Greenwood, one of the founding members of the Mid-State Conference, may soon be bidding that league adieu.
With the enrollment gap between the conference’s schools continuing to widen, the Woodmen are considering an invitation to leave that league and move to the newly formed Hoosier Legends Conference alongside Indian Creek, Beech Grove, Monrovia, Speedway, Triton Central and Tri-West.
The potential move would not take effect until the 2026-27 school year; Greenwood would not want an abrupt exit to cause problems for the Mid-State, which it has been a part of since its formation in 1942.
In order to give residents an opportunity to weigh in on the proposed conference switch, Greenwood principal Michael Gasaway sent an email out to district families on Wednesday inviting them to a community open house in the board room of the adminstration building on Oct. 9 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Greenwood has found it increasingly difficult to compete for championships in the Mid-State over the past decade or so. It last shared the girls all-sports championship in 2011-12, and its only league title in any sport over the last six years is a share of the boys basketball crown in 2019-20. With an invitation from the HLC in hand, administrators are weighing options.
The Mid-State Conference formed in 1942 with eight member schools: Brownsburg, Danville, Decatur Central, Greenwood, Lawrence Central, Mooresville, Plainfield and Speedway. Only the Woodmen, Pioneers and Quakers have remained in the league throughout; Decatur Central departed in 1971 but rejoined in 2006 along with Martinsville. The last change came in 2018, with the addition of Perry Meridian making it an eight-team league again.
The HLC will launch next fall with six teams; officials from league schools have stated that they see eight as an ideal number. Greenwood would be the largest school in that conference if it were to join, with Beech Grove the only other Class 4A football school currently in the bunch.
Whether the Mid-State would seek out a replacement for the Woodmen to keep membership at eight remains to be seen; if it did, the most logical candidates would likely be Columbus North and Southport, both currently in a geographically scattered Conference Indiana.
