Iowa High School Votes To Switch Athletic Conferences

Pella will join the Raccoon River Conference in either 27-28 or 28-29

Pella's Keegan Miller (5) lifts the consolation trophy Nov. 20, 2025 after the Class 4A state football championship against the Xavier Saints at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa. / Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One of the top Iowa high school athletic programs in the state has voted to switch conferences.

Pella High School, which won both the state baseball and softball titles this past summer and made the state football championship for a second consecutive season, has unanimously voted to move to the Raccoon River Conference.

The Dutch are currently part of the Little Hawkeye Conference.

According to Andrew Schneider, the move could be made official for either the start of the 2027-28 school year or 2028-29, depending on what is decided by the Little Hawkeye Conference member schools.

Pella's main reason is projected enrollment differences in the future Little Hawkeye Conference. Pella anticipates 20-30 kids less per class at the high school in ten years. https://t.co/9COUdNlAKh

— Andrew Schneider (@xzono) December 16, 2025

Schneider notes that the decision to switch leagues comes from the fact that Pella “anticipates 20-30 kids less per class at the high school in 10 years.”

The Little Hawkeye Conference, founded in 1982, currently consists of seven teams in Pella, Newton, Oskaloosa, Dallas Center-Grimes, Indianola, Norwalk and Pella Christian. In terms of the most recent BEDS numbers, the Dutch are the third-smallest school in the league behind only Pella Christian and Oskaloosa.

Indianola is nearly two times larger in terms of students compared to Pella, as both Dallas Center-Grimes and Nrowalk have over 800 compared to 609 for the Dutch.

Another Bigger School Set To Join Little Hawkeye Conference

Ames is expected to join the league in the future, bringing a BEDS number of well over 1,000, while Des Moines Christian is also set to enter. They would be the second-smallest behind only Pella Christian.

Both Ames and Des Moines Christian will become members in 2026-27. 

Pella joined the conference in 1995-96 after the South Central Conference folded.

Schools Similar In Size To Pella In Raccon River Conference

The Raccoon River Conference currently consists of nine schools in ADM, Ballard, Bondurant-Farrar, Boone, Carlisle, Carroll, Gilbert, North Polk and Winterset. Carroll will be leaving for the Hawkeye 10 Conference.

In regards to the size of those schools, the smallest is Gilbert at 390 with the biggest being Bondurant-Farrar at 610.

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