Richfield High School Joins New Metro West Conference

Richfield High School is one of seven high schools that will be part of a newly formed “Metro West Conference,” the district announced this week.

The Richfield School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to leave the Classic Suburban Conference and join four other school districts in starting the new conference beginning in the fall of 2014, according to a news release.

The conference currently includes:

• Bloomington Jefferson and Bloomington Kennedy from Bloomington Public Schools;
• Chanhassen and Chaska from Eastern Carver County Schools;
• Richfield;
• Robbinsdale Cooper;
• St. Louis Park.

The conference is still accepting applications from other schools that want to join.

“Getting the right group of schools was important, we are excited to be rekindling relationships and rivalries with schools that share similar demographics and co-curricular programming,” said Richfield Athletic Director Todd Olson. “The opportunity to partner with six other schools that share a common vision and philosophy to provide a comprehensive educational experience along with competitive balance is really exciting.”

The new conference aims to “align mid-size high schools from the Twin Cities west and south metro,” the release stated.

Location also was a major factor. The new conference will nearly halve the average one-way trip time—dropping from 19 miles in the Classic Suburban Conference to 10 miles in the Metro West Conference.

“As a community, Richfield is accustomed to high standards of offerings for its youth,” Olson said. “With the formation of the Metro West Conference, our students will continue these types of co-curricular experiences.”

The Metro West conference will have “a full complement of Minnesota State High School League-sponsored activities and athletics.”

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