(4-22-26) Bloomington South has officially been accepted as a member of the Hoosier Hills Conference (HHC) starting in the 2027-28 school year.

This expands the HHC from seven to eight teams.

Current members include:

• Bedford North Lawrence (BNL)

• Columbus East

• Floyd Central

• Jeffersonville

• Jennings County (all sports except football in some contexts)

• New Albany

• Seymour

South (1,784) will be the second largest school according to the most recent IHSAA enrollment numbers. Jeffersonville (2,147) is the biggest. New Albany (1,753), Floyd Central (1,752), and Seymour (1,644) follow then Columbus East (1,278), BNL (1,185) and Jennings County (1,159).

Background on the Move

This stems from major realignment in Conference Indiana, which has been shrinking.

Key departures include:

• Bloomington North is moving to the Mid-State Conference.

• Terre Haute North and South heading to the Sagamore Athletic Conference.

That left Bloomington South, along with Columbus North and Southport, needing a new home. South applied to the Hoosier Hills Conference earlier in 2026, talks progressed, and the league voted to approve them (a meeting/vote was anticipated around mid-April).

Bloomington South was previously in the Hoosier Hills Conference (late 1970s/early 1980s), so this marks a return after about 45 years. The move provides a geographically sensible fit with strong competition for the Panthers’ large 4A/5A programs.

For 2026-27, Bloomington South will likely compete as an independent or with temporary scheduling arrangements before full conference play begins in 2027-28.

This marks the first expansion of the HHC since 1996 — the conference has operated with seven schools until now. 

Despite Columbus East being a current member in the HHC…Columbus North who also applied for membership was never considered.