Naugatuck Valley League

Last updated
Naugatuck Valley League
Conference CIAC
No. of teams15
Region New Haven County
Litchfield County

The Naugatuck Valley League (abbreviated NVL) is a 15-team athletic conference of high schools, located in the Naugatuck River Valley of Connecticut.

Contents

The NVL is a member of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC). It is the oldest high school athletic conference in Connecticut, [1] claiming a continuous history that dates back to at least 1930.

Divisions

Prior to the 2007–08 school year the NVL member schools' athletic directors agreed to split the league into two divisions: the Brass and the Copper. [2] The goal of the new structure was to create more competition within the league and enhance each sport's postseason tournament. The names "Brass" and "Copper" were chosen because of Waterbury's history of being centers of brass and copper production.

The addition of Derby High School and St. Paul Catholic High School in 2009 resulted in the first realignment of the league resulted in two sets of divisions—one set for football and the other for all other sports. St. Paul Catholic (which fields a co-operative team with Lewis Mills High School and Goodwin Technical High School in football) was simply added to the pre-existing Copper football division, while Derby (which fields a co-op team with Emmett O'Brien Technical High School in football) was added to the old Brass.

In each of the other NVL sports, the divisions were more drastically realigned. Both St. Paul and Derby were added to the Brass, and Woodland moved from the Copper to the Brass. Crosby and Wilby both shifted from the Brass to the Copper, creating an essentially "city division", with the five Waterbury schools, along with Naugatuck and Torrington.

Expansion of the league (2009—present)

During the winter of 2009, the existing 12 member schools of the NVL voted in favor of admitting two new schools into the league: Derby High School, moving over from the SCC (Southern Connecticut Conference), and St. Paul Catholic High School of Bristol, which would have been forced to play independently upon the disbanding of the Northwest Conference. Both schools began league play in the fall of 2010.

On February 22, 2013, the Naugatuck Valley League approved the admittance of Oxford High School into their conference from the SWC (South West Conference.) With the move, the NVL announced on November 22, 2013, that the format of two divisions (Brass and Copper) would be realigned into three (Brass, Copper, and Iron) for the start of the 2014–15 school year:

Iron Division

SchoolLocationNicknameColors
Ansonia High School Ansonia, Connecticut Chargers  
Derby High School Derby, Connecticut Raiders  
Oxford High School Oxford, Connecticut Wolverines  
St. Paul Catholic High School Bristol, Connecticut Falcons   
Seymour High School Seymour, Connecticut Wildcats  

Brass Division

SchoolLocationNicknameColors
Crosby High School Waterbury, Connecticut Bulldogs  
Holy Cross High School Waterbury, ConnecticutCrusaders  
Kennedy High School Waterbury, ConnecticutEagles  
Waterbury Career Academy Waterbury, ConnecticutSpartans 

 

Wilby High SchoolWaterbury, ConnecticutWildcats


Copper Division

SchoolLocationNicknameColors
Naugatuck High School Naugatuck, Connecticut Greyhounds  
Torrington High School Torrington, Connecticut Raiders  
Watertown High School Watertown, Connecticut Warriors  
Wolcott High School Wolcott, Connecticut Eagles
Woodland Regional High School Beacon Falls, Connecticut Hawks  

In boys' and girls' basketball, 20 games are played, two against each team within the same division, one each against non-division teams, and two non-league games.

In 2015 Waterbury Career Academy High School joined the NVL bringing it to a membership of 16 schools. In February 2021, Sacred Heart High School announced that it would cease operations following the 2020-21 academic year. Thus, Sacred Heart is no longer a member of the Naugatuck Valley League.

NVL football divisions

The Naugatuck Valley League football divisions are as follows. [2]

DivisionSchoolNicknameLocation
Copper Division Holy Cross High School Crusaders Waterbury
John F. Kennedy High School Eagles Waterbury
Naugatuck High School Greyhounds Naugatuck
Sacred Heart High School HeartsWaterbury
St. Paul Catholic High School Falcons Bristol
Torrington High School Red Raiders Torrington
Woodland Regional High School Hawks Beacon Falls
Brass Division Ansonia High School Chargers Ansonia
Crosby High School Bulldogs Waterbury
Derby High School Red Raiders Derby
Seymour High School Wildcats Seymour
Watertown High School Warriors Watertown
Wilby High School WildcatsWaterbury
Wolcott High School Eagles Wolcott

NVL divisions in other sports

The Naugatuck Valley League divisions in sports other than football are as follows. [2]

DivisionSchoolNicknameLocation
Copper DivisionCrosby High SchoolBulldogsWaterbury
Holy Cross High SchoolCrusadersWaterbury
John F. Kennedy High SchoolEaglesWaterbury
Naugatuck High SchoolGreyhoundsNaugatuck
Sacred Heart High SchoolHeartsWaterbury
Torrington High SchoolRed RaidersTorrington
Wilby High SchoolWildcatsWaterbury
Brass DivisionAnsonia High SchoolChargersAnsonia
Derby High SchoolRed RaidersDerby
Seymour High SchoolWildcatsSeymour
St. Paul Catholic High SchoolFalconsBristol
Watertown High SchoolIndiansWatertown
Wolcott High SchoolEaglesWolcott
Woodland Regional High SchoolHawksBeacon Falls

Sports

The NVL offers varsity sports in three seasons: fall, winter, and spring. [2]

Footnotes

  1. "St. Paul Catholic High School - Bristol, CT". Archived from the original on 2009-04-11. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
  2. 1 2 3 4 CIAC Tournament Pairings/Schedules/Results/E-Mail Lists

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