On March 1, 2021, ten high schools made the announcement to leave the Central Iowa Metro League (CIML) and form a new conference.

These schools include Ames, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown, Mason City, and Ottumwa, as well as the five public Des Moines schools (East, Hoover, Lincoln, North, and Roosevelt).

The withdrawal is due to a low percentage in wins from the non-suburban schools in the conference.

Mason City dropped the mascot "Mohawks" in November 2021, citing an effort to rid the district of a symbol that exploited Native American tribal imagery.

Football is played in a separate classification system, and competition is organized by districts.