The Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference (EOAC) is an Ohio High School Athletic Association high school athletic conference that began competition in the 2017–18 school year and is made up of member schools from Columbiana and Mahoning counties in Ohio.[1] The league was formed from members of the red and white tiers of the former Inter-Tri County League.
Members
[edit]| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbiana | Clippers | Columbiana | Red and white
|
2017– | |
| David Anderson | Blue Devils | Lisbon | Blue and white
|
2017– | |
| East Palestine | Bulldogs | East Palestine | Brown and white
|
2017– | |
| Leetonia | Bears | Leetonia | Blue and white
|
2017–2026 | Leaving for Northeastern Athletic Conference in 2026 |
| Southern Local | Indians | Salineville | Blue and gold
|
2017– | |
| United | Golden Eagles | Hanoverton | Blue and gold
|
2017– | |
| Wellsville | Tigers | Wellsville | Orange and black
|
2017– | |
| Valley Christian | Eagles | Youngstown | Blue and gold
|
2020– |
Former members
[edit]| School | Nickname | Location | Colors | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | Red Knights | Toronto | Red and White
|
2017–2019 | Left for OVAC |
History
[edit]The Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference was formed when the Inter-Tri County League disbanded in 2016. Seven members of the red and white tiers of the ITCL would form the EOAC[2] (Columbiana, Lisbon, East Palestine, Leetonia, Southern, Toronto, United and Wellsville.) conference play began in the fall 2017–18 season.[3]
Toronto announced they would forfeit its membership in the EOAC after two seasons of membership. They left following the 2018–19 school year, citing different reasons for their departure such as financial reasons from higher league and official costs, and lower crowds of both home and away games due to traveling distance between member schools. Toronto had rejoined its previous conference, the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference.[4][5]
Youngstown Valley Christian accepted its invitation to join the EOAC in 2019, with them beginning conference play in the 2020–21 school year.[6][7] They were previously a member of the Portage Trail Conference but left due to wanting to compete with schools closer to enrollment size and travel distance.[8]
Leetonia, who is one of the EOAC's founding members, announced in 2025 they will be departing from the league following the 2025–26 school year, with them joining the Northeastern Athletic Conference in hopes of playing schools closer in size and competition to them.[9][10][11]
Conference championships
[edit]Conference Championships of the EOAC since 2017
| Year | Football | Volleyball | Boys Soccer | Girls Soccer | Boys Basketball | Girls Basketball | Baseball | Softball |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | United | Columbiana | United | Columbiana | Lisbon/Columbiana | Southern | ||
| 2024–25 | United | Columbiana | United | United | Valley Christian | Columbiana | United | Columbiana |
| 2023–24 | United | Columbiana | United | United | Lisbon | Columbiana/United/Southern | Columbiana | Columbiana |
| 2022–23 | Valley Christian | Wellsville | United | United | Southern | United | Columbiana | Columbiana |
| 2021–22 | United | Wellsville | United | United | Wellsville | United | United | Columbiana |
| 2020–21 | United | Wellsville | United | United | Southern | East Palestine | Columbiana | Columbiana |
| 2019–20 | Southern | Wellsville | United | United | Columbiana | Columbiana | NO SEASON - COVID | NO SEASON - COVID |
| 2018–19 | Southern | Wellsville | United | United | Toronto | Columbiana | Toronto | Lisbon |
| 2017–18 | East Palestine | Southern | United | United | Toronto | Columbiana | Toronto | United |
References
[edit]- ^ "Ohio Interscholastic Conference Affiliations". www.ohsaa.org. Retrieved 2025-12-11.
- ^ "Fallout from folded ITCL results in 2 new leagues". tribtoday.com. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
- ^ "2017 Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference football schedules". WKBN.com. 2017-04-30. Archived from the original on 2020-11-27. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
- ^ "Toronto to leave EOAC". morningjournalnews.com. Retrieved 2025-12-11.
- ^ "Toronto votes to leave EOAC". reviewonline.com. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
- ^ "Valley Christian joining Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference". www.wfmj.com. Retrieved 2025-12-11.
- ^ "Valley Christian accepted into EOAC". tribtoday.com. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
- ^ "Valley Christian will become eighth EOAC team". reviewonline.com. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
- ^ "Leetonia to leave EOAC for NAC". reviewonline.com. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
- ^ "Leetonia to exit EOAC". morningjournalnews.com. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
- ^ "Leetonia leaving EOAC for NAC". vindy.com. Retrieved 2026-01-17.