SHARK Conference

The SHARK Conference was a high school conference in north central Illinois and south central Wisconsin. The conference participated in athletics and activities in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) and the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA). The conference included private and public high schools with enrollments between 75-2,000 students in Boone, DeKalb, Lee, McHenry, Stephenson and Winnebago counties in Illinois and Rock in Wisconsin.[1]

SHARK Conference
The Shark
Established1946
Dissolved1981
AssociationIHSA
WIAA
Members17
RegionNorth-central Illinois and South-central Wisconsin (Boone, DeKalb, Lee, McHenry, Stephenson and Winnebago counties in Illinois and Rock in Wisconsin)
Locations
The SHARK Conference within Illinois and Wisconsin

History

The name SHARK is an acronym representing the first letter of its 5 charter members. (South Beloit, Harlem, Aquin, Rockton Hononegah and Kirkland-Hiawatha) The SHARK originated as a collection of schools in northern Illinois based primarily on proximity and not on enrollment. However, by 1952, Kirkland-Hiawatha left the conference, leaving it with only four teams. That situation only lasted one year, though as Harvard and Marengo High Schools joined the league, taking the total number of teams to six. In 1955 Freeport Aquin left the conference, however Rockford St. Thomas High School took their place. The conference continued to morph as the 1950s came to a close with North Boone High School joining in 1957 and Richmond-Burton in 1958. Also in 1958, based on the completion of Boylan Catholic High School, St. Thomas dropped out of the conference as their students began transitioning toward a new high school, and Harlem left the league in order to join the Big 8 Conference with the intent of playing competition with similar enrollments.

As the 1960s began, Alden-Hebron High School joined, however, it quickly left in 1964 along with Richmond-Burton. The following season, Winnebago High School and two Beloit, Wisconsin schools joined the conference. The two schools from Wisconsin included; Beloit Catholic High School and Turner High School. Winnebago remained a member of the league until 1972 but left for the Mid Northern Conference. Amboy High School quickly replaced them in 1973, but left after the 1975 season, heading to the newly formed Three Rivers Conference. In 1978, Johnsburg High School joined the league and in 1981, the conference's final season, Woodstock Marian would be added. This made the final number of teams eight.[2]

All-Time Membership

The SHARK Conference had various teams throughout its history, this list of schools encompasses all of the schools which were once a part of the conference.

School Location County Mascot Colors Year Joined Year Left Still open
Alden-Hebron
High School
Hebron, IL McHenry Giants               
Green, White, Black
1960 1964 Yes
Amboy
High School
Amboy, IL Lee Clippers               
Red, White, Black
1973 1975 Yes
Aquin Catholic
High School
Freeport, IL Stephenson Bulldogs          
Navy Blue, Gold
1946 1955 Yes
Beloit Catholic
High School
Beloit, WI Rock Crusaders          
Green, Gold
1964 1981 No*
Harlem
High School
Machesney Park Winnebago Huskies          
Black, Orange
1946 1958 Yes
Harvard
High School
Harvard McHenry Hornets          
Black, Gold
1953 1981 Yes
Hononegah
High School
Rockton Winnebago Indians          
Purple, Gold
1946 1981 Yes
Johnsburg
High School
Johnsburg McHenry Skyhawks          
Blue, Gold
1978 1981 Yes
Kirkland-Hiawatha
High School
Kirkland, IL DeKalb Hawks          
Navy Blue, Gold
1946 1952 Yes
Marengo
High School
Marengo McHenry Indians          
Maroon, White
1953 1981 Yes
Marian Central Catholic
High School
Woodstock McHenry Hurricanes               
Columbia Blue, White, Red
1980 1981 Yes
North Boone
High School
Poplar Grove, IL Boone Vikings          
Green, White
1957 1981 Yes
Richmond-Burton
High School
Richmond McHenry Rockets          
Maroon, Gold
1958 1964 Yes
St. Thomas Catholic
High School[3]
Rockford, IL Winnebago Tommies          
Purple, White
1955 1958 No**
South Beloit
High School
South Beloit, IL Winnebago Sobos          
Scarlet Red, White
1946 1981 Yes
Turner
High School
Beloit, WI Rock Trojans          
Blue, Gold
1965 1968 Yes
Winnebago
High School
Winnebago, IL Winnebago Indians         
Orange, Black
1964 1972 Yes

*Beloit Catholic High School would close in 2000.
**St. Thomas Catholic High School would close in 1962.
Sources:IHSA Conferences,[4] IHSA Coop Teams[5] ,and IHSA Member Schools Directory[6]

Membership timeline

Full members

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References

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