Upstate Illini Conference

Last updated
Upstate Illini Conference
Conference IHSA
Founded1974
Ceased2000
No. of teams36 in total
RegionNorthwest and North-central Illinois (Bureau, Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Kane, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties)
Locations
Upstate Illini Conference.png The Upstate Illini Conference within Illinois

The Upstate Illini Conference (UIC) was a high school conference in northwest and north central Illinois. The conference participated in athletics and activities in the Illinois High School Association. The conference included small public and private high schools with enrollments between 75-1,000 students in Bureau, Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Kane, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties.

Contents

History

The name Upstate Illini was originally given to a collection of 15 schools primarily coming from five conferences, the Blackhawk, Route 72, Northwestern Illinois, SHARK and US Grant. The 15 original teams included: Ashton, Chadwick, Durand, Elizabeth, Franklin Center, Hanover, Leaf River, Milledgeville, Mt. Carroll, Orangeville, Pearl City, Rockford Lutheran, Scales Mound, Shannon and Thomson. This league began play in 1974, however within two years the league would lose over half of the teams based primarily on football. The teams which left either returned to their original conference or began play under a new moniker, the Northwest 8 Conference. The remaining teams, all without football, maintained the name Upstate Illini. The teams that stayed within the conference, were Chadwick, Elizabeth, Hanover, Scales Mound, Shannon and Thomson.

Eventually talks for a re-branding of the Northwest 8 took place in 1987, due to the fact that it had grown to 12 teams and was looking to expand beyond that number. In 1988, the Upstate Illini Conference was reconstructed and schools from the Northwest 8 joined, competition for all sports, with the exception of football, was established. In 1991, football schedules were set with 6 teams in the North Division: Durand, North Boone, Pearl City, Rockford (Lutheran), Elizabeth (River Ridge)-Warren (coop) and South Beloit and the South Division: Ashton-Franklin Center, Kirkland-Hiawatha, Milledgeville, Mt. Carroll, Mt. Morris and Polo.

In 1994, Mt. Morris was merged into the Oregon School District and dropped out of the conference. In that same year, Huntley joined and the divisions were realigned into East - Durand, Huntley, Kirkland-Hiawatha, North Boone, Rockford Lutheran and South Beloit and West - Ashton-Franklin Center, Milledgeville, Mt Carroll, Pearl City, Polo, River Ridge and Warren. In 1991, Pecatonica joined the league for all sports except football, due to existing schedules in the Mid-Northern, however, in 1992 joined the East Division. In 1995 Huntley dropped out and East Dubuque, Forreston and La Moille were added to the West Division while Ashton-Franklin Center moved from the West division to the East. In 1996 the Northwestern Illinois Conference (NWIC) and Upstate Illini merged under the Upstate Illini banner. Based on these new additions, three divisions were formed West - Dakota, East Dubuque, Galena, Lena-Winslow, Orangeville, River Ridge, Stockton and Warren. East - Ashton-Franklin Center, Durand, Kirkland-Hiawatha, North Boone, Pecatonica, Rockford Lutheran and South Beloit. South - Forreston, Freeport Aquin, Lanark (Eastland), Milledgeville, Mt. Carroll, Pearl City and Polo. In 1999 Savanna was added to the South Division and Rockford Christian Life to the East Division making the total number of teams 24 for football, 26 overall, the largest conference in Illinois outside of the Chicago Public League. The year 2000 was the last year under the Upstate Illini name because six schools (Ashton-Franklin Center, Durand, Kirkland-Hiawatha, North Boone, Pecatonica and South Beloit) left in 2001 to form the Four Rivers Conference. Rockford Lutheran and Rockford Christian Life also departed the conference in 2001, seeking competition more suited to their locations and size by joining the Private School League. The remaining schools realigned under the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference banner.

All-Time Membership

The Upstate Illini Conference had various divisions throughout its history, the list of schools encompasses all of the schools which were once a part of the conference.

