The Southeast Conference, formerly known as the Southeast 7, is an athletic conference made up of six high schools in the southeast corner of Iowa. All of the current schools compete at the 3A level, the second-largest in Iowa.
History This conference was once known as the Little Six Conference. In 1969 the high schools Bettendorf, Muscatine, and Assumption left the league for conferences that made more geographical sense.
Ottumwa, Burlington and Keokuk High Schools then invited Quincy, IL (Catholic Boys) to join them in a four-team league that maintained the Little Six Conference name. That affiliation fell apart after a couple of years.
Ottumwa High School and Keokuk High School, as the only remaining members, formed the Southeast 7 to meet their needs for a conference. The new league was made up of Keokuk High School, Fort Madison High School, Mt. Pleasant High School, Fairfield High School, Oskaloosa High School, Ottumwa High School, and Washington High School. Oskaloosa left the conference after the 1983 baseball season to join the South Central Conference. Oskaloosa returned after the 1995-1996 School year after being asked to leave the South Central Conference due to enrollment numbers and after being denied membership into the Little Hawkeye Conference due to travel distance. After Ottumwa went to the CIML and Oskaloosa was accepted into the Little Hawkeye Conference in 1998, the conference changed its official name to the Southeast Conference.
Starting with the 2019–2020 school year, Burlington joined the Southeast Conference, joining from the Mississippi Athletic Conference, of which it had been a charter member when formed (as the Mississippi Eight) in 1978.Coss, Matt, "MAC approves Burlington's request to leave conference," Quad-City Times, April 11, 2018. Accessed 04–15–2018.
The conference's schools have faced shrinking enrollment. Located in the southeast corner of the state, the cities with schools in the conference were some of the first cities settled in Iowa, but have seen their populations decline in the recent decades.
On March 11, 2026, the Oskaloosa Community School District formally submitted a letter of interest to the Southeast Conference seeking potential placement. The school district also submitted a LoI to the South Central Conference.https://www.oskyschools.org/article/2762146 It was announced on April 27, 2026 that Oskaloosa Community School District would be leaving the Little Hawkeye Conference for the Southeast Conference for the 2028-2029 school year.https://www.ottumwacourier.com/sports/oskaloosa-to-join-southeast-conference/article_55c05adc-b018-460c-a5e1-eeac06069c4e.html
On June 23, 2026, the Central Lee Community School District voted to request membership into the Southeast Conference. Central Lee is located in rural Donnellson, Iowa between Keokuk and Fort Madison, and currently competes in the Southeast Iowa Superconference (SEISC) with an enrollment of 267.https://ottumwaradio.com/2026/06/central-lee-school-district-requests-entry-into-southeast-conference/
Current members
School Mascot Colors 2026-2027 BEDS Burlington Grayhounds 723 Fairfield Trojans 320 Fort Madison Bloodhounds 415 Keokuk Chiefs 390 Mount Pleasant Panthers 388 Washington Demons 327
Future member School Mascot Colors 2026-2027 BEDShttps://www.iahsaa.org/classifications/ Former Conference Oskaloosa Indians 465 Little Hawkeye Conference
References
Former members Centerville, 1958-1972, Left For South Central Conference Davis County, 1958-1972, Left For South Central Conference Oskaloosa, 1969-1983 Left For South Central Conference, 1996-1998 Left for Little Hawkeye Conference Ottumwa, 1983-1998, Left for CIML Burlington, 1961–1969 Bettendorf, ????-1969 Muscatine, ????-1969 Davenport Assumption, 1963–1969 Quincy, IL Catholic Boys 1970–1971
External links Official Website