The Eastern Buckeye Conference likely suffered a fatal blow on Friday as three members announced their departure.

EBC members Minerva, Marlington and Carrollton announced as part of a joint statement that they will join Claymont, Fairless, Sandy Valley, Tuscarawas Valley and Tuslaw in the formation of a new league. The plan is for the league to be ready by the 2028-29 school year but the EBC could dissolve before then as remaining members West Branch, Salem and Alliance look for new league options.

The future for the remaining three teams are uncertain, although West Branch has already applied to the Northeast 8 Athletic Conference.

West Branch athletic director Ryan Wolf said the rumors started appearing last Thursday about teams leaving the EBC. It was confirmed on Friday when the superintendents of the new league voted to construct the new league.

“It’s disappointing,” Wolf said. “As a 1999 West Branch graduate, it’s something we’ve all been a part of for a long time. We have a lot of good rivalries here.”

Wolf said there has been a lot of league movement in Northeast Ohio as of late. He said he thought a lot of it is being driven by expanded divisions in other sports outside of football, school budgets and travel time.

West Branch applied to the Northeast 8 this week as a contingency plan. That league which includes Struthers, Poland, South Range, Girard, Niles, Lakeview and Hubbard has had seven teams since 2023.

Wolf said that would be a good fit for West Branch since the Warriors have a good scheduling relationship with those schools in all sports but ideally West Branch wants to work something out where Alliance and Salem are also brought into the fold.

“We’re trying to look out for each other and we’ll be having a lot of meetings with Salem and Alliance to see if we can figure something out,” Wolf said.

The Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference has three openings — two in the larger Grey Division and one in the smaller Scarlet Division. There always is a possibility that league sees internal movement and smaller Northeast 8 schools go to the MVAC Grey Division if they feel that is a more comfortable fit.

Wolf said he doesn’t expect the EBC to last until 2028-29 as schools might want to expedite the exit once things are figured out.

The Eastern Buckeye Conference sprung from the ashes of the old Northeastern Buckeye Conference in the fall of 2018. Alliance, Carrollton, Marlington, Minerva, Salem, West Branch and Canton South formed the new league, leaving Louisville behind.

Canton South left for the Principals Athletic Conference in 2022, but the EBC seemed content competing with six schools. The league added Howland in 2024 for only football beginning this fall.

West Branch, Minerva, Marlington and Carrollton were among the founding members of the NBC in 1989. Canton South joined in 1990 and Alliance in 2006. Salem joined the NBC in 2011 after decades playing in Mahoning Valley area leagues.

Crestview, Beaver Local and East Liverpool turned down invitations to join the EBC in recent years.

The new eight-team league has not announced a name or commissioner yet.

“These schools are bound by more than geography,” the superintendents of the new league said in a written statement. “We share longstanding rivalries and a commitment to providing competitive student-centered athletic and scholastic opportunities.”

The statement went on to say that all of the schools were founding members of the old Senate League.

“Our goal is stability,” the superintendents said. “Stability for our students, our coaches, our communities and our athletic programs. The conference is built to last.”