Knoxville High School sports teams moved a step closer to returning to the South Central Conference last night. The Board of Education voted to accept an invitation to the conference by a vote of 4-0. If accepted by the South Central Conference member schools the Panthers would begin play in the fall of 2014. Knoxville had been considering a move out of the Little Hawkeye Conference due to declining enrollment and a widening gap between Knoxville and other other member schools. If accepted, this would be Knoxville’s second stint in the South Central Conference. Knoxville left the conference in the mid-90s to join the then newly formed Little Hawkeye Conference. Current members of the South Central Conference include Chariton, Centerville, Albia, Eddyville-Blakesburg, Davis County, and Clarke. Knoxville already plays many of those schools in non-conference in several sports.