The Ohio Heritage Conference was founded as an eight team conference in 2001.  The charter members of the conference were Catholic Central, Cedarville, Greeneview, Mechanicsburg, Northeastern, Southeastern, Triad and West Liberty-Salem.  In 2016 it was announced that the OHC would expand it's footprint as Fairbanks, Greenon, Madison Plains and West Jefferson were approved to join the conference.  Those four teams were officially added to the football conference in the 2017 season, changing the face and outline of the OHC for the first time in 16 seasons.  With the additions, the OHC split into a North Division (Fairbanks, Mechanicsburg, Northeastern, Triad, West Jefferson and West Liberty-Salem) and a South Division (Catholic Central, Cedarville, Greeneview, Greenon, Madison Plains and Southeastern).  Each year, a conference champion will be declared in each division.  The OHC plays a maximum of 2 non-conference games, 3 crossover games and then each team's league schedule begins in Week 6.

The OHC schools represent the three smallest divisions in Ohio High School football. Currently, Greenon (the largest school in the OHC), West Liberty-Salem and Madison Plains are in Division 5. Fairbanks, Greeneview, Northeastern, Mechanicsburg, West Jefferson and Triad are in Division 6. Catholic Central (the smallest school in the OHC), Cedarville and Southeastern are all in Division 7.

The OHC was created with and maintained the reputation for some of the highest quality small school football in the state of Ohio. Through the 2020 regular season, the OHC is an impressive 231-213-1 (.520 winning percentage) all-time against non-conference opponents in regular season games.

Ten of the twelve OHC teams have won or shared conference championships in the OHC since 2001. Mechanicsburg has won eight OHC titles (2002 shared, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2014 shared, 2015, 2016, 2020), West Liberty-Salem has six (2004, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2019 shared), Greeneview has three (2014 shared, 2017 and 2018), West Jefferson has three (2017, 2018 shared and 2019 shared), Catholic Central has two (2007 and 2010), Northeastern has two (2002 shared and 2003 shared), Triad has two (2003 shared and 2013), Greenon has two (2019, 2020), Fairbanks has one (2018 shared) and Southeastern has one (2001).

Since the inaugural season in 2001, the OHC has sent 55 teams to the OHSAA playoffs. Verifying the high quality of OHC football, in the Regional Quarterfinals, OHC teams are an impressive 34-21 all-time (.618 winning %).

In 2007, Catholic Central made history in the OHC for traveling to the State Semifinals; the first time an OHC team had ever gone this far in the playoffs. The Irish lost in the state semifinals by a mere 7 points to the eventual State Champion, Newark Catholic.  Mechanicsburg matched the feat in 2013 when they advanced to the State Semifinals as well for the first time in schools history, before falling to Wayne Trace.  In 2019, Mechanicsburg and West Jefferson also advanced to the state semifinals.  The OHC has played in 14 Regional Finals, winning 4 Regional Championships.  In two of those regional final losses, an OHC team defeated another OHC team to advance to the state semi-finals (Mechanicsburg of West Liberty-Salem in 2013 and West Jefferson over West Liberty-Salem in 2019).

Mechanicsburg has made the most playoff appearances since the inauguration of the OHC with 15.  West Liberty-Salem has made the playoffs 13 times.  Catholic Central has made the playoffs 8 times, Triad and Greeneview have each made the playoffs 6 times, West Jefferson and Southeastern have made the playoffs 4 times. Cedarville and Northeastern each have 3 playoff appearances.  Fairbanks has made the playoffs twice.  Madison Plains and Greenon each have 1 playoff appearance. *(in 2020, due to the COVID19 pandemic, all teams were eligible for the playoffs.  Catholic Central was the only OHC school to decline.)

*Updated 9/24/20