Northwest Ohio Athletic League - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Northwest Ohio Athletic League (NWOAL) is the oldest high school sports league in the state of Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. The league sponsors many sports, including: football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, boys & girls cross country

Cross country running

Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

, volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

, boys & girls soccer, wrestling

Wrestling

Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

, golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, boys & girls basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

, and boys & girls track & field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

. Bryan is the largest school system in the league.

Current members

School	Nickname	Location	Colors	Type	Middle school(s)	Tenure

Archbold Archbold High School Archbold High School is a public high school in Archbold, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Archbold Area Schools district. Their nickname is the Bluestreaks. They are members of the Northwest Ohio Athletic League.-History:...	Blue Streaks	Archbold Archbold, Ohio Archbold is a village in Fulton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,290 at the 2000 census.Archbold is home to Northwest State Community College...	Navy Blue, Gold	Public	Archbold MS	1960-
Bryan	Golden Bears	Bryan Bryan, Ohio As of the census of 2000, there were 8,333 people, 3,528 households, and 2,155 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,821.7 people per square mile . There were 3,733 housing units at an average density of 816.1 per square mile...	Purple, Gold	Public	Bryan MS	1926-
Delta Delta High School (Ohio) Delta High School is a public high school in Delta, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Pike-Delta-York Schools district. Their nickname is the Panthers. They are members of the Northwest Ohio Athletic League...	Panthers	Delta Delta, Ohio Delta is a village in Fulton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,930 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Delta is located at ....	Green, White	Public	Delta MS	1926-31, 1957-69, 1978-
Evergreen Evergreen High School (Metamora, Ohio) Evergreen High School is a public high school located in Metamora, Ohio. It was first opened in 1968. Today the institution serves 400 students in grades 9-12. Their nickname is the Vikings. The building also houses the Board of Education. They are members of the Northwest Ohio Athletic League...	Vikings	Metamora Metamora, Ohio Metamora is a village in Fulton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 563 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Metamora is located at ....	Green, Gold	Public	Evergreen MS	1969-71, 1978-
Liberty Center Liberty Center High School Liberty Center High School is a public high school in Liberty Center, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Liberty Center Local Schools district. Their nickname is the Tigers. They are members of the Northwest Ohio Athletic League....	Tigers	Liberty Center Liberty Center, Ohio Liberty Center is a village in Henry County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,109 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Liberty Center is located at ....	Orange, Black	Public	Liberty Center MS	1926-
Montpelier Montpelier High School (Ohio) Montpelier High School is a public high school in Montpelier, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Montpelier Exempted Village School district. Their nickname is the Locomotives. They are members of the Northwest Ohio Athletic League.-External links:*...	Locomotives	Montpelier Montpelier, Ohio Montpelier is a village in Williams County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,320 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Montpelier is located at ....	Columbia Blue, White	Public	Montpelier JHS	1926-
Patrick Henry Patrick Henry High School (Hamler, Ohio) Patrick Henry High School is a public high school in Hamler, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Patrick Henry Local Schools district. Their nickname is the Patriots. They are members of the Northwest Ohio Athletic League.-Academic achievement:...	Patriots	Hamler Hamler, Ohio Hamler is a village in Henry County, Ohio, United States. The population was 650 at the 2000 census. Founded in 1875 by John Hamler, Hamler is a rural farming community in Northwest Ohio about 40 miles southwest of Toledo, Ohio...	Red, White, Blue	Public	Patrick Henry MS	1978-
Swanton Swanton High School Swanton High School is a public high school in Swanton, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Swanton Local School District.-School Details:...	Bulldogs	Swanton Swanton, Ohio Swanton is a village in Fulton and Lucas counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 3,690 at the 2010 census.-History:A.D. Baker, a steam engine inventor, ran a machine shop in Swanton from 1901 to 1953.-Geography:...	Purple, White	Public	Swanton MS	1957-69, 1978-
Wauseon Wauseon High School Wauseon High School is a public high school in Wauseon, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Wauseon Exempted Village School District. The mascot is the Indians, and they are members of the Northwest Ohio Athletic League....	Indians	Wauseon Wauseon, Ohio As of the census of 2000, there were 7,091 people, 2,706 households, and 1,875 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,437.6 people per square mile . There were 2,851 housing units at an average density of 578.0 per square mile...	Red, White	Public	Wauseon MS	1926-

Former members

School	Nickname	Location	Colors	Type	Membership Tenure	Notes

Defiance	Bulldogs	Defiance Defiance, Ohio As of the census of 2000, there were 16,465 people, 6,572 households, and 4,422 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,562.4 people per square mile . There were 7,061 housing units at an average density of 670.0 per square mile...	Royal Blue, White	Public	1931-55	Voted out, eventually joined the WBL Western Buckeye League Centered in Lima, Ohio, the Western Buckeye League is an OHSAA athletic league located in northwest Ohio and includes schools in Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Hardin, Mercer, Putnam, and Van Wert counties. The league's school district boundaries also include portions of Logan, Shelby, Williams, and...
Napoleon Napoleon High School (Ohio) Napoleon High School is a public high school in Napoleon, Ohio. It is the only high school in the Napoleon Area City School District. Their nickname is the Wildcats...	Wildcats	Napoleon Napoleon, Ohio As of the census of 2000, there were 9,318 people, 3,813 households, and 2,470 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,668.1 people per square mile . There were 4,066 housing units at an average density of 727.9 per square mile...	Navy Blue, White	Public	1926–78	Left for the GLL

1920s

The NWOAL began competition in 1926 with charter members Bryan, Delta, Liberty Center, Montpelier, Napoleon, and Wauseon. The inaugural sports of competition are football, boys basketball, and track.
A dissatisfed Delta left in 1931 and was replaced by Defiance.

