Northern Illinois Conference (athletic conference)

Last updated

Northern Illinois Conference
Conference IHSA
No. of teams10
Region Illinois (Boone, Stephenson, and Winnebago counties)
Locations
Map of the counties in the Northern Illinois Conference.png The Northern Illinois Conference within Illinois
Northern Illinois Conference (athletic conference)
Transparent.svg
Transparent.svg
7km
4.3miles
Yellow pog.svg
Jefferson
Yellow pog.svg
Hononegah
Orange pog.svg
Harlem
Blue pog.svg
Guilford
Orange pog.svg
Red pog.svg
East
Green pog.svg
Boylan
Red pog.svg
Belvidere North
Yellow pog.svg
Belvidere
Red pog.svg
Auburn
Locations of NIC 10 Schools

The Northern Illinois Conference (NIC-10) is a high school athletic conference consisting of nine high public schools and one Catholic school in Illinois' Boone, Stephenson, and Winnebago Counties. Member schools are also full members of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), and are among the larger schools in that area, all competing in Class AA (in the two class system) of IHSA competitions.

Contents

Current members

SchoolLocationMascotColorsYear Joined IHSA Classes A/AA [1] WebsiteReference
Auburn High School Rockford Knights   
Red, Black
1960AA/3A/4A [2] "Home of the Knights". Archived from the original on April 20, 2014. [3]
Belvidere High School Belvidere Bucs   
Gold, Purple
1963A/AA/2A/3A [4] Belvidere Community Unit School District 100 [5]
Belvidere North High School Belvidere Blue Thunder    
Navy Blue, Scarlet Red, Vegas Gold
2006AA/2A/3A/4A [6] Belvidere North High School [7]
Boylan Catholic High School Rockford Titans   
Green, White
1964AA/2A/3A/4A [8] Boylan Catholic High School [9]
East High School Rockford E-Rabs   
Red, Black
1940AA/2A/3A/4A [10] East High School [11]
Freeport High School Freeport Pretzels   
Orange, Black
1916AA/2A/3A [12] [13]
Guilford High School Rockford Vikings   
Columbia Blue, White
1963AA/3A/4A [14] Guilford High School [15]
Harlem High School Machesney Park Huskies   
Black, Orange
1963AA/3A/4A [16] Harlem High School [17]
Hononegah High School Rockton Indians   
Purple, Gold
1982AA/3A/4A [18] Hononegah Community High School District 207 [19]
Jefferson High School Rockford J-Hawks     [20]
Red, White, Gold
19712A/3A/4A [21] Jefferson High School [22]

* Depending on the sport/activity, schools compete in a variety of class systems. The classes are listed in that order in this table.

Previous members

SchoolLocationMascotColorsYear JoinedYear LeftTotal YearsCurrent ConferenceWebsiteReference
DeKalb High School DeKalb, IL Barbs  
Orange, Black
1916
1919
1917
1929
13 DuPage Valley Conference DeKalb High School [23]
Rockford Central High School Rockford, IL Rabs  
Red, Black
1916194024School Closed [24]
Aurora East High School Aurora, IL Tomcats  
Red, Black
1916196347 Upstate Eight Conference East Aurora High School [25]
Aurora West High School Aurora, IL Blackhawks  
Red, Blue
1916196347 Southwest Prairie Conference West Aurora High School [26]
Elgin High School Elgin, IL Maroons  
Maroon, Cream
1916196347 Upstate Eight Conference Elgin High School [27]
Joliet Township High School Joliet, IL Steelmen  
Royal Blue, Gold
1916196044 Southwest Prairie Conference Joliet Township High School [28]
LaSalle-Peru High School LaSalle, IL Cavaliers  
Red, Green
1936196428 Interstate Eight Conference LaSalle-Peru Township High School [29]
Rockford West High School Rockford, IL Warriors  
Red, Black
1940198949Converted to a middle school [30]

History

The Northern Illinois High School Conference (NIHSC) was founded in 1916 as a high school football conference. Boys track and basketball soon followed, and other sports were added over time. Original members included Freeport High School, Rockford High School, Joliet High School, Elgin High School, DeKalb High School, Aurora East High School, and Aurora West High School. DeKalb withdrew after one season, and for two years the league operated with six schools. The flu pandemic of 1918, which hit the Rockford area particularly hard, caused the cancellation of that year’s football season, and when league play returned in 1919, DeKalb rejoined. At this time, newspapers began referring to the league as the Big 7 for brevity. [31]

In 1929, DeKalb again left the conference with six teams, and the league was known as the Big 6 until LaSalle-Peru High School joined in 1936. In the spring of 1940, Rockford High School was replaced by Rockford West and Rockford East, and the conference naturally became the Big 8. [32]

