Eastern South Dakota Conference
The Eastern South Dakota Conference is a high school athletic conference made up of eight teams of Class AA in the East River Region of South Dakota. All schools are members of the SDHSAA. Sports offered are boys & girls basketball, football, boys & girls track & field, boys and girls cross country, volleyball, wrestling, competitive dance & cheer, and, starting in 2012, boys & girls soccer.
| Eastern South Dakota Conference | |
|---|---|
| ESD | |
| Established | 1927 |
| Association | SDHSAA |
| Members | 8 |
Current members
| Team & mascot | School | Enrollment | Year joined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen Central Golden Eagles | Central HS | 1,176 | 1927 |
| Brandon Valley Lynx | Brandon Valley HS | 955 | 1989 |
| Brookings Bobcats | Brookings HS | 767 | 1927 |
| Harrisburg Tigers | Harrisburg HS | 812 | 2012 |
| Huron Tigers | Huron HS | 691 | 1927 |
| Mitchell Kernels | Mitchell HS | 764 | 1927 |
| Pierre T.F. Riggs Governors & Lady Govs | T.F.Riggs HS | 765 | 1966 |
| Watertown Arrows | Watertown HS | 1,145 | 1927 |
| Yankton Bucks & Gazelles | Yankton HS | 910 | 1927 |
Former members
| Team & mascot | School | Year joined | Year left |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Bulldogs | Madison HS | 1927,1939 | 1935, 1982 |
| Vermillion Tanagers | Vermillion HS | 1930 | 1932 |
| Redfield Pheasants | Redfield HS | 1927 | 1931 |
| Sioux Falls Washington Warriors | Sioux Falls Washington HS | 1927 | 1966 |
Conference history
The Eastern South Dakota Conference consists of eight of the Class AA teams in the East River Region of South Dakota. The conference was established in 1927 and went through many changes as schools only wanted to participate in certain sports. In 1994 Sioux Falls Lincoln, Roosevelt, Washington and O'Gorman were forced to leave the Sioux Interstate Conference with Sioux City, Iowa schools due to the non traditional girls sports seasons. The four schools applied for ESD membership but were denied due to the conference not wanting to expand beyond eight teams, in 1996 The Sioux Falls Schools approached Independent West River Schools Rapid City Central, Rapid City Stevens, Spearfish and Sturgis Brown to form a conference. After several attempts, the Greater Dakota Conference was formed. In the late 2000s West River schools have pushed to join the ESD Conference only to be denied membership, the 2012-2013 school year the Greater Dakota Conference will cease as a new Conference named the Metro Conference will be formed consisting of Sioux Falls Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, O'Gorman and Brandon Valley, thereby leaving Rapid City Stevens, Rapid City Central and Sturgis out of a conference. (Spearfish left the GDC for the Black Hills Conference in 2011 due to dropping to Class A.) The Metro Conference was formed due to travel concerns as the distance between Sioux Falls and Rapid City is 396 miles. Brandon Valley will be in a dual membership with the Metro and ESD Conferences. Rapid City Central, Stevens and Sturgis continue to attempt to get into the ESD.
Conference champions
Fall Sports
Football
- 1932 Huron
- 1934 Huron
- 1945 Huron
- 1960 Huron
- 1969 Huron
- 1978 Huron
- 1989 Huron
- 1991 Huron
- 2016 Harrisburg
- 2017 Pierre
Girls Volleyball
- 1999 Huron
- 2010 Huron
- 2016 Harrisburg
Girls Tennis
- 1982 Huron
- 1984 Huron
- 1985 Huron
- 1986 Huron
- 1987 Huron
- 2002 Huron
- 2011 Aberdeen Central
- 2012 Watertown
- 2013 Aberdeen Central
Boys Golf
- 1962 Huron
- 1963 Huron
- 1968 Huron
- 1973 Huron
- 1976 Huron
- 1977 Huron
Boys Cross Country
- 1965 Watertown
- 1966 Yankton
- 1967 Yankton
- 1968 Yankton
- 1969 Yankton
- 1970 Yankton
- 1971 Yankton
- 1972 Brookings
- 1973 Madison
- 1974 Yankton
- 1975 Watertown
- 1976 Watertown
- 1977 Watertown
- 1978 Brookings
- 1979 Watertown
- 1980 Watertown
- 1981 Watertown
- 1982 Watertown
- 1983 Mitchell
- 1984 Watertown
- 1985 Aberdeen Central
- 1986 Watertown
- 1987 Watertown
- 1988 Huron
- 1989 Pierre
- 1990 Mitchell
- 1991 Yankton
- 1992 Yankton
- 1993 Aberdeen Central
- 1994 Brookings
- 1995 Brookings
- 1996 Aberdeen Central
- 1997 Pierre
- 1998 Yankton
- 1999 Yankton
- 2000 Yankton
- 2001 Yankton
- 2002 Yankton
- 2003 Aberdeen Central
- 2004 Yankton
- 2005 Yankton
- 2006 Yankton
- 2007 Yankton
- 2008 Yankton
- 2009 Brandon Valley
- 2010 Brookings
- 2011 Brandon Valley
- 2012 Brookings
- 2013 Brookings
- 2014 Brandon Valley
- 2015 Pierre
- 2016 Aberdeen Central
- 2017 Aberdeen Central
- 2018 Aberdeen Central
- 2019 Aberdeen Central
Girls Cross Country
- 1976 Watertown
- 1977 Pierre
- 1978 Yankton
- 1979 Yankton
- 1980 Brookings
- 1981 Huron
- 1982 Brookings
- 1983 Brookings
- 1984 Huron
- 1985 Huron
- 1986 Brookings
- 1987 Huron
- 1988 Huron
- 1989 Huron
- 1990 Mitchell
- 1991 Watertown
- 1992 Watertown
- 1993 Watertown
- 1994 Watertown
- 1995 Yankton
- 1996 Aberdeen Central
- 1997 Yankton
- 1998 Watertown
- 1999 Watertown
- 2000 Watertown
- 2001 Watertown
- 2002 Yankton
- 2003 Yankton
- 2004 Yankton
- 2005 Yankton
- 2006 Yankton
- 2007 Yankton
- 2008 Yankton
- 2009 Yankton
- 2010 Aberdeen Central
- 2011 Aberdeen Central
- 2012 Brandon Valley
- 2013 Harrisburg
- 2014 Brandon Valley
- 2015 Aberdeen Central
- 2016 Aberdeen Central
- 2017 Aberdeen Central
- 2018 Aberdeen Central
- 2019 Brandon Valley
Winter Sports
Boys Basketball
- 2004 Huron
- 2009 Huron
- 2010 Huron
Girls Basketball
- 1990 Huron
- 1999 Huron
Wrestling
- 2009 Huron
- 2011 Huron
Spring Sports