1950s

Baseball and golf are offered as sports for league competition in the 1953-54 school year.
Defiance was voted out of the league in 1954 for having an enrollment over twice the average of the smaller schools and for being dominant in league titles. They left at the end of the 1954-55 school year.
Fairview and Paulding apply and are denied league membership in the 50s.
Swanton and Delta are invited to join and enter the NWOAL in 1957 after a tenure in the Maumee Valley League.
Archbold is also invited at the same time and joins in 1960.
Wrestling becomes a league sport for the 1959-60 school year.
Ottawa Hills was considered for membership in 1959, but they never officially joined the NWOAL. It was around this time that it became obvious that the smaller schools were not satisfied with the dominance Napoleon (and to a lesser extent, Bryan) were displaying in acquiring all-sports crowns.

1960s

In spring 1968, Defiance re-applied and was denied admission for NWOAL membership, making it evident schools of that size were not welcome in the league. Talk began of Bryan, Defiance, and Napoleon joining up in another league separate from the NWOAL.
In 1969, the Northern Border League was formed by the smaller members of the NWOAL as a way for them to compete for league titles. Delta and Swanton withdrew from the NWOAL completely while Archbold, Liberty Center, Montpelier, Wauseon and the recently-joined Evergreen become dual members of both the NBL and the now 7-member NWOAL. Competition between the five dual-league members counted in the standings for both the NWOAL and the NBL.
Cross country becomes a league sport in the 1969-70 school year.

1970s

Consolidated in 1969, Patrick Henry joined the NBL in 1970.
In 1971, Evergreen left the NWOAL to solely compete in the NBL.
In February 1973, more tensions arose when Liberty Center considered leaving the NWOAL completely to compete solely in the NBL. Napoleon also displayed intention of leaving the league they felt they were not wanted in, and it was widely believed that Archbold, Montpelier, and Wauseon would follow Liberty's suit. This would have caused Bryan and Napoleon to be left without a league home. Community support kept Liberty in the NWOAL, and the league sat on shaky ground for a few more years.
In the spring of 1978, Napoleon finally left the NWOAL and sought competition from larger schools in the Great Lakes League. Upon Napoleon's departure, the NBL folded and was absorbed by the NWOAL in the fall of 1978. Patrick Henry joined for the first time while Delta, Evergreen, and Swanton returned again. After a few decades of chaos and near dissolution, the NWOAL has remained unchanged ever since.

Football champions

Year	Champions
1926	Napoleon
1927	Napoleon
1928	Montpelier
1929	Napoleon
1930	Bryan
1931	Defiance
1932	Defiance
1933	Defiance
1934	Defiance
1935	Bryan
1936	Bryan
1937	Liberty Center
1938	Defiance
1939	Bryan
1940	Bryan
1941	Bryan, Defiance, Napoleon
1942	Defiance
1943	Defiance
1944	Wauseon
1945	Defiance, Montpelier
1946	Defiance, Montpelier
1947	Napoleon
1948	Defiance
1949	Napoleon
1950	Montpelier
1951	Bryan, Napoleon
1952	Defiance
1953	Defiance
1954	Wauseon
1955	Napoleon
1956	Bryan, Napoleon
1957	Napoleon
1958	Napoleon
1959	Wauseon
1960	Napoleon
1961	Napoleon
1962	Wauseon
1963	Napoleon
1964	Bryan
1965	Liberty Center, Napoleon
1966	Napoleon
1967	Napoleon
1968	Bryan, Wauseon
1969	Bryan, Napoleon
1970	Napoleon
1971	Napoleon
1972	Napoleon
1973	Napoleon
1974	Wauseon
1975	Napoleon
1976	Napoleon
1977	Bryan
1978	Wauseon
1979	Wauseon
1980	Archbold
1981	Swanton
1982	Archbold
1983	Archbold, Montpelier
1984	Evergreen
1985	Archbold, Bryan, Swanton
1986	Bryan
1987	Archbold
1988	Archbold
1989	Archbold, Swanton
1990	Archbold
1991	Swanton
1992	Liberty Center
1993	Wauseon
1994	Wauseon
1995	Swanton
1996	Patrick Henry
1997	Patrick Henry
1998	Liberty Center
1999	Liberty Center, Wauseon
2000	Liberty Center
2001	Liberty Center
2002	Delta, Patrick Henry
2003	Patrick Henry
2004	Patrick Henry
2005	Patrick Henry
2006	Delta, Patrick Henry
2007	Patrick Henry, Wauseon
2008	Patrick Henry
2009	Patrick Henry
2010	Archbold
2011	Liberty Center

Northern Border League football champions

Year	Champions
1969	Montpelier, Wauseon
1970	Archbold
1971	Patrick Henry
1972	Archbold
1973	Montpelier
1974	Wauseon
1975	Delta, Swanton
1976	Swanton
1977	Patrick Henry

External links

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