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South Tama County Seeks Return to North Iowa Cedar League Conference

After a decade in the WaMaC Conference, South Tama County is looking to return to familiar territory by requesting to rejoin the North Iowa Cedar League (NICL) conference. The district administration sent a formal letter to the NICL on April 8, seeking to make the move for the 2025-26 school year, including all school sports and activities.

The decision to seek a change in conference was influenced by factors such as declining enrollment, extracurricular participation numbers, and travel distance. The NICL, with 15 member schools mostly consisting of 2A and a few 1A sized schools, could provide a better fit for South Tama.

If admitted into the NICL, South Tama would be the largest district by a significant margin, with 358 students compared to the next largest school at 259. The NICL administrators are expected to discuss and decide on South Tama’s request at their upcoming meeting in late April.

South Tama has a history with the NICL dating back to 1936 when Tama High School and Toledo High School were members of the Iowa Cedar Conference. The Trojans later joined the NICL in 2011 before moving to the WaMaC Conference in 2014.

The move back to the NICL could provide South Tama with the right fit in terms of enrollment and offerings, as the conference has evolved to include programs that align with what the district is looking for. The decision now rests in the hands of the NICL administrators as they consider South Tama’s request.