The district gets its name from the "black diamond", a nickname for the coal whose mining formed the backbone of the region's economy until the 1980s.
Haysi and Honaker have a larger enrollment than the other schools in the district, sometimes leading to disparities, mostly in football.
This is aggravated by Council choosing not to field a football team due to the schools small size and inability to produce enough athletes (typical Council football teams consisted of 15-20 players).
However, all members have proven competitive in basketball and other activities, with Council, Hurley, and Twin Valley all making deep runs into the playoffs during the past 10 years.
Twin Valley is the "newest" member, resulting from Buchanan County's decision to consolidate Garden and Whitewood High Schools in 2001.