The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference, known informally as EPC, EPC18, and East Penn Conference, is an athletic conference consisting of 18 large high schools from Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, and Pike counties in the Lehigh Valley and Pocono Mountain regions of eastern and northeastern Pennsylvania. The conference is part of District XI in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA).
The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference holds many Pennsylvania and national records and milestones in high school athletic competition. The conference is known for producing many athletes who have gone on to compete in the Olympics and professional sports, including Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, and the National Football League. The conference's high school wrestling programs have been labeled "among the nation’s best in the sport for nearly three decades""Wrestling: Why District 11 2A teams have tougher path to state final," The Morning Call, January 30, 2019, retrieved January 30, 2019. and WIN magazine has ranked the EPC and Lehigh Valley best in the nation for wrestling."WIN's top ten wrestling 'hot spots' in the United States," WIN, November 2, 2010
The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference is also home to two of the nation's largest high school football stadiums, J. Birney Crum Stadium, a 15,000 capacity stadium in Allentown, and Frank Banko Field at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium, a 14,000 capacity in Bethlehem.
History
On October 2, 2013, the Lehigh Valley Conference, consisting of 12 schools from the Lehigh Valley, voted to invite six large Mountain Valley Conference schools to the conference, expanding it to a super conference of 18 large Pennsylvania high schools. The EPC was officially announced on June 4, 2014, and the conference's play began in the 2014–15 school year. The conference is widely considered one of the premier high school athletic divisions in the nation.
High schools The 18 high school teams in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference (with location in parentheses) are:
Mountain Division East Stroudsburg High School North Timberwolves (Dingmans Ferry) East Stroudsburg High School South Cavaliers (East Stroudsburg) Pleasant Valley High School Bears (Brodheadsville) Pocono Mountain East High School Cardinals (Swiftwater) Pocono Mountain West High School Panthers (Pocono Summit) Stroudsburg High School Mountaineers (Stroudsburg) Skyline Division Allentown Central Catholic High School Vikings (Allentown) Emmaus High School Green Hornets (Emmaus) Nazareth Area High School Blue Eagles (Nazareth) Northampton Area High School Konkrete Kids (Northampton) Parkland High School Trojans (Allentown) Whitehall High School Zephyrs (Whitehall Township) Steel Division Allen High School Canaries (Allentown) Bethlehem Catholic High School Golden Hawks (Bethlehem) Dieruff High School Huskies (Allentown) Easton Area High School Red Rovers (Easton) Freedom High School Patriots (Bethlehem Township) Liberty High School Hurricanes (Bethlehem)
Conference championships and records Baseball Baseball uses the primary divisional conference alignment.
District and state championships School DistrictTitle(s) Year(s) StateTitle(s) Year(s) Bethlehem Catholic 5 1996, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2021 0 – Dieruff 2 1987, 1988 0 – Easton 2 1990, 1993 0 – Emmaus 2 2000, 2005 0 – Freedom 2 1999, 2018 0 – Liberty 4 1991, 2001, 2002, 2007 0 – Nazareth 3 2006, 2011, 2012 0 – Northampton 1 1997 0 – Parkland 5 1992, 2003, 2009, 2013, 2014 0 – Pleasant Valley 1 2010 0 – Whitehall 4 1984, 2004, 2005, 2008 0 – William Allen 1 1995 0 –
Boys basketball Boys basketball uses the primary divisional conference alignment.
Conference champions Year EPC Tournament Mountain Division Record Skyline Division Record Steel Division Record 2014–15 Parkland Stroudsburg 14–2 (10–0) Parkland 16–0 (10–0) Liberty 14–2 (9–1)
District and state championships School DistrictTitle(s) Year(s) StateTitle(s) Year(s) Allentown Central Catholic 17 1986, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 2 1984, 1986 Bethlehem Catholic 4 1998, 2002, 2018, 2019 0 – East Stroudsburg South 3 1994, 2018, 2021 0 – Easton 1 2007 0 – Emmaus 1 1986 0 – Liberty 4 1987, 1995, 2008, 2010 0 – Parkland 7 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015 0 – Pleasant Valley 1 1998 0 – Pocono Mountain West 1 2012 0 – Stroudsburg 2 1996, 1999 0 – Whitehall 11 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1997, 2004, 2005 1 1982 William Allen 7 1984, 1988, 1993, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2019 5 1935, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1951
Girls basketball Girls basketball uses the primary divisional conference alignment.
