The conference is named for the Chagrin River that flows through the valley where the majority of the founding schools are located.
The CVC formed in 1964 with Chagrin Falls, Kenston, Orange, Solon, Twinsburg, and West Geauga as its charter members.
Around 1994, Chagrin Falls and Wickliffe suggested creating a "small school" division within the CVC to give them better competition.
Aurora was invited back, along with Hawken, and four schools from the ESC: Berkshire, Cardinal, Kirtland, and Perry.
The two-division setup fell through when Kenston, Orange, Solon, Twinsburg, and West Geauga left to form the Western Reserve Conference in 1996 with members of the Metro League.
[2] The addition of six schools in 2019 (Brooklyn, Edgewood, Grand Valley, Lakeside, Lutheran West, and Trinity ) brought the league to 22 members.