Naugatuck Valley League


The Naugatuck Valley League is a 16-team athletic conference of high schools, located in the Naugatuck River Valley of Connecticut.
The NVL is a member of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference. It is the oldest high school athletic conference in Connecticut, 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. 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 was simply added to the pre-existing Copper football division, while Derby 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, 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 With the move, the NVL announced on November 22, 2013, that the format of two divisions would be realigned into three for the start of the 2014–15 school year:

Brass Division

Iron Division

SchoolLocationNicknameColors
Crosby High SchoolWaterbury, ConnecticutBulldogs
Holy Cross High SchoolWaterbury, ConnecticutCrusaders
Kennedy High SchoolWaterbury, ConnecticutEagles
Sacred Heart High SchoolWaterbury, ConnecticutHearts
Wilby High SchoolWaterbury, ConnecticutWildcats

Copper Division

SchoolLocationNicknameColors
Naugatuck High SchoolNaugatuck, ConnecticutGreyhounds
Torrington High SchoolTorrington, ConnecticutRaiders
Watertown High SchoolWatertown, ConnecticutIndians
Wolcott High SchoolWolcott, ConnecticutEagles
Woodland Regional High SchoolBeacon Falls, ConnecticutHawks

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.

NVL football divisions

The Naugatuck Valley League football divisions are as follows.
DivisionSchoolNicknameLocation
Copper DivisionHoly Cross High SchoolCrusadersWaterbury
Copper DivisionJohn F. Kennedy High SchoolEaglesWaterbury
Copper DivisionNaugatuck High SchoolGreyhoundsNaugatuck
Copper DivisionSacred Heart High SchoolHeartsWaterbury
Copper DivisionSt. Paul Catholic High SchoolFalconsBristol
Copper DivisionTorrington High SchoolRed RaidersTorrington
Copper DivisionWoodland Regional High SchoolHawksBeacon Falls
Brass DivisionAnsonia High SchoolChargersAnsonia
Brass DivisionCrosby High SchoolBulldogsWaterbury
Brass DivisionDerby High SchoolRed RaidersDerby
Brass DivisionSeymour High SchoolWildcatsSeymour
Brass DivisionWatertown High SchoolIndiansWatertown
Brass DivisionWilby High SchoolWildcatsWaterbury
Brass DivisionWolcott High SchoolEaglesWolcott

NVL divisions in other sports

The Naugatuck Valley League divisions in sports other than football are as follows.
DivisionSchoolNicknameLocation
Copper DivisionCrosby High SchoolBulldogsWaterbury
Copper DivisionHoly Cross High SchoolCrusadersWaterbury
Copper DivisionJohn F. Kennedy High SchoolEaglesWaterbury
Copper DivisionNaugatuck High SchoolGreyhoundsNaugatuck
Copper DivisionSacred Heart High SchoolHeartsWaterbury
Copper DivisionTorrington High SchoolRed RaidersTorrington
Copper DivisionWilby High SchoolWildcatsWaterbury
Brass DivisionAnsonia High SchoolChargersAnsonia
Brass DivisionDerby High SchoolRed RaidersDerby
Brass DivisionSeymour High SchoolWildcatsSeymour
Brass DivisionSt. Paul Catholic High SchoolFalconsBristol
Brass DivisionWatertown High SchoolIndiansWatertown
Brass DivisionWolcott High SchoolEaglesWolcott
Brass DivisionWoodland Regional High SchoolHawksBeacon Falls

Sports

The NVL offers varsity sports in three seasons: fall, winter, and spring.
Fall sports
Winter sports
Spring sports