Suburban League

High school athletics league in northeastern Ohio, United States

The Suburban League is an Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) athletics league made up of 16 high schools from Cuyahoga, Medina, Portage, and Summit counties in Northeast Ohio. It was formed in 1949 and expanded into two divisions in 2015.

## Current members

[edit]

League members and conferences from 2015 to 2016 through 2020–21. School  | Nickname  | Location  | Colors  | Tenure

|
|
|
|

National Conference
Brecksville–Broadview Heights | Bees  | Broadview Heights, Cuyahoga County | Crimson, Gold
| 2015–
Hudson | Explorers  | Hudson, Summit County | Navy, White
| 1949–1997, 2015–
North Royalton | Bears  | North Royalton, Cuyahoga County | Purple, Gold
| 2015–[1]
Nordonia | Knights  | Macedonia, Summit County | Green, White
| 1949–1973, 2011–
Solon | Comets  | Solon, Cuyahoga County | Navy, White
| 2023–[a]
Stow–Munroe Falls | Bulldogs  | Stow, Summit County | Maroon, Gold
| 2015–
Twinsburg | Tigers  | Twinsburg, Summit County | Blue, White
| 1958–1964, 2015–
Wadsworth | Grizzlies  | Wadsworth, Medina County | Red, White
| 1984–
American Conference
Aurora | Greenmen  | Aurora, Portage County | Dark Green, White
| 2015–
Barberton | Magics  | Barberton, Summit County | Purple, White
| 2005–2011, 2015–
Copley | Indians  | Copley, Summit County | Blue, Gold
| 1949–
Cuyahoga Falls | Black Tigers  | Cuyahoga Falls, Summit County | Black, Gold
| 2015–
Highland | Hornets  | Granger, Medina County | Green, Black
| 1956–1957,[b] 1976–
Kent Roosevelt | Rough Riders  | Kent, Portage County | Red, White, Black
| 2015–[2]
Revere | Minutemen  | Richfield, Summit County | Red, Blue, White
| 1958–
Tallmadge | Blue Devils  | Tallmadge, Summit County | Blue, Gold
| 1990–

## Former members

[edit]

School  | Nickname  | Location  | Colors  | Tenure

|
|
|
|

Cloverleaf | Colts  | Westfield, Medina County | Green, White
| 1997–2015[3]
Coventry | Comets  | Coventry, Summit County | Blue, Gold
| 1969–1983
Field | Falcons  | Brimfield, Portage County | Red, White, Black
| 1978–1990
Green | Bulldogs  | Green, Summit County | Orange, Black
| 1949–2015[4]
Manchester | Panthers  | New Franklin, Summit County | Red, Black
| 1949–1976
Mogadore | Wildcats  | Mogadore, Summit County | Green, White
| 1958–1968
Norton | Panthers  | Norton, Summit County | Red, Black, White
| 1972–2005
Woodridge | Bulldogs  | Cuyahoga Falls, Summit County | Maroon, Silver
| 1958–1978

## Membership timeline

[edit]

Full members Associate members (football only)

## History

[edit]

The Suburban League was established in 1949 by the larger high schools in the Summit County League. The original charter members were Copley, Green, Hudson, Manchester, and Northfield–Macedonia. In 1956, Highland joined for football only and competed for the '56 and '57 titles. The league expanded to nine schools in 1958 with the additions of Mogadore, Revere, Twinsburg Chamberlin,[c] and Boston.[5]

1962 saw two changes to league members as Northfield–Macedonia, which had been referred to as "Nor-Mac" or "Nor-Donia," became Nordonia, while Boston consolidated into the new Woodridge High School with Woodridge taking the place of Boston in Suburban League membership. Twinsburg Chamberlin left the league for the Chagrin Valley Conference in 1964, followed by Mogadore for the Portage County League in 1968, which dropped membership to seven schools for one season. Coventry joined from the Metro League in 1969 and membership returned to nine schools with Norton joining from the Metro League in 1972, but only for one year as Nordonia left in 1973 for the Metro League. League membership remained stable at eight schools for the remainder of the 1970s and into the 2000s despite several changes, beginning in 1976 when Manchester left the league for the All-Ohio Conference. They were replaced the same year by Highland, which had competed as a football-only member of the league in 1956 and 1957. In 1978, Woodridge left the league for the Portage County League and was replaced that year by Field, which joined from the Metro League. Membership again dropped to seven schools for one season after Coventry left in 1983, but Wadsworth joined in 1984 to return to eight member schools. The next change was in 1990 when Field left for the Portage County League and was replaced that same year by Tallmadge, which joined from the Metro League. Later that decade in 1997, charter member Hudson left the league after nearly 50 years to join the new Western Reserve Conference. They were replaced by Cloverleaf that same year.[5]

