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Central Ozark Conference adds Lebanon, Waynesville, Central, Parkview

Wyatt D. Wheeler, Springfield News-Leader
·2 min read

The Central Ozark Conference announced it has added four new teams and we may be reaching an end to southwest Missouri's recent conference realignment shift.

Southwest Missouri's super conference announced it has added Lebanon, Waynesville, Central and Parkview to the league with the latter two joining in all sports but football. Central and Parkview will play as independents on the gridiron.

The four latest additions to the COC will begin during the 2024-25 school year.

A release by the COC, via Nixa High School, made no mention of Camdenton and Rolla, the remaining two Ozark Conference teams that held invitations from the Central Ozark Conference. The two could be headed to the Central Missouri Athletic Conference, thus leaving the future of the Highway 5 rivalry between the Yellowjackets and Lakers in question.

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Kickapoo Chiefs football players take the field before a game against the Lebanon Yellowjackets at Kickapoo on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023.
Kickapoo Chiefs football players take the field before a game against the Lebanon Yellowjackets at Kickapoo on Friday, Sept. 8, 2023.

A letter sent to Lebanon, Waynesville, Camdenton and Rolla suggested the four schools had until a 2 p.m. deadline on Monday to accept an invitation to join the league. Camdenton and Rolla's lack of inclusion in the release suggests they declined and will head elsewhere.

Camdenton and Rolla's upcoming moves may be the last dominos to fall when the last few weeks have featured a major shift in the conference alignment landscape across the Ozarks that has seen the birth of a new conference and the disbandment of a league that had been in competition since 1958.

Kickapoo, Glendale, Lebanon, Waynesville, Parkview and Central have each departed the Ozark Conference to join the COC. Bolivar, Hillcrest and West Plains departed the OC to join the newly formed Ozark Mountain Conference. Camdenton and Rolla will also be on the move.

The COC also lost the likes of Carl Junction and Branson but the recent additions put the league at 12 teams for football and 14 for all other sports.

Other conference realignment shifts have seen a few teams depart from the Big 8 to join either the Ozark Mountain Conference or Mid-Lakes. It appears the Big 8 will go to a single division while the Mid-Lakes Conference has grown from five teams to eight.

Central Ozark Conference

  • Kickapoo (1507)

  • Glendale (1098)

  • Nixa (1478)

  • Republic (1148)

  • Webb City (1011)

  • Joplin (1664)

  • Carthage (1232)

  • Willard (1061)

  • Ozark (1369)

  • Neosho (1157)

  • Lebanon (1136)

  • Waynesville (1319)

  • Parkview (1026) **- non-football

  • Central (1075) **- non-football

TBD

  • Camdenton (975)

  • Rolla (1035)

Ozark Mountain Conference

  • Bolivar (615)

  • Branson (1050)

  • Marshfield (680)

  • Hillcrest (837)

  • Carl Junction (735)

  • Logan-Rogersville (547)

  • West Plains (866)

Mid-Lakes Conference

  • Fair Grove (287)

  • Strafford (304)

  • Forsyth (300)

  • Skyline (160)

  • Clever (312)

  • Reeds Spring (436)

  • Hollister (337)

  • Catholic (290)

Big 8 Conference

  • Mount Vernon (348)

  • Aurora (424)

  • Seneca (373)

  • Lamar (294)

  • Nevada (587)

  • Cassville (478)

  • East Newton (349)

  • Monett (569)

  • McDonald County (818)

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or X at @WyattWheeler_NL. He's also the host of the weekly "Wyatt's World Podcast" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcasting platforms

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Central Ozark Conference adds Lebanon, Waynesville, Central, Parkview