Tri-River League

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The Tri-River Athletic Conference (TRAC) is a high school athletic league that is part of the CIF Central Section. All of the members are major public high schools in Fresno County, California. The name derives from the three major rivers found in the Central Valley: the Fresno, Kings, and San Joaquin Rivers.

Tri-River Athletic Conference
Current season, competition or edition:
Current sports event 2023
SportFootball
First season1996
No. of teams6
Most recent
champion(s)
Clovis North
(2023)
Most titlesClovis West (9)

TRAC Football History[edit]

The Tri-River Athletic Conference was formed before the 1996-97 school year when the Central Section broke up the Northeast and Northwest Yosemite Leagues, in large part due to Fresno Unified schools not being able to compete with the Clovis Unified juggernaut. Original members of the TRAC include: Buchanan, Central, Clovis, Clovis West, Madera, and Sanger.

For two seasons (2002 and 2003), the TRAC was split up into two separate conferences, the Tri-River and Tri-City. The Tri-River consisted of Central, Clovis, Clovis East, and Hoover. Meanwhile, the Tri-City was made up by Buchanan, Bullard, Clovis West, and Madera.

  • Buchanan has eight TRAC championships to their name, with the first coming in 1997.
  • Central is the first team to win back-to-back outright TRAC titles. Central's first TRAC championship came in the form of a 3-way tie with Clovis and Clovis West back in 2001.
  • Clovis won the first ever TRAC title in 1996 after going 5-0 in conference play. Clovis has racked up seven TRAC titles in all, including three since 2011 under former Head Coach, Rich Hammond. When Hammond led Clovis to a co-championship in 2011, he ended the Cougars worst drought in their history. Clovis had never gone more than five years without a conference title since 1970.
  • Clovis East's rise into a section powerhouse was unprecedented. In the T-Wolves first season playing varsity football (2001), the school met Liberty in the D-III title game, eventually falling 25-13. Joining their Clovis brethren in D-I the following year, Clovis East would win six TRAC titles from 2002-2008. The Timberwolves are restoring pride to their once proud program after going 0-40 in TRAC play from 2010-2017.
  • Clovis North is the newest member of the TRAC, joining in 2011. The Broncos have won three titles since joining.
  • Clovis West has the honor of holding the title of most TRAC championships. Since 1998, Clovis West has won eleven conference titles. However, two of those ten were won in the Tri-City Athletic Conference.

Members[edit]

High School Mascot Colors Joined TRAC titles Section titles
Buchanan Bears     1996 8 1
Central Grizzlies     1996 7 3
Clovis Cougars     1996 7 8
Clovis East Timberwolves     2002 6 2
Clovis North Broncos     2011 3 2*
Clovis West Golden Eagles     1996 9 9

*Clovis North's first Valley championship was won in D-II

Football Championships by Year[edit]

A TRAC championship is won by the team with the best league record at the end of the regular season. A championship can be shared by multiple teams, commonly referred to as a co-championship, if they have the same league record at the end of the regular season.

Year Champion(s) TRAC

Record

OVR.

Record*

Playoff

Result

2023 Clovis North 5-0 10-0 Valley Champs
2022 Clovis West 4-1 9-1 Elim. 3rd Rd
2021 Buchanan 5-0 9-1 Elim. 2nd Rd
2020

(Spring 2021)

Buchanan 5-0 5-0 No playoffs

(COVID-19)

2019 Central 5-0 10-0 State Champs
2018 Central 5-0 10-0 Valley Champs
2017 Central 5-0 9-1 Valley Champs
2016 Central 5-0 9-1 Valley runner-up
2015 Buchanan,

Clovis

4-1,

4-1

7-3,

9-1

Elim. 2nd Rd,

Valley runner-up

2014 Clovis North 5-0 7-3 Elim. 2nd Rd
2013 Central,

Clovis North

4-1,

4-1

7-3,

8-2

Elim. 3rd Rd,

Valley runner-up

2012 Clovis 5-0 9-1 Elim. 2nd Rd
2011 Central,

Clovis

4-1,

4-1

8-2,

9-1

Elim. 2nd Rd,

Elim. 3rd Rd

2010 Clovis West 5-0 9-1 Valley Champs
2009 Buchanan 5-0 10-0 Elim. 2nd Rd
2008 Buchanan,

Clovis East,

Clovis West

4-1,

4-1,

4-1

8-2,

7-3,

7-3

Elim. 2nd Rd,

Valley runner-up,

Valley Champs

2007 Buchanan,

Clovis East,

Clovis West

4-1,

4-1,

4-1

6-4,

7-3,

6-3-1

Elim. 2nd Rd,

Elim. 2nd Rd,

Valley runner-up

2006 Clovis East,

Clovis West

4-1,

4-1

9-1,

8-2

Valley Champs,

Valley runner-up

2005 Clovis East 5-0 9-1 Elim. 2nd Rd
2004 Clovis West 5-0 8-2 Valley Champs
2003 Clovis East 3-0 9-1 Valley Champs
2002 Clovis,

