West Branch and Salem are out of luck … for now.

The Northeast 8 announced on Friday that it will not be seeking any more members.

The Warriors and Quakers were seeking a conference new home after Minerva, Carrollton and Marlington decided to leave the Eastern Buckeye Conference for the new Northeast Senate League.

The Northeast 8 will remain at seven members including Struthers, Poland, South Range, Girard, Niles, Lakeview and Hubbard.

“The Board of Directors of the Northeast 8 Athletic Conference met regarding its current vacancy and unanimously, after lengthy conversations, decided that filling said vacancy at this time was not in the best interest of its core members,” Northeast 8 commissioner Rob Conklin said in a statement.

The statement did not say that the Northeast 8 would reconsider its position in the future.

“The Northeast 8 prides itself on its stability and putting the needs of each individual member school at the forefront,” Conklin said. “The conference believes this decision, at this time, reflects the core values upon which the Conference was founded nearly a decade ago: sportsmanship, respect, compassion and trust. We sincerely want to thank the applicants who expressed an interest in the conference and wish them nothing but the best in their quest for a new home, continued success and positive relations with the Northeast 8 member schools.”

West Branch and Salem might not be the only area schools looking for a new conference home. Several Trumbull County schools in the Gray Division of the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference have applied to join the Northeast Athletic Conference. NAC members will vote on adding Champion, Brookfield, LaBrae and Liberty on Monday.

If approved, Crestview would likely be without a conference.