Three Rivers Conference (Illinois)

Last updated
Three Rivers Conference
Conference IHSA
No. of teams14
RegionNorthwest Illinois
Locations
Il counties 3rivers conference.png The Three Rivers Conference within Illinois
Three Rivers Conference (Illinois)
Invisible Square.svg
Invisible Square.svg
Mapscaleline.svg
10km
6miles
Red pog.svg
Rockridge
Green pog.svg
St. Bede
Purple pog.svg
Sherrard
Blue pog.svg
Princeton
Red pog.svg
Orion
Blue pog.svg
Newman
Blue pog.svg
Monmouth-Roseville
Red pog.svg
Morrison
Yellow pog.svg
Mendota
Orange pog.svg
Kewanee
Red pog.svg
Hall
Red pog.svg
Erie-Prophetstown
Blue pog.svg
Bureau Valley
  
Locations of TRAC-8 Schools

The Three Rivers Conference, also known as the TRAC-8 (Three Rivers Athletics Conference), is a high school conference in northwest Illinois. The conference participates in athletics and activities in the Illinois High School Association. The conference comprises small public, and two private, high schools with enrollments between 200-600 students in portions of Bureau, Henry, Lee, Rock Island, and Whiteside counties.

Contents

Current Membership

SchoolLocationMascotColorsEnrollment IHSA Classes 2/3/4 [1] IHSA Music Class [2] IHSA Football Class [3] IHSA Cross Country
Class [2] 		IHSA Cheerleading Class [2]
Bureau Valley
High School 		Manlius, IL Storm  
Navy Blue, Columbia Blue		3011A/2AB1A1ASmall squad
Erie-Prophetstown Co-op Erie, IL Panthers   
Red, White, Black		4911A/2AB3A1ASmall squad
Hall High School (Illinois) Spring Valley, IL Red Devils   
Red, Black, White		3941A/2AB2A1ASmall squad
Kewanee
High School 		Kewanee, IL Boilermakers  
Orange, Black		5361A/2AB3A1ASmall squad
Mendota
High School 		Mendota, IL Trojans  
Purple, Gold		5551A/2AB3A1ASmall squad
Morrison
High School 		Morrison, IL Mustangs  
Red, White		2991A/2AB1A1ASmall squad
Monmouth-Roseville High School Monmouth, IL Titans   
Navy Blue, Silver, White		5301A/2AB3A1ASmall squad
Newman Central Catholic
High School 		Sterling, IL Comets   
Blue, White Gray		228 (376.2 adjusted)1A/2AB2A1ASmall squad
Orion High School Orion, IL Chargers  
Black, Red		3361A/2AB2A1ASmall squad
Princeton High School Princeton, IL Tigers  
Blue, Gray		5181A/2AB3A1ASmall squad
Riverdale
High School 		Port Byron, IL Rams  
Black, Gold		3021A/2AB2A1ASmall squad
Sherrard High School Sherrard, IL Tigers  
Purple, Gold		4791A/2AB3A1ASmall squad
Saint Bede Academy Peru, IL Bruins  
Green, White		320 (468.6 adj.)1A/2AB2A1ASmall squad
Rockridge High School Taylor Ridge, IL Rockets  
Maroon, Gray		3541A/2AB2A1ASmall squad

Sources:IHSA Conferences, [4] IHSA Coop Teams, [5] and IHSA Member Schools Directory [6]

History

The Three Rivers Conference formed in 1975, and was largely the result of the dissolution of two conferences that had also included high schools in Iowa. Fulton, Morrison, Riverdale, Savanna and Sterling Newman had been part of the Illowa Conference along with Iowa schools North Scott of Eldridge, Central Clinton of De Witt, and St. Mary's High School of Clinton. Erie and Prophetstown were members of a league with the Iowa-based Pleasant Valley, Camanche and Northeast of Goose Lake. The seven Illinois schools joined with Amboy to form the new TRAC-8 conference.

Throughout the conference's history, alignment changes included the departure of Savanna, which went on to join the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference, and the additions of Bureau Valley in the mid-1990s and Kewanee in 2010. Upon the addition of Kewanee, the league became known as the TRAC-9. In addition, Erie and Prophetstown formed a cooperative to share certain sports programs, including football and wrestling.

On January 12, 2012 the conference approved expansion for six schools to join the league beginning in the 2013-14 school year. Included in the expansion are Orion, Rockridge, Sherrard, Princeton, St. Bede Academy of Peru and Spring Valley Hall. The six additions make the Three Rivers a 15-team league, one of the largest in Illinois. The conference will be split into two divisions, with Interstate 80 being the dividing line.

Following the 2015-16 school year, Amboy left the conference and joined the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference for the 2016-17 school year. [7] Following the 2021 season, Fulton also left to join the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference, however, Mendota and Monmouth-Roseville, who had been playing football within the conference since 2016, joined the conference fully as their replacement. [8]

Current members Bureau Valley, Erie-Prophetstown, Kewanee, Mendota, Monmouth-Roseville, Morrison, Orion, Peru St. Bede, Princeton, Riverdale, Rockridge, Sherrard, Spring Valley Hall, and Sterling Newman. The divisions in the conference are geographically set.