Clovis East

2-1,

2-1

8-2,

8-2

Valley Champs,

Elim. 1st Rd

2001 Central,

Clovis,

Clovis West

3-1,

3-1,

3-1

7-3,

8-2,

6-2-1

Elim. 2nd Rd,

Valley runner-up,

Elim. 2nd Rd

2000 Buchanan 4-0 9-1 Valley Champs
1999 Clovis,

Clovis West

4-1,

4-1

9-1,

9-1

Valley Champs,

Valley runner-up

1998 Clovis West 5-0 9-1 Valley Champs
1997 Buchanan 5-0 9-1 ?
1996 Clovis 5-0 9-1 Valley runner-up


Tri-City Athletic Conference Champions
Year Champion(s) TCAC

Record

OVR.

Record*

Playoff

Result

2003 Clovis West 3-0 9-0-1 Valley runner-up
2002 Buchanan,

Clovis West

2-0-1,

2-0-1

8-1-1,

4-5-1

Elim. 1st Rd,

Valley runner-up

*denotes record after regular season


Football Championships by School (All-time)[edit]

School Conference Section State
Buchanan 1995 (NEYL)

1997 (TRAC)

2000 (TRAC)

2002 (TCAC)

2007 (TRAC)

2008 (TRAC)

2009 (TRAC)

2015 (TRAC)

2020 (TRAC)

2021 (TRAC)

2000 (Yosemite, Large)
Central 1948 (NSL)

1960 (NSL)

1973 (NSL)

1978 (CSL)

1984 (CSL)

1988 (CSL)

1993 (CSL)

2001 (TRAC)

2011 (TRAC)

2013 (TRAC)

2016 (TRAC)

2017 (TRAC)

2018 (TRAC)

2019 (TRAC)

2017 (D-I)

2018 (D-I)

2019 (D-I)

2019 (Division 1-AA)
Clovis 1923 (North Fresno)

1941 (Shasta)

1946 (Shasta)

1956 (NSL)

1970 (NYL)

1974 (NYL)

1979 (NYL)

1980 (NYL)

1984 (NYL)

1987 (NYL)

1988 (NYL)

1989 (NYL)

1990 (NYL)

1991 (NYL)

1994 (NEYL)

1996 (TRAC)

1999 (TRAC)

2001 (TRAC)

2002 (TRAC)

2011 (TRAC)

2012 (TRAC)

2015 (TRAC)

1970 (Yosemite)

1974 (Yosemite)

1979 (Yosemite)

1984 (Yosemite)

1991 (Yosemite)

1997 (Yosemite)

1999 (Yosemite, Large)

2002 (Yosemite, Large)

Clovis East 2002 (TRAC)

2003 (TRAC)

2005 (TRAC)

2006 (TRAC)

2007 (TRAC)

2008 (TRAC)

2003 (Yosemite, Large)

2006 (D-I)

Clovis North 2013 (TRAC)

2014 (TRAC)

2023 (TRAC)

2011 (D-II)

2012 (D-I)

2023 (D-I)

Clovis West 1983 (NYL)

1985 (NYL)

1987 (NYL)

1990 (NYL)

1992 (NYL)

1993 (NYL)

1994 (NWYL)

1995 (NWYL)

1998 (TRAC)

1999 (TRAC)

2001 (TRAC)

2002 (TCAC)

2003 (TCAC)

2004 (TRAC)

2006 (TRAC)

2007 (TRAC)

2008 (TRAC)

2010 (TRAC)

2022 (TRAC)

1985 (Yosemite)

1987 (Yosemite)

1992 (Yosemite)

1993 (Yosemite)

1995 (Yosemite)

1998 (Yosemite, Large)

2004 (D-I)

2008 (D-I)

2010 (D-I)

References[edit]