The Iron Range Conferences

Not just the Iron Range Conference, but the Iron Range conferences, which also includes the Northern Lakes Conference. Several other Iron Range schools are now independents.

The Iron Range (meaning the Mesabi and Vermillion Ranges, not the Cayuna, which is well south) has of course a venerable basketball history, including 6 state champions (Virginia 1916, Aurora 1923, Chisholm 1934, 1973, 1975, 1991, Buhl 1941-1942, Gilbert 1951). And runners-up including Gilbert, Chisholm (twice), Virginia, Hibbing (twice) and Nashwauk-Keewatin, plus near-Range Ely and Crosby-Ironton (on the Cayuna), now 0-and-5 in state finals.

The decline of the iron industry has meant decline on the Range--economic decline, loss of population and school enrollments, etc. etc. Since Hibbing and Kevin McHale in 1976, Chisholm has the only state title (1991), and Nash-Kee has the only other boys finals appearance. (C-I, though not a Mesabi Range school, has been in 3 finals in recent years and is 0-3.)

That's the boys. Meanwhile, among the girls, well, basketball has never quite fully arrived. Chisholm has the only state title (1984), and that is in fact the only appearance in a state final by an Iron Range school.

Here's who looks like a Ranger to me today. First, if it says Iron Range Conference, then its members must be on he Range.

Iron Range Conference

Chisholm  159 enrollment
Eveleth-Gilbert 294
Greenway (Coleraine) 263
Hibbing 634
International Falls 387
Mesabi East (Aurora) 186
Virginia 460

Well, not quite. International Falls isn't really considered to be a Range town but I'm including it because it is in the Iron Range Conference.

Northern Lakes

Bigfork 78
Deer River 215
Greenway (Coleraine) 263
Hill City 74
Littlefork-Big Falls 86
Nashwauk-Keewatin 133
Northland (Remer) 109

Greenway is double dipping. Bigfork, Deer River, Hill City and Remer, located west of Grand Rapids, are generally thought of as a lakes communities. Hill City is closer to the Cayuna Range. Other possible opponents located in the triangle between Bemidji, Brainerd and Grand Rapids include Cass Lake-Bena, Crosby-Ironton, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, Nevis, Pequot Lakes and Pine River-Backus. This is not to say that all are appropriate size-wise. Littlefork-Big Falls is up north near International Falls.

Short story long: Greenway and Nash-Kee are the only true Iron Rangers in the Northern Lakes.

Independents

Cherry 83
Ely 163
Mountain Iron-Buhl  113
North Woods 86
Northeast Range 91
South Ridge 107

Several of these have been formed just recently. North Woods, located in Cook; Northeast Range, combining Babbitt and Tower-Soudan, in 2011; and South Ridge, in Culver, combining AlBrook, Cotton and Toivola-Meadowlands, also in 2011.

Actually, South Ridge is not on the Range but more in the bog land between Duluth, Grand Rapids and Hibbing. Ditto nearby Floodwood, which plays in the Polar Conference with schools along the North Shore and/or nearer to Duluth than to the Range. I would expect South Ridge to join the Polar when it is able. Ely is more of a lakes community, but located off the far east end of the Range, there is nobody else to play.

The Real Iron Range Conference

So, stripping it back to schools that are really located on the Range, you get a nice round number for a conference--10.

Chisholm  159 boys 164-74 girls 122-86
Eveleth-Gilbert 294 boys 59-157 girls 110-106
Greenway (Coleraine) 263 boys 30-176 girls 45-155
Hibbing 634 boys 93-125 girls 156-64
Mesabi East (Aurora) 186 boys 141-87 girls 82-123
Nashwauk-Keewatin 133 boys 132-82 girls 104-95
Mountain Iron-Buhl  113 boys 136-77 girls 162-56
North Woods 86 boys 22-4 (1 year) girls 25-1 (1 year)
Northeast Range 91 boys 6-17 (1 year) girls 17-8 (1 year)
Virginia 460 boys 192-42 girls 100-116

But of course competitive balance is an issue, only here it has little to do with enrollment. Chisholm, with 159 students, wins 69 percent of its boys basketball games and 59 percent of the girls. Hibbing, with 634, wins 43 percent of its boys games. Greenway, with 263 students, wins 15 percent of the boys and 22.5 percent of the girls.

I suspect that it has more to do with ice hockey. Schools are probably ranked in roughly the inverse order of their hockey programs. Great hockey, bad basketball ; weak hockey, better hoops.

And of course we've already put Hibbing into a revamped Central Lakes Conference, seeing as how Hibbing is more the size of Alexandria, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, etc., than it is Chisholm and Eveleth-Gilbert and Coleraine Greenway. The antidote to that is to simply admit that if we get too exclusive with the Range Conference, then there will be some schools who will have nobody to play.

Those include:

International Falls 387 boys 127-89 girls 110-109
Ely 163 boys 112-88 girls 111-87
Littlefork-Big Falls 86 boys 111-88 girls 74-112

Again, Bigfork, Hill City, Northland, Cherry,  South Ridge and Deer River can find better match-ups in other conferences that do not require too long of trips. And having already bumped Hibbing into the Central Lakes, whose members are of a more comparable enrollment, that leaves 12 in the "new" Iron Range Conference. The enrollment numbers vary all the way from 460 (Virginia) to 86 (North Woods and Littlefork-Big Falls, so let's organize them by size.

Iron Range Big

Virginia 460 boys 192-42 girls 100-116
International Falls 387 boys 127-89 girls 110-109
Eveleth-Gilbert 294 boys 59-157 girls 110-106
Greenway (Coleraine) 263 boys 30-176 girls 45-155
Mesabi East (Aurora) 186 boys 141-87 girls 82-123
Chisholm  159 boys 164-74 girls 122-86

Iron Range Small


Ely 163 boys 112-88 girls 111-87
Nashwauk-Keewatin 133 boys 132-82 girls 104-95
Mountain Iron-Buhl  113 boys 136-77 girls 162-56
Northeast Range 91 boys 6-17 (1 year) girls 17-8 (1 year)
North Woods 86 boys 22-4 (1 year) girls 25-1 (1 year)
Littlefork-Big Falls 86 boys 111-88 girls 74-112

The only teams with unhappy prospects are the Eveleth-Gilbert boys, the Greenway boys and girls, the Northeast Range boys and the Littlefork-Big Falls girls. With Hibbing missing, Virginia would have the opportunity to be a dominant power, but they (the boys) have been that already, even with Hibbing in there. But if they played home-and-home within the division and once outside the division, the schedule would be pretty interchangeable with the one they're already playing. So I like this arrangement better than the Iron Range Conference's current 7 members.

The biggest fly in the ointment, along with Hibbing's proposed move, would be forcing the Northern Lakes to regroup, but I think that could be done. So I like this better than the current 7 members in the Iron Range Conference.