In 2024, Morrison is the third team from the conference to migrate to the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference, joining Amboy and Fulton. [9] [10] This move, however will refresh the rivalry between Fulton and Morrison, the Battle for the Wooden Shoe. [11]

Football

The Three Rivers Conference dropped football from 1999 until the 2013-14 school year. During this hiatus, the league offered championships in other sports, [12] and member schools, either independently or as part of a co-operative, participated in the football-exclusive Big Rivers Conference.

In early 2012, it was announced that Orion, Rockridge, Sherrard, all former members of the Olympic Conference, and Princeton accepted an invitation for full membership in the Three Rivers Conference at the start of the 2013-14 school year. These four schools, along with Hall, Kewanee, and St. Bede Academy make up the seven teams in the newly created South Division. The North Division includes Amboy-La Moille, Bureau Valley, Erie-Prophetstown, Fulton, Morrison, Newman Central Catholic, and Riverdale. The decision to create a geographical North-South alignment was based upon a desire to maintain existing rivalries and minimize travel times. [13]

The football schedule includes six intra-divisional games and three rotating inter-divisional cross-over match-ups. Each division will award a conference champion. [14] Because the Big Rivers Conference and the Three Rivers Conference, co-operatives excepted, consist of the same member schools with this most recent expansion, the decision was made to drop the Big Rivers name in favor of the longer-standing Three Rivers Conference. [14] [15]

See the Big Rivers Conference article for information about its history, achievements, and participating schools.

Previous Members

SchoolLocationMascotColorsYear joinedPrevious conferenceYear leftNew conferenceConsolidations
Amboy High School Amboy Clippers   1975 SHARK 2016 Northwest Upstate Illini n/a
Erie High School Erie Cardinals   1975Bi-State2018*none

(Co-op with Prophetstown)

n/a
Fulton High School Fulton Steamers  1975Illowa2021Northwest Upstate Illiniadded some Albany (1944)
Morrison High School Morrison Mustangs  1975Illowa2024Northwest Upstate Illinin/a
Prophetstown High School Prophetstown Prophets  1975Bi-State2018*none

(Co-op with Erie)

added Lyndon (1969)
added Tampico (1996)
Savanna High School Savanna Indians   1975Illowa1998n/aConsolidated with Mt Carroll and Thompson to form

West Carroll (2005)

Membership timeline

Prior to the development of the TRAC-8, the IHSA was pushing teams to end multi-state conferences. Therefore, Fulton, Morrison, Riverdale, Savanna and Newman came from the dissolved Illowa Conference, Amboy left the Wisconsin-Illinois SHARK Conference and Erie and Prophetstown, then competing as individual high schools, left the Iowa-Illinois Pleasant Valley Conference.

From 1999 to 2012, the TRAC-8 dropped football from the conference. In order to maintain competition, the teams from the Three Rivers' football programs including: Amboy, Erie, Fulton, Morrison, Sterling Newman, Prophetstown, Riverdale, and Savanna joined the ranks of Tri-County Conference schools Peru St. Bede, Bureau Valley, Ottawa Marquette, Eureka, and Bradford (now Stark County High School) to make up the newly formed Big Rivers Conference's Illinois Division.

Three Rivers Conference (Illinois)

Full membersUpstate Illini ConferenceNorth Central Illinois ConferenceOlympic ConferenceNorthwest Upstate Illini ConferenceTri-County ConferenceBig Northern Conference

Competitive Success

The Three Rivers Conference has won 11 state championships in IHSA sponsored athletics and activities, 16 if wins by member schools participating in the Big Rivers Conference are counted. [16]

State Champions

Boys Golf

Boys Track

Boys Cross Country

Girls Cross Country

Boys Football

* Participating in Big Rivers Conference**Participating in NCIC

Boys Wrestling

Softball

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References

  1. ↑ http://www.ihsa.org/school/enrolla.htm [ bare URL ]
  2. 1 2 3 http://www.ihsa.org/school/enrollments.htm [ bare URL ]
  3. ↑ http://www.ihsa.org/activity/fb/2009-10/playoffs.htm [ bare URL ]
  4. ↑ http://www.ihsa.org/school/conf.htm [ bare URL ]
  5. ↑ http://www.ihsa.org/school/coop.htm [ bare URL ]
  6. ↑ "Schools | IHSA".
  7. ↑ The Times, Ottawa, IL [ permanent dead link ]
  8. ↑ QConline.com
  9. ↑ WIFR.com
  10. ↑ ShawLocal.com
  11. ↑ ClintonHerald.com
  12. ↑ "The Great Conferences". Archived from the original on 2016-04-23. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
  13. ↑ Doug Green (January 12, 2012). "Orion, Rockridge, Sherrard to join Big Rivers". Quad-City Times. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  14. 1 2 "Prep football: Three Rivers North by the numbers". saukvalley.com (Sauk Valley Media). June 25, 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  15. ↑ Mindy Carls (February 3, 2012). "Orion moving to Three Rivers Conference in 2013". Orion Gazette. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  16. ↑ "Home". ihsa.org.
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