BELLE PLAINE — The Big South Conference announced via a press release on Wednesday that it would be welcoming its newest member, Belle Plaine, starting in the fall of 2024.

Belle Plaine becomes the conference’s 15th school. In addition to Marshall, the conference also is home to New Ulm, Fairmont, Blue Earth Area, Jackson County Central, Luverne, Pipestone, Redwood Valley, St. James Area, St. Peter, Waseca, Windom and Worthington. In terms of enrollment, Belle Plaine will be the seventh largest school in the conference.

The Belle Plaine Tigers have prep teams in football, cross country, girls tennis, volleyball, basketball, dance, baseball, softball track and field and golf. Additionally, they have co-op programs for soccer and wrestling with Jordan and for hockey with Minnesota River.

Belle Plaine volleyball is 2-1 at the time of print while the Tiger football team is 0-1. The Tigers finished with a 27-7 record in volleyball last season, culminating in a fifth-place finish at the Class AA state tournament, while the football team finished 2-7.