In 1939, the Music and Industrial Arts wing was added, and the Fred J. Miller gymnasium was built in 1957.

East High's men's basketball team is the marquee program at the school and has a long tradition of success, consistently reaching the state tournament and cracking national rankings at times.

[citation needed] However, a youth program has generated a newfound interest in and focus on developing football talent in the area.

Also, the NFL recently made Waterloo the only metro with a population under 300,000 to be named a site of one of their fully funded youth football camps.

In June 2021, the district's school board approved East High's request to move to a new, as-of-yet-unnamed athletic conference, also including 10 current Central Iowa Metro League members, which earlier in 2021 broke off from that league's suburban schools for the same reasons.

Despite the move, plans would be in place for East to continue its local rivalries with cross-town schools West and Columbus Catholic, and Cedar Falls.