The Eastern Buckeye Conference is an OHSAA athletic league that began competition in the 2018–19 school year and is made up of member schools from Carroll, Columbiana, Mahoning, and Stark Counties in Ohio. This conference is made up of members of the former Northeastern Buckeye Conference.
Members
+SchoolNicknameLocationColorsTenureNotesAllianceAviatorsAllianceRed, columbia blue 2018-Leaving in 2028CarrolltonWarriorsCarrolltonBlack, white 2018-Leaving in 2028 for Northeast Senate LeagueHowlandTigersHowland TownshipOrange, black 2026-Member for football onlyMarlingtonDukesLexingtonOrange, black 2018-Leaving in 2028 for Northeast Senate LeagueMinervaLionsMinervaCrimson, gray 2018-Leaving in 2028 for Northeast Senate LeagueSalemQuakersSalemRed, black 2018-Leaving in for Northeast 8 in 2027West BranchWarriorsBeloitGreen, white 2018-Leaving in 2028
Former Members SchoolNicknameLocationColorsTenureNotesCanton SouthWildcatsCantonRed, gray 2018-2022Left for Principals Athletic Conference
History In December 2015, discussions began between members of the Northeastern Buckeye Conference to create a new league that didn't include member school Louisville. February 2016, the Northeastern Buckeye Conference disbanded, the other members in the league at the time (Alliance, Canton South, Carrollton, Marlington, Minerva, Salem, and West Branch) voted to form the Eastern Buckeye Conference that would begin play in the fall of 2018. Other nearby schools were invited to join the league such as Crestview and Beaver Local. Those schools would decline their invitations, joining other conferences instead. South Range had originally accepted their invitation to become the leagues eighth member but retracted its invitation and instead joined the newly formed Northeast 8 Conference.
In July 2020, Canton South announced that they had accepted an invitation to the Principals Athletic Conference and would be leaving following the 2021-22 school year. East Liverpool was offered to replace Canton South beginning the 2022-23 school year but declined their invitation after internal discussions with coaches, ultimately remaining in the Buckeye 8.
Howland announced in May 2024 that they would be joining the Eastern Buckeye Conference for football only starting the 2026 season, after years of being an independent school.
Carrollton, Marlington and Minerva announced their intention to leave the EBC effective the 2028-29 school year for a new athletic conference called the Northeast Senate League with Claymont, Fairless, Sandy Valley, Tuscarawas Valley and Tuslaw, all of them being former Senate League members. West Branch and Salem announced on February 14, 2026, that they would be searching for a new league as a result of the news, both schools applied to become the eighth and ninth members of the Northeast 8 Athletic Conference, however, on March 13, 2026, the Northeast 8 denied both schools. The Northeast 8 citied that "it was not in the best interest of the conferences core members at this time." West Branch also applied to the All-American Conference and the Metro Athletic Conference in late March 2026, with Alliance also looking toward joining Stark County leagues. Salem announced in May 2026, they will be leaving the EBC in favor of the Northeast 8, beginning the 2027-28 school year.
Conference Championships List of Conference Champions since 2018. YearFootballVolleyballGirls BasketballBoys BasketballBaseballSoftball2018–19AllianceSalem/MarlingtonSalem/Canton SouthAllianceMarlingtonWest Branch2019–20AllianceMarlingtonWest BranchWest BranchNO SEASON- COVIDNO SEASON - COVID2020–21West BranchMarlingtonMarlingtonWest Branch/Canton South/SalemSalemWest Branch2021–22West BranchMarlingtonMarlingtonAllianceMarlingtonMarlington2022–23West BranchMarlingtonMarlington/SalemCarrollton/AllianceAllianceMarlington2023–24West BranchMarlingtonWest BranchWest BranchAllianceMarlington2024–25West BranchMarlingtonWest BranchCarrollton/AllianceCarrolltonWest Branch2025–26West BranchMarlingtonWest BranchAllianceAllianceMarlington2026–27West Branch
References