National Trail Conference

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.

National Trail Conference
Established	1935
Association	IHSA
Members	12
Region	East Central Illinois

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

School	Location (Population)	Mascot	Colors	County	2017-18 Enrollment	IHSA Classes 2/3/4[3]	IHSA Music Class[4]	IHSA Cheerleading Class[5]	Year Joined	Previous Conference
Altamont High School	Altamont, IL (2,319)	Indians		Effingham	260	A/1A/1A	D	Small squad	1935
Beecher City High School	Beecher City, IL (463)	Eagles		Effingham	90	A/1A/1A	D	Small squad	1935
Brownstown High School (Illinois)	Brownstown, IL (759)	Bombers		Fayette	95	A/1A/1A	D	Small squad	1935
Cowden-Herrick High School	Cowden, IL (629)	Hornets		Shelby	106	A/1A/1A	D	Small Squad	1971	none (new school)
Dieterich High School	Dieterich, IL (617)	Movin' Maroons		Effingham	111	A/1A/1A	D	Small squad	2009	Midland Trail
North Clay High School	Louisville, IL (1,139)	Cardinals		Clay	198	A/1A/1A	D	Small Squad	2016	Midland Trail
Neoga High School	Neoga, IL (1,639)	Indians		Cumberland	188	A/1A/1A	D	Small squad	1935
St. Anthony High School (Illinois)	Effingham, IL (12,328)	Bulldogs		Effingham	190 / 313.50 (multiplied)	A/1A/2A	D	Small squad	1935
St. Elmo High School	St. Elmo, IL (1,426)	Eagles		Fayette	124	A/1A/1A	D	Small squad	1935
South Central High School (Illinois)	Farina, IL (518)	Cougars		Fayette	186	A/1A/1A	D	Small squad	2012	Midland Trail
Stewardson-Strasburg High School	Strasburg, IL (467)	Comets		Shelby	105	A/1A/1A	D	Small squad	1951	none (new school)
Windsor High School (Illinois)	Windsor, IL (1,187)	Blue Devils		Shelby	96	A/1A/1A	C	Small squad	1935

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

Former Members

School	Location	Mascot	Colors	County	Year Joined	Previous Conference	Year Left	Conference Joined
Herrick	Herrick, IL	Eagles		Shelby	1935		1971	none (consolidated into Cowden-Herrick)
Strasburg	Strasburg, IL	Cardinals		Shelby	1935		1951	none (consolidated into Stewardson-Strasburg)
Teutopolis High School	Teutopolis, IL	Wooden Shoes		Effingham	1935		2012	Independents

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

Girls basketball in academic years 2009-2010 and 2010–2011

• Cowden-Herrick and Beecher City
• Brownstown and St. Elmo
• Shelbyville and Windsor and Stewardson-Strasburg

References

1. http://www.ihsa.org/activity/bkg/records/mult.htm
2. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1986-03-09/sports/8601180052_1_wooden-shoes-ohio-tiny-school
3. http://www.ihsa.org/school/enrolla.htm
4. http://www.ihsa.org/school/enrollments.htm
5. http://www.ihsa.org/school/enrollments.htm
6. http://www.ihsa.org/school/conf.htm
7. http://www.ihsa.org/school/index.htm
8. http://www.illinoishsglorydays.com/id349.html 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. http://www.effinghamdailynews.com/sports/north-clay-to-join-national-trail-conference-in/article_ade5ff74-1556-11e5-8cb5-dbe06f324ecf.html

External links

• National Trail Conference