Western Reserve Conference

The Western Reserve Conference is a high school athletic conference made up of members from Cuyahoga, Geauga and Lake counties in Ohio. They compete in the Ohio High School Athletic Association. This conference began play in the 2015-16 school year.^[1][2]

The Western Reserve Conference originally known at the Trolley League with its member schools being located along the Interurban Trolley Line with its founding members Cuyahoga Falls, Kenmore, Ravenna, Roosevelt, and Kent State. Bedford, Orrville and Medina, it was later renamed as the Western Reserve Conference in 1931 after the Connecticut Western Reserve with Ellet and Wadsworth joining that season, and the Trolley Line it was named after had been abandoned. The conference has had 4 separate stints since 1919. With its first version being in operation from 1919-1951.^[3]

The Western Reserve Conference would reform from the original Lake County League that existed from the early 1920s until 1948 when it reformed as the 2nd stint of the Western Reserve Conference.

In 1996, the Western Reserve Conference would reform on its 3rd stint, as the 5 remaining schools from the Metro League merged with 5 schools from the Chagrin Valley Conference. The founding members of this 3rd stint includes Barberton, Cuyahoga Falls, Kenston, Orange, Roosevelt, Ravenna, Solon, Stow-Monroe Falls, West Geauga, and Twinsburg. The WRC would add Hudson, Nordonia, Brush and Mayfield the following 2 seasons, with the league adding two separate divisions due to its size, the North and South Division. The league would reform into one following the exit of Barberton, Ravenna, Roosevelt and Kenston in 2005. By 2007, the league would merge with the Pioneer Conference to form the Northeast Ohio Conference.

In 2013, it was announced that the Western Reserve Conference would reform once again for its 4th stint, with Chardon, Kenston, Mayfield, North, Riverside and South joining from the PAC. The conference would begin play in the 2015-16 school year.^[4]

The Western Reserve Conference will break up once again following the 2025-26 school year, as Kenston and Mayfield accepted their invitations to join the Suburban League, and with North, South and Chardon joining the Chargin Valley Conference. Riverside will join the Greater Cleveland Conference.^[5]