St. Thomas Academy, unable to find a new conference home since it was asked to leave the Classic Suburban Conference, has been placed in the new Metro East Conference.
The new conference includes many of the same schools that have competed against the Cadets in the Classic Suburban, which is dissolving after the 2013-14 school year.
The Minnesota State High School League announced the placement decision on Monday.
The league gets involved in placing schools that are unable to gain conference approval on their own. St. Thomas Academy, located in Mendota Heights, sought admittance to the conference in September but was rejected. It also was denied admittance to the South Suburban and Suburban East conferences.
The Metro East Conference includes Hastings, Henry Sibley, Hill-Murray, Mahtomedi, North St. Paul, Simley, South St. Paul and Tartan. All but Hastings are current members of the Classic Suburban Conference.
Earlier this year St. Thomas Academy had been asked to leave the Classic Suburban, which subsequently voted to dissolve.
The move comes after a flurry of conference changes across the metro area, mostly driven by a desire for more evenly matched competition.
The league's placement process gives the school and the conference an option to appeal.
