Following Grinnell’s departure from the Little Hawkeye Conference, the future of the league remains uncertain, especially with one of the remaining seven schools significantly smaller than the rest.
Pella Christian has announced they will remain in the Little Hawkeye Conference after a task force established in August 2021 explored options for the future of the lone 2A school in a group filled with some of the best 3A and 4A schools in Iowa.
The Eagles explored a possible new conference with area schools that would fit better in terms of size, community support, and other socioeconomic factors, joining an existing league, or remaining in the Little Hawkeye.
However, interest generally has remained low from other schools at either coming together with Pella Christian for a new conference or having the group from Eagle Lane join their group. The task force also determined that becoming independent would be significantly detrimental to scheduling games, officials, and more as opposed to staying in a conference.
Pella Christian will instead take a wait-and-see approach, especially with significant realignment and changes coming to conferences in the near future.