During the early 2000s, the only changes in membership occurred in 2005 when Norton left the league to join the new Portage Trail Conference. They were replaced that year by Barberton, which left the Western Reserve Conference. Barberton's membership, however, ended up being brief and controversial. In early 2009, Barberton announced it would leave the league in 2011, with Barberton superintendent John Hall stating "we recognize our disagreements over athletics philosophies and approach must take precedence over league affiliation." He also added "We will become stronger by divorcing partners that never saw us as equals regardless of our successes.” There was also speculation that the league had asked Barberton to withdraw and that other changes were on the horizon for high school conferences in the area.[6] Barberton left in 2011 and was replaced that year by Suburban League charter member Nordonia, which had been a member of the Northeast Ohio Conference (NOC). At the time of Nordonia's departure from the NOC, there were rumors that several NOC schools, particularly Stow–Munroe Falls, Hudson, Cuyahoga Falls, and Twinsburg, had expressed dissatisfaction with the structure of the conference.[7]

### Expansion and reorganization

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The rumors of dissatisfaction with the NOC and other changes in high school athletics proved true and resulted in the largest changes for the league since it was established. In August 2013, charter member Green, which had played in the Suburban League for nearly 65 years, announced it would leave to join the Federal League in 2015.[8] Five days after the announcement from Green, nine schools—Aurora, Barberton, Brecksville–Broadview Heights, Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson, Kent Roosevelt, North Royalton, Stow–Munroe Falls, and Twinsburg—were asked to consider joining a newly aligned Suburban League that would include divisions based on enrollment.[1] Barberton, Kent Roosevelt, and North Royalton announced on September 16, 2013, they would join the Suburban League with Barberton and North Royalton beginning in the 2015–16 school year. Kent Roosevelt initially announced they would begin in the 2016–17 season, but later changed to 2015–16.[9][2] Two days later on September 18, Aurora, Brecksville–Broadview Heights, Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson, Stow–Munroe Falls, and Twinsburg announced they would look to join the league in 2015–16.[10][11] Later that year in December, Cloverleaf announced it would leave for the Portage Trail Conference (PTC) in 2015.[3][12]

Cloverleaf departed for the PTC and Green to the Federal League after the 2014–15 season. Beginning in the 2015–16 season, nine new schools began Suburban League play along with the remaining six schools, with Barberton, Hudson, and Twinsburg returning to the league, and Aurora, Brecksville–Broadview Heights, Cuyahoga Falls, Kent Roosevelt, North Royalton, and Stow–Munroe Falls joining the league. With the influx of new members, membership rose to 15 schools and was divided into two conferences based on enrollment, with the eight larger schools in the National Conference and the seven smaller schools in the American Conference.[12] In 2019, the league announced that beginning in 2021, Cuyahoga Falls would move to the American Conference, in spite of Cuyahoga Falls having one of the largest enrollments in the league. The switch was requested by Cuyahoga Falls in hopes of being more competitive.[13][14]

After several years of trying to add a 16th member, the league announced in September 2022 that Solon High School would be joining for the 2023–24 school year in all sports, pending approval from the Greater Cleveland Conference (GCC). GCC members approved Solon's departure for 2023–24 for all sports except football, citing difficulty in scheduling with seven teams. Solon began Suburban League competition as part of the National Conference in all sports except football in August 2023, with football joining in 2024.[15][16]

Several membership changes were announced in late 2024 that are scheduled to take effect beginning with the 2026–27 school year. Cuyahoga Falls, Kent Roosevelt, and Tallmadge announced in October that they intend to leave the Suburban League after the 2026–27 school year and join the Metro Athletic Conference, pending the approval of their respective boards of education.[17] In turn, Kenston High School, Mayfield High School, and Medina High School announced plans in November to join the Suburban in 2026, pending board approval, with Kenston and Mayfield competing in the American Conference and Medina in the National Conference.[18]

