National Trail Conference

Last updated
National Trail Conference
Conference IHSA
Founded1935
No. of teams12
RegionEast Central Illinois

The National Trail Conference (NTC) is a historic high school conference in east central Illinois. The conference participates in athletics and activities in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). The conference comprises eleven public high schools and one private high school with small enrollments in portions of Effingham, Fayette, Shelby, Cumberland and Clay counties.

Contents

Founded in 1935, the National Trail Conference was named after the National Road, which runs through the heart of the conference in Effingham and Fayette Counties and coincides with U.S. Route 40.

While none of the schools in the NTC (as it is informally known) sponsor football, the conference is well-recognized around the state for having strong boys and girls basketball teams. The Teutopolis Lady Shoes have won five state titles, the second-most of any team in Illinois, [1] while the Teutopolis boys have won one state title (in 1986) [2] and numerous regional and sectional crowns. Effingham St. Anthony, Stewardson-Strasburg, and St. Elmo have also made appearances at the Illinois high school boys basketball championship, while Cowden-Herrick/Beecher City (a co-op between two member schools in girls basketball) has made two appearances (2010, 2012) in the girls final four.

Member Schools

USA Illinois location map.svg
Orange pog.svg
Altamont
Red pog.svg
Beecher City
Purple pog.svg
Brownstown
Blue pog.svg
CH
Purple pog.svg
Dieterich
Red pog.svg
North Clay
Red pog.svg
Neoga
Red pog.svg
St. Anthony
Blue pog.svg
St. Elmo
Blue pog.svg
South Central
Green pog.svg
Stew-Stras
Blue pog.svg
Windsor
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National Trail Conference Members (clickable map)
SchoolLocation
(Population)		MascotColorsCounty2017-18 Enrollment IHSA Classes 2/3/4 [3] IHSA Music Class [4] IHSA Cheerleading Class [5] Year JoinedPrevious Conference
Altamont High School Altamont, IL
(2,319)		Indians   Effingham 260A/1A/1ADSmall squad1935
Beecher City High School Beecher City, IL
(463)		Bobcats   Effingham 90A/1A/1ADSmall squad1935
Brownstown High School (Illinois) Brownstown, IL
(759)		Bombers   Fayette 95A/1A/1ADSmall squad1935
Cowden-Herrick High School Cowden, IL
(629)		Bobcats   Shelby 106A/1A/1ADSmall Squad1971none (new school)
Dieterich High School Dieterich, IL
(617)		Movin' Maroons   Effingham 111A/1A/1ADSmall squad2009 Midland Trail
Neoga High School Neoga, IL
(1,639)		Indians   Cumberland 188A/1A/1ADSmall squad1935
North Clay High School Louisville, IL
(1,139)		Cardinals    Clay 198A/1A/1ADSmall Squad2016 Midland Trail
St. Anthony High School (Illinois) Effingham, IL
(12,328)		Bulldogs    Effingham 190 / 313.50 (multiplied)A/1A/2ADSmall squad1935
St. Elmo High School St. Elmo, IL
(1,426)		Eagles    Fayette 124A/1A/1ADSmall squad1935
South Central High School (Illinois) Farina, IL
(518)		Cougars   Fayette 186A/1A/1ADSmall squad2012 Midland Trail
Stewardson-Strasburg High School Strasburg, IL
(467)		Hatchets   Shelby 105A/1A/1ADSmall squad1951none (new school)
Windsor High School (Illinois) Windsor, IL
(1,187)		Hatchets   Shelby 96A/1A/1ACSmall squad1935

Sources:IHSA Conferences [6] and IHSA Member Schools Directory [7]

Former Members

SchoolLocationMascotColorsCountyYear JoinedPrevious ConferenceYear LeftConference Joined
Herrick Herrick, IL Eagles   Shelby 19351971none (consolidated into
Cowden-Herrick)
Strasburg Strasburg, IL Cardinals   Shelby 19351951none (consolidated into
Stewardson-Strasburg)
Teutopolis High School Teutopolis, IL Wooden Shoes   Effingham 19352012Independents

History

The National Trail Conference (NTC) was established in 1935. Nine of the twelve schools — all except Dieterich, South Central, and North Clay — have been members since the conference's founding. [8] Strasburg and Herrick high schools closed in 1951 and 1971, respectively, through consolidation. Their respective consolidations (Stewardson-Strasburg and Cowden-Herrick) would retain membership in the conference. [9] [10]

The conference's membership stayed stable from 1971 until the 2009 season, when Dieterich became a full-time member after leaving the Midland Trail Conference. Teutopolis left in 2012 to become an independent and play schools closer to its size, as the school was twice the size of most of the schools in the conference. South Central left the Midland Trail Conference to join the NTC and replace Teutopolis for the 2012-13 school year. [11] North Clay left the Midland Trail Conference to join the NTC for the 2016-2017 school year [12] making them the 3rd school to leave the MTC for the NTC in 7 years.

Competitive Success

National Trail Conference teams have won 18 state championships in IHSA sponsored athletics and activities, most recently the 2017 Class 1A boys state basketball championship, won by St. Anthony. NTC teams have won numerous regional and sectional titles and most have competed in the final four at least once in either boys or girls basketball.

Cooperative Arrangements

In academic years 2021-22

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References

  1. ↑ http://www.ihsa.org/activity/bkg/records/mult.htm [ bare URL ]
  2. ↑ "Teutopolis Dons Class A Crown - Chicago Tribune". Chicago Tribune . 9 March 1986. Archived from the original on 2012-09-21.
  3. ↑ http://www.ihsa.org/school/enrolla.htm [ bare URL ]
  4. ↑ http://www.ihsa.org/school/enrollments.htm [ bare URL ]
  5. ↑ http://www.ihsa.org/school/enrollments.htm [ bare URL ]
  6. ↑ http://www.ihsa.org/school/conf.htm [ bare URL ]
  7. ↑ "Schools | IHSA".
  8. ↑ http://www.illinoishsglorydays.com/id349.html Archived 2016-04-23 at the Wayback Machine The Great Conferences, Illinois High School Glory Days, Accessed February 15, 2011
  9. ↑ http://www.illinoishsglorydays.com/id373.html Cowden High School, Illinois High School Glory Days, Accessed February 15, 2011
  10. ↑ http://www.illinoishsglorydays.com/id425.html Stewardson High School, Illinois High School Glory Days, Accessed February 15, 2011
  11. ↑ http://www.thexradio.com/premier/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9169:national-trail-conference-adds-south-central-turns-down-nokomis&catid=8:local-sports&Itemid=2 National Trail Conference Adds South Central, Turns Down Nokomis, The X Radio News, Accessed Feb. 27, 2011
  12. ↑ "North Clay to join National Trail Conference in 2016-17". 17 June 2015.
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