Concordia Lutheran High School announced Monday morning that it has accepted an invitation to join the Allen County Athletic Conference beginning in the 2027-28 school year.
Following years of speculation that the school was looking to join another league that better fit their enrollment profile, Monday’s news comes as no surprise, especially considering the recent struggles of the Cadets football program in the Summit Athletic Conference.
“The Summit Athletic Conference has been an outstanding home for Concordia athletics for many years,” said school leaders in a press release. “We are deeply grateful for the relationships, competition and experiences our student-athletes have enjoyed as members of the SAC. This decision was not made lightly, and we sincerely appreciate the history and tradition we have shared with fellow conference schools.”
Concordia was an original member of the SAC when it was formed in 1973 out of the old Fort Wayne City Series Conference. While it never won the SAC in football, the Cadets’ athletic programs have been consistently competitive across male and female athletics for over 50 years.
But as the second-smallest school in the conference by enrollment (smallest being Bishop Luers), Concordia has faced challenges as a pair of Class 6A schools in Homestead and Carroll joined the league a decade ago, in addition to fellow 6A Northrop and several Class 5As.
With the move, Concordia now becomes aligned with schools more of its size. The biggest school by enrollment in the ACAC is Jay County, with just over 100 more students than Concordia’s 735.
“We are thankful for the opportunity to become part of the ACAC and are excited about this new chapter in the history of Concordia athletics,” said the release. “This move aligns with our mission of developing student-athletes who compete with excellence, integrity and faith, and we look forward to contributing positively to the conference while continuing to serve our students and school community.”
The move will increase the ACAC to eight member schools, while it will leave the SAC with nine schools.
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