## Notes

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1. ^ All sports except football, which joined in 2024
2. ^ Highland was a football-only member for the 1956 and 1957 football seasons
3. ^ The high school in Twinsburg was known as Chamberlin High School or Twinsburg Chamberlin from 1958 to 1999

## References

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1. ^ a b Lisa Gayle Grayson (September 14, 2013). "NoRo Joining the Suburban League — Athletic Department Accepts Invite Starting with 2015-16 School Year". The Post Newspapers. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
2. ^ a b Patsko, Scott (September 14, 2013). "Kent Roosevelt announces plans to join expanding Suburban League in 2016-17". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
3. ^ a b Harris, Colin (December 17, 2013). "Cloverleaf to join Portage Trail Conference at start of 2015-16 season". Record-Courier. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
4. ^ Michael Beaven. "Green set to join the Federal League in 2015-16; Suburban League seeks to move forward with its own expansion plan". Ohio. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
5. ^ a b "Suburban League History". SuburbanLeagueOH.com. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
6. ^ Brewer, Jeff (March 15, 2009). "Sports Corner: Seismic shift may be forthcoming in high school athletics". The Suburbanite. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
7. ^ "Nordonia High School to leave Northeast Ohio Conference for Suburban League". The Plain Dealer. June 24, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
8. ^ Porter, Todd (August 20, 2013). "Green to join Federal League". CantonRep.com. Archived from the original on August 21, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
9. ^ Beaven, Michael (September 16, 2013). "Barberton, Kent Roosevelt & North Royalton set to join Suburban League; other schools coming soon". Ohio. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
10. ^ Beaven, Michael (September 18, 2013). "Suburban League snags Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson, Stow and Twinsburg - Varsity Letters". Ohio. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
11. ^ Sweeney, Chris (September 18, 2013). "High schools changing conferences; Elyria not opposed to switching to SWC". Chronicle-Telegram. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
12. ^ a b Leonard, Michael (July 21, 2015). "New look Suburban League ready to roll with Kent Roosevelt, Aurora". Record-Courier. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
13. ^ Leonard, Michael (September 26, 2019). "Cuyahoga Falls switching to American Conference". Record-Courier. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
14. ^ Leonard, Michael (April 29, 2021). "High school baseball: Conference rivalry ending for Cuyahoga Falls and Hudson". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
15. ^ Noland, Rick (December 2, 2022). "Solon's move to Suburban League delayed by football season". Medina County Gazette. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
16. ^ Goul, Matt (July 12, 2024). "Solon football preview: Comets can set new tone in Suburban League". Cleveland.com. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
17. ^ Rosenblum, Jonah; Bournival, Brad; Leonard, Michael (October 16, 2024). "Metro Athletic Conference could expand to 10 schools and shrink Suburban League to 13". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
18. ^ Bournival, Brad (November 19, 2024). "Medina, Kenston, Mayfield high schools set to join Suburban League". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved November 19, 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Suburban League

American Conference|

* Aurora
* Barberton
* Copley
* Cuyahoga Falls
* Highland
* Kent Roosevelt
* Revere
* Tallmadge

National Conference|

* Brecksville–Broadview Heights
* Hudson
* Nordonia
* North Royalton
* Solon
* Stow–Munroe Falls
* Twinsburg
* Wadsworth

* v
* t
* e

Northeast District (Ohio) High School Athletic Conferences (Northeast Ohio)

Current|

* 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
* Portage Trail Conference
* Principals Athletic Conference
* Senate Athletic League
* Southwestern Conference
* Suburban League
* Wayne County Athletic League
* Western Reserve Conference

Former|

* East Suburban Conference (1968–2009)
* Great Lakes Conference (2015–2024)
* Metro League (1937–1996)
* Metropolitan Area Conference (MAC-8) (1989–2005)
* Mohican Area Conference (1989–2004)
* North Coast League (1984–2020)
* Northeast Ohio Conference (2007–2015)
* Northeastern Buckeye Conference (1989–2018)
* Patriot Athletic Conference (2005–2019)
* Portage County League (1918–2005)
* Pioneer Conference (1977–2007)
* Premier Athletic Conference (1997–2015)
* Tri-County League (1932–2006)
* West Shore Conference (2005–2015)
* Youngstown City Series (1925–2003)

Outlying|

* Mid-Buckeye Conference
* Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference

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