(Red Oak, Iowa) – Red Oak school officials have formally taken the next step towards changing athletic conferences within the next two years.

During its regular meeting Wednesday evening, the Red Oak School Board unanimously approved accepting an invitation to join the Western Iowa Conference no later than the 2027-28 school year. WIC officials invited 10 schools earlier this year, including Red Oak and Shenandoah–both of which were founding members of the Hawkeye 10 Conference over 90 years ago. The move also comes after school officials held a community forum on the potential switch Sunday evening.

The next steps include the WIC Board of Control officially voting both schools in on August 21st. Additionally, the move would need to be approved by a state conference realignment committee established by House File 783. However, at Sunday’s forum, Lorenz said the committee had yet to receive any official guidance from the state’s department of education.