Cedar Valley Christian will have to keep looking for a new league after being rejected by the Tri-Rivers Conference.

"We have officially applied and been officially denied," Cedar Valley Christian principal Jeff Pospisil told the Metro Sports Report on Monday.

Cedar Valley Christian left the Northern Illinois Christian Conference after the 2010-11 school year and formally joined the IHSAA and IGHSAU this year as an independent. The Huskies had been hoping to join the Tri-Rivers for the 2012-13 school year, but the Tri-Rivers superintendents met Dec. 1 and turned them down.

Pospisil received a letter from Larry Boer, the superintendent at North-Linn High School, informing him that the league had voted against Cedar Valley Christian. "They didn't give us any reason," said Pospisil.

Boer told the Metro Sports Report that the league also denied letters of application from several schools in the Big East Conference. "I would probably say the main reason is we're not looking to expand at this time," he said.

The Tri-Rivers Conference currently has 10 schools with Alburnett, Cascade, Central City, East Buchanan, Edgewood-Colesburg, Maquoketa Valley, Monticello, North-Linn, Starmont and Springville. Lisbon has been accepted for membership for the 2013-14 school year as the 11th team for the league, but Boer said he's not sure if the Tri-Rivers will be looking
for a 12th school in the future.

Pospisil has written a letter to the Iowa Department of Education, seeking help in finding a conference affiliation. He said the department's mediation team is working on the subject on behalf of several schools, including Cedar Valley Christian.

"There is a mediation team in place that is looking at teams in the Big East, Tri-Rivers and Cedar Valley conferences and possible realignments," Pospisil said. "It seems they want to try real hard."

He said the mediation team will consider school enrollments and geographic proximity, among other factors, in making decisions about conference alignments. "The Department of Education will let us know when any decisions are made," he said.

Boer said the Tri-Rivers Conference plans to stay at 10 teams for the 2012-13 school year, unless the Department of Education rules otherwise. He said the Department of Education has the authority to make decisions about conference alignments.

Boer described the Big East Conference as being "in flux" in terms of its schools seeking new leagues.

Pospisil thinks joining a conference is important to his school. "We know scheduling would be easier if we were in a conference," he said.