1940 to 1960 was a period of stability, as the league operated with the same eight members spread over five far-flung counties. However, the high school building boom that began throughout northern Illinois in the late 1950s led to a series of conference realignments that brought rapid changes and a geographic shift to the Big 8. The first in this series of moves was Joliet’s departure for the South Suburban Conference in 1960. The Steelmen were replaced by the newly opened Rockford Auburn High School that same year. In 1963, NIHSC charter members East Aurora, West Aurora, and Elgin departed to help form the new Upstate 8 Conference, and Harlem High School, Belvidere High School, and the newly opened Rockford Guilford High School immediately stepped in to take their place. With the other seven league members now concentrated in the farthest reaches of northern Illinois, LaSalle-Peru withdrew in 1964 to join the North Central Illinois Conference, which was closer to home. Boylan Central Catholic High School, the league’s only private school, replaced the Cavaliers that same year. [33]

The Big 8 became the Big 9 with the addition of Rockford Jefferson High School in 1971.

In 1982, Hononegah High School joined the league, and to avoid the obvious confusion with the collegiate Big 10, the league returned to its roots by becoming the Northern Illinois Conference (NIC-10).

The league became the NIC-9 when Rockford West was closed after the 1988–89 school year, and reverted to NIC-10 when Belvidere North High School opened in 2007. Freeport High School remains the only original member of the conference.

[34]

Expansion

In April 2018, requests from both Kaneland High School and DeKalb High School for consideration to be admitted to the conference starting in the 2019-20 school year were sent to the NIC-10 president, Freeport principal Dr. Beth Summers. [35] On May 14, 2018, Kaneland was rejected by the NIC-10 and joined the Interstate Eight Conference. [36] Based on a May 24, 2018 announcement, the NIC-10 unanimously voted to table discussions toward expansion, denying DeKalb the opportunity to return to the conference after a 90 year absence. [37]

Membership timeline

Northern Illinois Conference (athletic conference)

Full members

State championships

69 IHSA State Championships have been earned by the conference membership:

References

  1. "IHSA Member School Enrollments". Archived from the original on February 7, 1997. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  2. "Rockford (Auburn)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). June 12, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  3. "Rockford (Auburn)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  4. "Belvidere (H.S.)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). June 12, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  5. "Belvidere (H.S.)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  6. "Belvidere (North)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). June 12, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  7. "Belvidere (North)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  8. "Rockford (Boylan)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). June 12, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  9. "Rockford (Boylan)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  10. "Rockford (East)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). June 12, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  11. "Rockford (East)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  12. "Freeport (H.S.)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). June 12, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  13. "Freeport (H.S.)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  14. "Rockford (Guilford)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). June 12, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  15. "Rockford (Guilford)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  16. "Machesney Park (Harlem)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). June 12, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  17. "Machesney Park (Harlem)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  18. "Machesney Park (Harlem)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). June 12, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  19. "Rockton (Hononegah)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  20. "Jefferson High School Basketball". CBS Interactive. January 11, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  21. "Rockton (Hononegah)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). June 12, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
  22. "Rockford (Jefferson)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). April 1, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  23. "DeKalb High School".
  24. "Rockford High School".
  25. "East Aurora High School".
  26. "West Aurora High School".
  27. "Elgin High School".
  28. "Joliet Township High School".
  29. "LaSalle-Peru High School".
  30. "Rockford West High School".
  31. Solarz, Steve. Aurora's East-West Football Rivalry. The History Press. Charleston, SC. 2014
  32. Solarz, Steve. Aurora's East-West Football Rivalry. The History Press. Charleston, SC. 2014
  33. Solarz, Steve. Aurora's East-West Football Rivalry. The History Press. Charleston, SC. 2014
  34. "Big 7". Illinois High School Glory Days. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
  35. StateLineSportsNetwork.net
  36. Kane County Chronicle
  37. StateLineSportsNetwork.net
  38. "Boys Basketball Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  39. "Boys Bowling Team Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  40. "Girls Bowling Team Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  41. "Chess Team Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  42. "Competitive Cheerleading Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  43. "Boys Cross Country Team Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  44. "Girls Cross Country Team Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  45. "Boys Football Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  46. "Boys Golf Team Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  47. "Girls Golf Team Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  48. "Girls Golf Individual Champions". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  49. "Journalism Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  50. "Scholastic Bowl Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  51. "Boys Soccer Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  52. "Girls Softball Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  53. "Boys Swimming & Diving Team Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  54. "Boys Track & Field Team Champions and Runners-Up". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved May 17, 2018.