The Northeastern Athletic Conference is getting bigger.
The NAC has officially announced the addition of four schools — Brookfield, Champion, LaBrae and Liberty — all departing the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference to join the NAC beginning with the 2027-28 school year. All four school boards have approved the moves. Brookfield, Champion and LaBrae will compete in the NAC across all sports, while Liberty will join for all sports except football.
The news was first broken by the Trumbull Area Sports Network, which reported the moves in mid-March, pending board approval. Those approvals have since come through, making the realignment official.
The four schools end what has been a seven-year run in the MVAC, closing a chapter and opening a new one as members of one of Northeast Ohio’s most storied small-school conferences.
NAC Commissioner Mel Nowakowski — the former Pymatuning Valley Athletic Director — welcomed the incoming programs warmly. “This is an exciting time for the NAC and we are thrilled to welcome them into our conference,” she said. “All of these schools will bring a strong tradition of athletic excellence as well as strong academic and community beliefs that align with the NAC’s values.” Nowakowski noted that the NAC had sent letters to schools across Columbiana, Mahoning, Trumbull and Ashtabula counties as part of a deliberate expansion effort — and that these four schools responded.
“The addition of these four strengthen our competition and we look forward to the new rivalries,” Nowakowski added. “Our goal is to provide the best possible environment for all student-athletes to compete, grow and succeed on and off of the playing field.”
The expansion will bring the NAC to 18 member schools and will reshape how the conference is structured for non-football sports. For basketball, volleyball, softball and baseball, a tiered divisional format is taking shape. The small division is expected to include Badger, Bloomfield, Bristol, Chalker, Leetonia, Lordstown, Maplewood, Mathews and Windham, while the big division will be made up of Grand Valley, Pymatuning Valley, Cardinal, Saint John, Brookfield, Champion and LaBrae. Discussions about tier placement for other sports are still ongoing, with school size and geography serving as the primary factors.
On the football side, Brookfield, Champion and LaBrae will add to a growing list of NAC programs fielding full 11-man squads alongside Cardinal, Grand Valley, Mathews, Pymatuning Valley and Saint John. Liberty, however, will not play NAC football — the Leopards will compete in the conference across other sports while maintaining their current football affiliation.
Reaction from existing NAC athletic directors has been enthusiastic. Grand Valley AD Frank Hall called it a natural fit. “Grand Valley is excited about welcoming the new schools into the NAC,” Hall said. “The NAC has a great small school conference.” Saint John AD Nick Iarocci echoed that sentiment: “We are excited about the new members. With the addition of four quality programs, the NAC continues to evolve, and with the tiered system, it allows more opportunities for competitive balance in scheduling.”
PV Athletic Director Ricky Walters put it plainly. “We’re very excited about the new additions,” he said. “Being able to play more schools our size with similar sports available is only a positive for our student-athletes.”
The expansion comes alongside other changes already in motion for the NAC. Leetonia is set to join the conference in the fall of 2026, and Fairport Harding is departing after this school year for the Chagrin Valley Conference. By the time Brookfield, Champion, LaBrae and Liberty arrive in 2027-28, the NAC will look considerably different — and, by most accounts, considerably stronger.