FINDLAY — Liberty-Benton High School’s athletic programs have found a new home.
The school district will be joining the Cardinal Division of the Northern Lakes League starting in the 2026-27 school year, Liberty-Benton superintendent Bruce Otley said in a news release on Monday morning. The NLL confirmed the news later Monday on social media.
The move came three days after the conference announced its invitation for Liberty-Benton to join.
Liberty-Benton will become the 12th member of the NLL. The Eagles’ athletic teams have competed in the Blanchard Valley Conference since its formation in 1965.
“This is an exciting opportunity for Liberty-Benton,” Otley said in the release. “Liberty-Benton has been competing against many NLL schools as non-conference opponents over the past several years.
“Joining the Northern Lakes League will provide excellent competition for our student-athletes while maintaining manageable travel times. We are grateful for the invitation to join the NLL and look forward to building strong relationships within this new league.”
Liberty-Benton will go from being the largest school overall in the BVC, according to boys’ and girls’ enrollment numbers, to the smallest in the NLL. The decision to join the NLL “follows a thorough exploration of options to ensure the district’s athletic programs continue to thrive in a competitive, balanced, and geographically reasonable conference,” according to the release.
Due to Liberty-Benton’s significant growth in enrollment over the past two decades, the Eagles have consistently dominated in the BVC. In May, 2022, Liberty-Benton and the BVC announced the Eagles would leave the conference following the 2025-26 school year.
The current NLL Cardinal Division includes Bowling Green, Clay, Fremont Ross, Napoleon, and Southview, along with Springfield for all sports except football. Clay will switch spots with Springfield in the NLL Buckeye Division for football in the fall.
The NLL’s Buckeye Division currently includes Anthony Wayne, Findlay, Northview, Perrysburg, and Whitmer.
First Published January 27, 2025, 2:47 p.m.
