Members 16 Headquarters N/A, N/A | Region Missouri Ozarks Commissioner N/A | |
Association Missouri State High School Activities Association Sports fielded 17 (men's: 10; women's: 9) | ||
The Central Ozarks Conference is a high school athletic conference represented by 16 schools in the southwest portion of Missouri. As the name implies, all schools are in the Ozarks region of the state. The conference offers championships for girls in Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, and Volleyball. In boys sports, the COC offers championships in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Track & Field, and Wrestling.
Contents
The conference is split into "Large" and "Small" divisions, based on population. Small division schools may not exceed 1,000 students.
Membership History
Carthage, Neosho, and Webb City joined the Central Ozark Conference after the collapse of the Southwest League.
Carl Junction joined the COC in July 2016, after three decades in the Big 8 Conference. Former Southwest League Member McDonald County replaced Carl Junction in the Big 8.
Springfield Catholic was an independent before joining COC.
Future Membership
Joplin High School will join the Central Ozarks Conference large division in July 2018. Joplin will move from the Ozark Conference.
The small division will discontinue after the 2017-18 school year. Buffalo announced in October 2016 it would become a founding member of the Ozark Highlands Conference. The remaining schools, with the exception of Bolivar, will join the Big 8 conference. Bolivar submitted an application to join the Ozark Conference in late December, with a decision expected in January 2017.