Northwest 8 Conference

The Northwest 8 Conference 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 high schools with enrollments between 75-600 students in Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago counties.

Northwest 8 Conference
Established1977
Dissolved1990
AssociationIHSA
Members8
RegionNorthwest Illinois (Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago counties)
Locations
The Northwest 8 Conference within Illinois

History

With the conference composed of teams from the short-lived original Upstate Illini Conference (1974 to 1976), the first year of competition was 1977 with eight charter schools: Ashton, Durand, Franklin Center, Leaf River, Milledgeville, Mt. Carroll, Pearl City and Rockford Lutheran. Prior to the 1982 season, Rockford Lutheran left the conference, moving to the Trailblazer Conference. In 1985, a significant change in structure occurred as Kirkland-Hiawatha left the Trailblazer Conference and joined the Northwest 8, Ashton and Franklin Center began their coop and Leaf River dropped football, leaving the league with 6 teams. In 1987, the final year of the conference, North Boone, South Beloit, Warren and River Ridge joined while Rockford Lutheran rejoined. Even though the conference was re-branded in 1988, the final year of competition was 1990 in order to realign football schedules.

Based on the fact that there were originally 8 teams, the conference maintained the name Northwest 8 even when the total number of schools dropped below or increased beyond that total. The league eventually rose to 12 teams and due the increased number, talks for a re-branding of the Northwest 8 took place in 1987. In 1988, the Upstate Illini name was resurrected and 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.


Member schools
School Location Mascot Colors Year Joined Year Left IHSA Classes A/AA[1] IHSA Music Class[2] IHSA Football Class[3]
Ashton
High School		 Ashton, IL Raiders               
Black, Gold, White		 1977 1990 A - 1A
Durand
High School		 Durand, IL Bulldogs          
Royal Blue, White		 1977 1990 A C 1A
Franklin Center
High School		 Franklin Grove, IL Eagles          
Maroon, Gold		 1977 1990 A A 1A
Kirkland-Hiawatha
High School		 Kirkland, IL Hawks          
Navy Blue, Gold		 1985 1990 A D 1A
Leaf River
High School		 Leaf River, IL Demons          
Royal Blue, White		 1977 1989 A C 1A
Milledgeville
High School		 Milledgeville, IL Missiles          
Orange, Black		 1977 1990 A D 1A
Mount Carroll
High School		 Mount Carroll, IL Hawks          
Purple, Gold		 1977 1990 A D 1A
Mt. Morris
High School		 Mt. Morris, IL Mounders          
Red, Black		 1990 1990 A C 1A
North Boone
High School		 Poplar Grove, IL Vikings          
Green, White		 1989 1990 A C 2A
Pearl City
High School		 Pearl City, IL Wolves               
Red, White, Black		 1977 1990 A D 1A
Polo Community
High School		 Polo, IL Marcos          
Blue, Gold		 1990 1990 A C 1A
River Ridge
High School		 Elizabeth, IL** Wildcats          
Navy Blue, Grey		 1989 1990 A D Coop w/Warren
Rockford Lutheran
High School		 Rockford, IL Crusaders          
Purple, White		 1977, 1985 1981, 1990 A C 2A
South Beloit
High School		 South Beloit, IL Sobos          
Scarlet Red, White		 1989 1990 A C 1A
Warren
High School		 Warren, IL Warriors          
Orange, Black		 1989 1990 A D 1A

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

Membership timeline

Full members Full members (non-football) Full members (Football Coop) Upstate Illini Conference Mid-Northern Conference Other Conference

  • River Ridge became a consolidated school district in 1986, combining Elizabeth High School and Hanover High School.
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References
  1. IHSA.org Enrollments
  2. IHSA.org Music History
  3. IHSA.org Football History
  4. IHSA.org Conferences
  5. IHSA.org Cooperative Agreements
  6. IHSA.org Schools Directory
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