SchoolLocationMascotColorsYear JoinedYear Left IHSA Classes A/AA [1] IHSA Music Class [2] IHSA Football Class [3] Current NUIC Member
Aquin Catholic
High School
Freeport, IL Bulldogs  
Navy Blue, Gold
19962000AD1AYes
Ashton
High School
Ashton, IL Aces  
Green, Gold
1974/19911976/2000A-1AYes♠
Chadwick
High School
Chadwick, IL Silver Streaks   
Red, Silver, Black
19741989AC-Yes♣
Dakota
High School
Dakota, IL Indians  
Maroon, White
19962000AC1AYes
Durand
High School
Durand, IL Bulldogs  
Royal Blue, White
1974/19911976/2000AC1AYes
East Dubuque
High School
East Dubuque, IL Warriors  
Royal Blue, White
19962000AC1AYes
Eastland
High School
Lanark, IL Cougars  
Royal Blue, Orange
19962000ACCoops w/Pearl CityYes♥
Elizabeth
High School
Elizabeth, IL Terrapins  
Orange, Blue
19741984AD-Yes♦
Forreston
High School
Forreston, IL Cardinals   
Red, White, Black
19962000AC1AYes°
Franklin Center
High School
Franklin Grove, IL Eagles  
Maroon, Gold
1974/19911976/2000A-1AYes♠
Galena
High School
Galena, IL Pirates  
Royal Blue, White
19962000AC1AYes
Hanover
High School
Hanover, IL Red Devils  
Red, White
19741984AC-Yes♦
Huntley
High School
Huntley, IL Redskins   
Red, Black, White
19931995AA3ANo
Kirkland-Hiawatha
High School
Kirkland, IL Hawks  
Navy Blue, Gold
19912000AD1ANo
La Moille
High School
La Moille, IL Lions  
Red, White
19951996AD1ANo
Lanark
High School
Lanark, IL Beavers  
Blue, White
--AC1AYes♥
Leaf River
High School
Leaf River, IL Demons  
Royal Blue, White
1974/19911976/2000A-1AYes°
Lena-Winslow
High School
Lena, IL Panthers  
Black, Gold
19962000AC2AYes
Milledgeville
High School
Milledgeville, IL Missiles  
Orange, Black
1974/19911976/2000AD1AYes♣
Mount Carroll
High School
Mount Carroll, IL Hawks  
Purple, Gold
1974/19911976/2000AD1AYes•
Mount Morris
High School
Mount Morris, IL Mounders  
Red, Black
19911994AD1ANo³
North Boone
High School
Poplar Grove, IL Vikings  
Green, White
19912000AC2ANo
Orangeville
High School
Orangeville, IL Broncos  
Purple, Gold
1974/19961976/2000AD1AYes
Pearl City
High School
Pearl City, IL Wolves   
Red, White, Black
1974/19911976/2000AD2AYes
Pecatonica
High School
Pecatonica, IL Indians  
Purple, Vegas Gold
19912000AC1AYes
Polo Community
High School
Polo, IL Marcos  
Blue, Gold
19912000AC1AYes
River Ridge
High School
Elizabeth, IL*Wildcats  
Navy Blue, Grey
19912000ADCoop w/WarrenYes♦
Rockford Christian Life
High School
Rockford, IL Eagles  
Blue, Gray
19992000AC2ANo
Rockford Lutheran
High School
Rockford, IL Crusaders  
Purple, White
1974/19911976/2000AC2ANo
Savanna
High School
Savanna, IL Indians  
Red, White
19992000*AC2AYes•
Scales Mound
High School
Scales Mound, IL Hornet  
Green, White
19742000AC-Yes
Shannon
High School
Shannon, IL Eagles  
Orange, Black
19741986AD-Yes♥
South Beloit
High School
South Beloit, IL Sobos  
Scarlet Red, White
19912000AC1ANo
Stockton
High School
Stockton, IL Blackhawks  
Maroon, Gold
19962000AC1AYes
Thomson
High School
Thomson, IL Trojans  
Purple, Gold
19742000AC-Yes•
Warren
High School
Warren, IL Warriors  
Orange, Black
19912000AD1AYes

Elizabeth and Hanover consolidated creating the River Ridge CUSD in 1985.
Shannon and Lanark consolidated creating the Eastland CUSD in 1986.
Chadwick and Milledgeville consolidated creating the Chadwick-Milledgeville CUSD in 1989.
° Leaf River ceased operations and was merged into Forreston High School in 1990
³ Mt. Morris ceased operations and was merged into Oregon High School in 1995
Ashton and Franklin Center consolidated creating Ashton-Franklin Center High School in 2004
Mount Carroll, Savanna and Thomson consolidated, creating the West Carroll School District in 2006.
* River Ridge High School relocated to Hanover, IL in 2004.


Membership timeline

Upstate Illini Conference

Full membersFull members (non-football)Northwest 8 ConferenceNorthwestern Illinois ConferenceMid/Big-Northern ConferenceSHARK ConferenceOther Conference

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References

  1. "School Enrollments (Alphabetical)". Archived from the original on 2010-06-21.
  2. "How IHSA Enrollments and Classifications are Determined". Archived from the original on 2011-07-26.
  3. "How the Football Playoff Pairings are Determined — 2009". Archived from the original on 2010-05-15.