The conference has consistently had teams in each sports' respective state tournament on a regular basis.
The Minnesota River Conference was born with Montgomery Superintendent G. Feipel elected as the first President of the MRC.
Even though Lakeville high school was mentioned as a member in early newspaper accounts, their participation in conference sports seemed sporadic in that first year.
There are some news articles about them competing in Basketball and Track & Field; no reason is noted as to why they did not continue as a member.
The conference presented regular season championship trophies to the leading teams in these sports.
With New Prague out, the conference looked to include another school to keep the membership at eight teams, which would provide for a more convenient and balanced scheduling process.
The following year saw another change, as long-time member Le Center left to join the Gopher/Valley conference alignment.
This necessitated the addition of another private school, Holy Family Catholic, which had opened its doors in 2001 and had been independent in activities.
Changes also occurred within the MRC as certain member schools merged, formed cooperative sponsorships, and paired their sports programs as well as their districts.
Longtime MRC member, Jordan, left the conference in 2020, seeking larger schools to compete against.
For the years 1986–1989, Henderson High School was paired with Arlington-Green Isle, forming the Sibley East Bengals.
Beginning with the 2012–2013 school year, Montgomery-Lonsdale consolidated with former conference member Le Center and became Tri-City United.
The Minnesota River Conference has had success on the big stage when competing in State Tournaments.
The following table lists the years when the different school members won the conference in terms of football.
The following table lists the years when the different school members won the conference in terms of baseball.