Colors	Tenure	Notes
Canton South	Wildcats	Canton	Red and Gray	2018-2022	Left for Principals Athletic Conference

History

In December 2015, discussions began between members of the Northeastern Buckeye Conference to create a new league that didn't include member school Louisville.^[1] February 2016, the Northeastern Buckeye Conference disbanded, the other members in the league at the time (Alliance, Canton South, Carrollton, Marlington, Minerva, Salem, and West Branch) voted to form the Eastern Buckeye Conference that would begin play in the fall of 2018. Other nearby schools were invited to join the league such as Crestview and Beaver Local. Those schools would decline their invitations, joining other conferences instead.^[2] South Range had originally accepted their invitation to become the leagues eighth member but retracted its invitation and instead joined the newly formed Northeast 8 Conference.^[3]

In July 2020, Canton South announced that they had accepted an invitation to the Principals Athletic Conference and would be leaving following the 2021-22 school year.^[4] East Liverpool was offered to replace Canton South beginning the 2022-23 school year but declined their invitation after internal discussions with coaches, ultimately remaining in the Buckeye 8.^[5]

Howland announced in May 2024 that they would be joining the Eastern Buckeye Conference for football only starting the 2026 season, after years of being an independent school.^[6] Howland later made the decision to remain independent following the news that the EBC would likely be folding.

Carrollton, Marlington and Minerva announced their intention to leave the EBC effective the 2028-29 school year for a new athletic conference with Claymont, Fairless, Sandy Valley, Tuscarawas Valley and Tuslaw, all of them being former Senate League members.^[7] West Branch and Salem announced on February 14, 2026, that they would be searching for a new league as a result of the news,^[8] with both schools applying to become the eighth and ninth members of the Northeast 8 Athletic Conference pending approval from NE8 schools and their commissioner.^[9]

Conference Championships

List of Conference Champions since 2018.

Year	Football	Volleyball	Girls Basketball	Boys Basketball	Baseball	Softball
2018–19	Alliance	Salem/Marlington	Salem/Canton South	Alliance	Marlington
2019–20	Alliance	Marlington	West Branch	West Branch	NO SEASON- COVID	NO SEASON - COVID
2020–21	West Branch	Marlington	Marlington	West Branch/Canton South/Salem	Salem	West Branch
2021–22	West Branch	Marlington	Marlington	Alliance	Marlington	Marlington
2022–23	West Branch	Marlington	Marlington/Salem	Carrollton/Alliance	Alliance	Marlington
2023–24	West Branch	Marlington	West Branch	West Branch	Alliance	Marlington
2024–25	West Branch	Marlington	West Branch	Carrollton/Alliance	Carrollton	West Branch
2025–26	West Branch	Marlington	West Branch	Alliance

References

^ "Northeastern Buckeye Conference could disband to oust Louisville". IndeOnline.com. December 12, 2015. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
^ ""Eastern Buckeye Conference to go with 7 schools for now"". Alliance Review. June 6, 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
^ ""South Range joins new Northeast 8, leaving the Northeast Buckeye"". WKBN 27. May 23, 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
^ ""Canton South to join Principals Athletic Conference in 2022"". CantonRep.com. July 2, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
^ "Potters won't be a part of EBC". salemnews.net. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
^ "Mahoning Matters Howland Joining EBC".
^ Beaven, Chris. "Former Senate League schools forming a new high school conference". Canton Repository. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
^ "West Branch, Salem to start search for new league". salemnews.net. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
^ "Quakers will look to Northeast 8". salemnews.net. Retrieved February 17, 2026.

[1] "Northeastern Buckeye Conference could disband to oust Louisville". IndeOnline.com. December 12, 2015. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved December 17, 2015.

[2] ""Eastern Buckeye Conference to go with 7 schools for now"". Alliance Review. June 6, 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2018.

[3] ""South Range joins new Northeast 8, leaving the Northeast Buckeye"". WKBN 27. May 23, 2017. Retrieved August 19, 2018.

[4] ""Canton South to join Principals Athletic Conference in 2022"". CantonRep.com. July 2, 2020. Retrieved May 10, 2022.

[5] "Potters won't be a part of EBC". salemnews.net. Retrieved February 17, 2026.

[6] "Mahoning Matters Howland Joining EBC".

[7] Beaven, Chris. "Former Senate League schools forming a new high school conference". Canton Repository. Retrieved February 14, 2026.

[8] "West Branch, Salem to start search for new league". salemnews.net. Retrieved February 14, 2026.

[9] "Quakers will look to Northeast 8". salemnews.net. Retrieved February 17, 2026.

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Northeast District (Ohio) High School Athletic Conferences (Northeast Ohio)
Current conferences	Akron City Series All-American Conference Chagrin Valley Conference Cleveland West Conference Eastern Buckeye Conference Federal League Firelands Conference Greater Cleveland Conference Inter-Valley Conference Lake Erie League Lorain County League Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Metro Athletic Conference Northeast 8 Athletic Conference Northeastern Athletic Conference Ohio Cardinal Conference Principals Athletic Conference Senate Athletic League Southwestern Conference Suburban League Wayne County Athletic League Western Reserve Conference
Football-only conferences	Northern 8 Football Conference (N8FC)
Upcoming conferences	United Athletic Conference (OHSAA) (2026)
Defunct conferences	All-American Athletic Conference (1986–1990) All-American Conference (Football) (1963–1973) All-American Conference (2008–2020) All-Ohio Conference/League (1976–1989) Ashland County League (1929-1963) Chippewa Conference (1963–1977) Crown Conference (1968–1990) Crown Conference (2021–2024) Cuyahoga Valley Conference/League (c. 1920–1929) Cuyahoga Valley Conference (1954-1956) Cuyahoga Valley Conference (1964-1979) East Suburban Conference (1968–2009) Erie Coast Conference (1977–1986) Erie Shore Conference (1987–1997) Freeway Conference (1962–1968) Grand River Conference (1972–1989) Great Lakes Conference (2015–2024) Greater Cleveland Conference (1950–1998) Hall of Fame Conference (1972–1975) Inland Conference (1957–1989) Inter-County League (1951–2006) Inter-Tri County League (2006–2015) Lake Erie League (1998-2025) Lakeland Conference (1953–1986) Lorain County Conference (1986–2005) Lorain County Conference (1924–1961) Mahoning Valley Conference/Metro Athletic Conference (1972–2008) Metro League (1937–1996) Metropolitan Area Conference (MAC-8) (1989–2005) Mohican Area Conference (1989–2004) North Coast Conference (1974–1983) Northeastern Conference (1951–2001) Northeast Ohio Conference (2007–2015) Northeast Ohio Conference (1970–1977) Northern Ohio Athletic League (1927–1947) North Coast League (1984–2020) Northeast Ohio Conference (2007–2015) Northeastern Buckeye Conference (1989–2018) Ohio Scholastic League (1948–1951) Patriot Athletic Conference (2005–2019) Portage County League (1918–2005) Portage Trail Conference (2005–2025) Pioneer Conference (1977–2007) Premier Athletic Conference (1997–2015) Tri-County League (1932–2006) Senate League (1921–1989) Steel Valley Conference (2019–2025) Steel Valley Conference (1949–2009) Tomahawk Conference (1958–1961) Tri-County League (1932–2006) Trumbull Interscholastic Conference/Association (c. 1920s–c. 1960s) Trumbull Athletic Conference (1960–2008) West Shore Conference (2005–2015) Youngstown City Series (1925–2003)
Outlying	Mid-Buckeye Conference Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference