JAY — Spruce Mountain High School was accepted this week as the newest member of the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference.

High school Principal T.J. Plourde said Thursday that the KVAC board unanimously voted Tuesday for the school to join the conference.

“I’m excited,” he said. “The kids and coaches are excited, too.”

Spruce Mountain has been a member of the Mountain Valley Conference for many years. All its high school teams, except for football, will play KVAC Class B teams starting in August. The football team will remain in the Campbell Conference.

Girls’ basketball coach Gavin Kane said the change will allow more opportunities for student athletes.

“We will miss the great competition and the rivalries with the MVC, but we look forward to new challenges and will develop new rivalries,” Lee Hixon, high school assistant principal and athletic director, said.

Hixon began exploring the possibility of moving to the KVAC several months ago and made presentations to the RSU 73 board. The board granted permission to make the change if the KVAC approved.

Plourde said the high school teams will play 16 Class B teams in the KVAC conference.

“It will be a mixture of different teams, and the travel time is comparable with that to the teams in the MVC,” he said.

The $500 annual dues is the same as those for the MVC.

The KVAC includes teams from Gardiner Area High School, Leavitt Area High School in Turner, Lincoln Academy in Newcastle, Maine Central Institute in Pittsfield, Waterville High School, Winslow High School and Nokomis Regional High School in Newport.

The MVC teams includes teams from Dirigo High School in Dixfield, Mountain Valley High School in Rumford, Telstar Regional High School in Bethel, Mount Abram Regional High School in Salem Township, Winthrop High School and Wiscasset High School.