Conference champions Year EPC Tournament Mountain Division Record Skyline Division Record Steel Division Record 2014–15 Bethlehem Catholic Pocono Mountain West 13–3 (9–1) Allentown Central Catholic 16–0 (10–0) Bethlehem Catholic 16–0 (10–0)
District and state championships School DistrictTitle(s) Year(s) StateTitle(s) Year(s) Allentown Central Catholic 21 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 7 1973, 1978, 1987, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 Bethlehem Catholic 10 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 1 2019 Dieruff 0 – 2 1975, 1976 Easton 2 1999, 2017 0 – Emmaus 4 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004 0 – Freedom 3 1987, 2006, 2018 0 – Liberty 2 2000, 2009 0 – Nazareth 5 2013, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021 0 – Northampton 5 1995, 1997, 2010, 2011, 2019 0 – Parkland 3 2005, 2007, 2014 1 2006 Pleasant Valley 1 2003 0 – Whitehall 2 1986, 1988 0 – William Allen 1 2008 1 1981
Boys cross country In boys cross country, no divisional conference alignment is used.
Conference champions Year Regular season Record Championship Points Individual Champion Time 2014 Easton 15–0 Easton 47 Colin Abert (Easton) 16:02
District and state championships School DistrictTitle(s) Year(s) StateTitle(s) Year(s) Allentown Central Catholic 2 1989, 2014 0 – Easton 10 1985, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 2003, 2014, 2018, 2019 0 – Emmaus 1 1994 0 – Freedom 2 2012, 2013 0 – Liberty 6 1990, 1993, 1995, 2004, 2007, 2008 0 – Nazareth 1 2010 0 – Parkland 6 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2016, 2017 0 – William Allen 2 1988, 1989 0 –
Individual state champions: Mickey Collins (Easton) – 1970
Girls cross country In girls cross country, no divisional conference alignment is used.
Conference champions Year Regular season Record Championship Points Individual Champion Time 2014 Easton 15–0 Parkland 80 Raisa Kochmaruk (Liberty) 19:27
District and state championships School DistrictTitle(s) Year(s) StateTitle(s) Year(s) Allentown Central Catholic 3 2003, 2004, 2005 1 2001 Easton 4 1989, 2014, 2018, 2019 0 – Emmaus 11 1985, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 3 2007, 2008, 2009 Liberty 4 1991, 1992, 1997, 2010 0 – Northampton 1 1987 0 – Parkland 3 2011, 2012, 2013 1 2000 William Allen 1 1986 0 –
Individual state champions: Janelle Thomas (Liberty) – 1992, 1994, 1995 Frances Koons (Allentown Central Catholic) – 2003 Jessica Cygan (Liberty) – 2008
Field hockey In field hockey, no divisional conference alignment is used.
Conference champions Year EPC Tournament Mountain Division Record Skyline Division Record Steel Division Record 2014 Stroudsburg Stroudsburg 15–0 (10–0) Emmaus 13–0–1 (7–0–1) Easton 14–1–1 (10–0)
District and state championships School DistrictTitle(s) Year(s) StateTitle(s) Year(s) Emmaus 26 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 9 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010 Stroudsburg 0 – 1 1980
Football
Football uses the following adjusted divisional conference alignment, which changes slightly every two years:
North: Dieruff, East Stroudsburg North, East Stroudsburg South, Northampton, Pleasant Valley, Pocono Mountain East, Pocono Mountain West, Stroudsburg, and William Allen South: Allentown Central Catholic, Bethlehem Catholic, Easton, Emmaus, Freedom, Liberty, Nazareth, Parkland, and Whitehall
From the 2014 through 2017 seasons, Northampton was in the South division. From the 2014 through 2015 seasons, Bethlehem Catholic was in the North division. For 2016–17, Allentown Central Catholic was in the North division.
