HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS October 3, 2025 WINGERS LIKELY MOVING TO THE HVL

Wingers set to depart Big Nine for HVL

It's DEFCON 2 right now but later this month it should be DEFCON 1.

The Red Wing Wingers are expected to depart the Big Nine Conference for the HVL Conference in the 2026-27 school year. The nine HVL schools will vote on the move by the Wingers later this month. They are expected to overwhelmingly vote for the Wingers to join the conference.

The Wingers would join Goodhue, Lake City, Cannon Falls, Zumbrota-Mazeppa, Pine Island, Kasson-Mantorville, Stewartville, Byron and Rochester Lourdes to make the HVL a 10 team conference.

There would be only four sports where the Wingers would play an "independent" schedule outside of the HVL: girls and boys swim & dive and girls and boys hockey.

In an ever-changing high school landscape the numbers indicate a move for the Wingers makes sense.

Eight of the twelve schools in the Big Nine have enrollments more than double of Red Wing's 529 according to the MSHSL. The new numbers will already see Red Wing move down a class in seven sports for at least the next two years (and probably beyond).

Red Wing was a charter member of the Big Nine Conference from 1928-1981, then moved to Missota Conference from 1981-82 to 2013-2014. Red Wing and Northfield rejoined the Big Nine when the Missota Conference disbanded after the 2013-14 school year.

The enrollment numbers tell the story:

Big Nine: Rochester Mayo 1588, Rochester Century 1420, Rochester John Marshall 1297, Owatonna 1277, Austin 1159, Northfield 1154, Mankato East 1110, Mankato West 1101, Albert Lea 827, Faribault 735, Winona 735, Red Wing 529.

HVL: Byron 653, Kasson-Mantorville 617, Stewartville 564, Pine Island 456, Zumbrota-Mazeppa 368, Lake City 355, Rochester Lourdes 300, Cannon Falls 287, Goodhue 224

The complete interview with Red Wing Wingers Activites and Athletics Director Paul Hartmann is available at www.q-mediagroup.com in the podcast section.