Bloomington High School North has been a part of Conference Indiana since the 1997-98 school year. After nearly 30 years of competing with these schools, North has made the decision to join the Mid-State Conference starting in the 2026-27 school year.
When we joined Conference Indiana in 1997, there were 10 schools. Slowly, schools began to leave, and now only 6 remain. Andrew Hodson, the Athletic Director at North said, “Our conference has undergone many changes throughout our time, and [by joining Mid-State Conference] we will rejoin teams that used to be in our conference, including Martinsville, Decatur Central, and Perry Meridian as well as the other teams which include Mooresville, Plainfield, Whiteland, and Franklin Community.”
For students, this change won’t mean much, but we can predict some differences in things like schedules. For example, the Football Schedule will have minor changes, as we will only have 2 non-conference games for week one and two of the season. “This is a tremendous help for scheduling and travel,” says Mr. Hodson. “We will no longer have to make long trips for non-conference football games in the middle of what is the conference season for most schools around the state.”
Hodson also says, “All of the other sports will also benefit from having more conference opponents to fill our schedules, with all of them being school’s that are no more than a 45-minute drive. This helps for playing games during the week to get our teams back earlier in the night after games.”
Students and Staff are excited about this change, but can’t help but notice that our cross town rival, South, is not included in this conference. Both Bloomington North and Bloomington South applied for this spot, according to Jim Gordillo of the Herald Times, but in the end North was chosen to replace Greenwood for our long history of academic and athletic excellence.
There are a few effects of no longer being in a conference with South, especially because we will only have two non-conference games. Dates for games may be complicated for both schools, but our Athletic Directors and staff will work to accommodate both conference schedules and continue to have our rival games. Additionally, since BHSN and BHSS will no longer be in a conference together, Bloomington will now have the chance to win two Conference Championships, All-Conference selections, and Coach of the Year selections in both schools’ respective conferences.
This change to North will likely take time to adjust to, but we should look forward to being a part of the Mid-State Conference. Hodson says, “We are excited about this opportunity, and we expect Bloomington North to compete hard for Conference Championships just as we always have.”