Division champions All info available on sub-pages of site. Year North Division Record South Division Record 2014 Stroudsburg 10–0 (8–0) Easton 10–0 (8–0) 2019 Northampton 10–2 (8–0) Nazareth 12–2 (7–1) 2021 Northampton 12–1 (8–0) Parkland 9–2 (7–1) 2022 Northampton 12–1 (8–0) Emmaus 10–2 (7–1)
District and state championships School DistrictTitle(s) Year(s) StateTitle(s) Year(s) Allentown Central Catholic 12 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2021 3 1993, 1998, 2010 Bethlehem Catholic 10 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2013, 2014 2 1988, 1990 East Stroudsburg South 4 1985, 1995, 2018, 2021 0 – Easton 7 1990, 1991, 1993, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010 0 – Liberty 4 1994, 2005, 2006, 2008 1 2008 Nazareth 3 1988, 1989, 2011 0 – Parkland 7 1996, 1998, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 1 2002 Pocono Mountain East 1 1988 0 – Whitehall 5 1986, 1989, 1997, 2016, 2017 0 – William Allen 1 1992 0 –
Golf Golf does not use any divisional conference alignment.
Conference champions Year Regular season Record Championship Points Boys champion Score Girls champion Score 2014 EastonEmmausParkland 9–1 Emmaus 322 Nick Maff (Bethlehem Catholic) 77 Helen Hsu (Freedom) 79
District and state championships School DistrictTitle(s) Year(s) StateTitle(s) Year(s) Allentown Central Catholic 1 2013 0 – Emmaus 2 2013, 2014 0 – Northampton 1 2012 0 – Parkland 4 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011 0 –
Boys lacrosse Boys lacrosse uses the following adjusted divisional conference alignment: East: Bethlehem Catholic, Liberty, Nazareth, Northampton, and Pleasant Valley West: Allentown Central Catholic, Easton, Emmaus, Freedom, and Parkland Dieruff, East Stroudsburg North, East Stroudsburg South, Pocono Mountain East, Pocono Mountain West, Stroudsburg, Whitehall, and William Allen do not participate in boys lacrosse.
District and state championships School DistrictTitle(s) Year(s) StateTitle(s) Year(s) Allentown Central Catholic 5 2011, 2012, 2018, 2021, 2022 1 2021 Emmaus 4 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014 0 – Easton 2024, 2025
Girls lacrosse Girls lacrosse uses the following adjusted divisional conference alignment: Mountain: Nazareth, Northampton, and Pleasant Valley Steel: Easton, Freedom, and Liberty Skyline: Allentown Central Catholic, Emmaus, and Parkland Bethlehem Catholic, Dieruff, East Stroudsburg North, East Stroudsburg South, Pocono Mountain East, Pocono Mountain West, Stroudsburg, Whitehall, and William Allen do not participate in girls lacrosse.
District and state championships School DistrictTitle(s) Year(s) StateTitle(s) Year(s) Emmaus 1 2011 0 – Nazareth 2 2010, 2012 0 – Parkland 1 2014 0 –
Boys soccer Boys soccer uses the primary divisional conference alignment.
Conference champions Year EPC Tournament Mountain Division Record Skyline Division Record Steel Division Record 2014 Emmaus Stroudsburg 13–3–1 (8–1–1) Emmaus 15–1 (9–1) Liberty 11–5 (8–2)
District and state championships School DistrictTitle(s) Year(s) StateTitle(s) Year(s) Allentown Central Catholic 1 2012 0 – Bethlehem Catholic 1 2007 0 – Easton 1 2010 0 – Emmaus 11 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2015 0 – Freedom 1 1990 1 1983 Liberty 3 1989, 1992, 1993 1 1975 Parkland 9 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2022 0 – Stroudsburg 2 2009, 2012 0 –
Girls soccer Girls soccer uses the primary divisional alignment.
Conference champions Year EPC Tournament Mountain Division Record Skyline Division Record Steel Division Record 2014 Parkland Stroudsburg 14–1–1 (9–0–1) Parkland 13–1–2 (8–0–2) Easton 13–2–1 (10–0)