There were numerous conferences within the IHSAA that were made up of schools based entirely in one county. Many of these "County Conferences" also contained schools from neighboring counties that were either geographically closer or smaller than the other schools in their home county. These conferences would fold when schools would consolidate and seek out other, more expansive conferences that included similar-sized schools. The starting date of many of these conferences is hard to confirm, so the listing for many of these leagues uses the earliest date that can be confirmed.
Adams County Conference
This conference predates the end of World War II, and most of its members shared membership with the Eastern Indiana Conference (EIC). The last non-EIC member closed in 1956, and this county league folded the next year.
Originally the Shelby County League,
the conference became a rare arrangement where all of the non-city schools from two counties played in the same conference in 1928, as Clifford and Hope became the only two schools remaining from the Bartholomew County Conference. Rather than just absorbing the two schools, the league rebranded under the BSCL moniker.[1] Once Hauser left in 1961, the league took the old SCL name for three seasons, until the three remaining schools rejoined Hauser in the Mid-Hoosier Conference.
All schools were located in Delaware County. The conference is one of the oldest confirmed, having competed since at least 1931, if not earlier.[6] The conference folded in 1968 as the remaining five schools in the league consolidated into two.
Originally a 10-team conference located in Hamilton County (though Sheridan's attendance zone included a township in Boone County), consolidation and attendance disparities forced the remaining four schools to part ways. Noblesville became independent for some years, while the other three schools (including the newly formed Hamilton Heights, and Fishers, renamed as Hamilton Southeastern) left for the Mid-Capital.
Carmel played in both the CDC and HCC from 1952 to 1958.
Fishers opened a new high school with a new mascot and colors, Hamilton Southeastern, in 1965. It is considered a renaming rather than a consolidation because no other high schools consolidated with Fishers.
Jackson Central played in both the HCC and CDC 1961-65.
Hancock County Conference
The Hancock County Conference is one of the few conferences that had an abundance of competitive members when it folded, as it was merged with the East Central Conference in 1962.
Originally formed in 1914,[8] this conference is notable for having two schools from a different county (Georgetown and Mount St. Francis Seminary in Floyd County) as members for its duration.[9]
The Howard County Conference began in 1919,[11] and was one of the first of the modern County Conferences to fold, as it was down to three schools by 1950 (Kokomo played in the North Central, and Taylor had not been created by that point). These schools joined with schools from Miami County to form the Howard-Miami Conference.
The Huntington County Conference was formed in 1919[12] and ended in 1966, as all the public high schools in the county consolidated with Huntington to become Huntington North.
The Jackson County Conference (originally Jackson County Athletic Association) was formed in 1921, containing all eleven schools in the county.[13] The conference had fallen to three schools by 1965, and folded in 1967, as the only school that didn't hold membership in the Dixie-Monon Conference joined that league.
Jay County's schools were largely self-contained in this league, except for Portland. The league shrank to four members by 1967, and the conference folded into the Eastern Indiana Conference.
Played concurrently in the JCC and MCC 1920-35, and the JCC and Tri-County (Central) 1935-39.
Bluebirds before 1958.
Wrens before 1939.
Knox County Conference
One of the larger county leagues in southern Indiana, the league had eleven members until the creation of North Knox in 1963, and folded with the creation of South Knox in 1968.[14]
Kosciusko County's league was notable for the fact it had schools from two other counties, Fulton (Akron), and Whitley (Larwill and South Whitley). These schools would eventually consolidate with schools in the county to form new school districts.
One of the longer-lasting county conferences, despite the fact it had shrank to three schools by 1963. Heltonville joined its sister schools on the Dixie-Monon Conference in 1970, folding the league, though all three and schools (as well as the DMC) were gone by 1974.
The first attempt by the township schools in Marion County to organize competition, the league organized a basketball tournament in the winter of 1928, then organized a season schedule in the 1928-29 school year. The league broke up in 1945, as all but three schools had found other conferences to join. The schools would all later reunite (minus Southport) in the Central Suburban Conference in 1971, though this would only last a few years. Today the Township schools are either in Conference Indiana or the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference.
Often credited as the cradle of Indiana basketball, Montgomery County was home to three of the first four State Champions in the sport. When combined with neighboring Boone and Tippecanoe Counties, the area claimed the first eight winners. The conference lasted until 1966, when all schools folded into the Big 4 Conference.
Containing twelve schools at its beginning, the league was down to four schools by 1949. The conference managed to survive for another 13 years, until consolidation left it with two remaining schools, both with outside conference affiliation.
The PCC was started in 1914,[15] and was one of the later county conferences to fold, as the last of the four schools that had not joined the Patoka Valley Conference did so in 1964.
Formed in 1913,[16] the conference was one of the largest county leagues, containing 18 schools at one point. The conference ended in 1964, as almost all the remaining schools joined (or were already part of) the Mid-Eastern Conference.
Played concurrently in UCC and PCC throughout duration in conference.
Vermillion County Conference
While possibly having been organized earlier, the VCC was definitively established in 1923.[17] The conference ended in 1964, as the three remaining schools combined to form North Vermillion High School.
A small, triangular conference (with only three schools in the county) for most of its existence, the conference existed in two versions with the same schools (opting not to compete from 1934 to 1947, as all members were within the Midwest Conference). While Seeger started as a renaming of West Lebanon in 1959 rather than a consolidation, it is given its own entry, since its nickname and colors were different as well.
