NCIC trio exploring Big Northern, West Central conferences
Princeton, Hall and Mendota high schools have stuck together exploring new avenues for a future conference home with the decline of the North Central Illinois Conference.
That may change.
On Wednesday, Princeton and Mendota met with officials of the Big Northern Conference. Hall declined the invitation, focusing its attention on possibilities of joining the West Central Illinois Conference for football.
In March, the NCIC trio all met with officials from the West Central Illinois Conference, which next school year is merging with five members from the Olympic Conference, which is folding.
“We’ve decided the Big Northern wasn’t the best move for Hall High School, especially with our enrollment size and distance. We’re still deciding if the WCC is a good fit or not,” Hall athletic director Gary Barrera said.
Like everyone, Barrera said Hall is looking to solidify their conference standing and doing what is best for Hall.
“Nobody knew (about) Rock Falls and all of a sudden Rock Falls dropped a bomb on everybody (leaving the NCIC),” he said. “You don’t know what Princeton will do, you don’t know what Mendota will do. Right now, for Hall, were looking a possibility at the WCC. The Big Northern is kind out of for us.”
Princeton High School athletic director Dave Moore confirmed Wednesday’s meeting with the Big Northern, but passed on further discussion to Mendota principal Denise Aughenbaugh, the spokesperson for the NCIC. She declined comment.
Moore did say the Big Northern would provide more sports across the board, including soccer. Members of the Big Northern presently include Burlington Central, Hampshire, Harvard, Marengo, North Boone, Richmond-Burton, Byron, Genoa-Kingston, Oregon, Rockford Lutheran, Stillman Valley and Winnebago.
Rock Falls will replace Hampshire in 2011-2012, joining the West Division with Genoa-Kingston moving to the East.
Talks with the West Central schools center have centered around football only, according to Macomb High School principal John Rumley, formerly head basketball coach and assistant principal/dean of students at Princeton.
Rumley said talks were football driven because of transportation and common sense
“Having Mendota traveling to (West Central member) Liberty (Ill.) for a game in other sports would be ridiculous,” he said.
The West Central has a need for the addition of an odd number of schools, either one, three or five, Rumley said. In addition to the local trio of schools, fellow NCIC member Chillicothe IVC and Quincy Notre Dame expressed an interest.
Rumley said the majority of the West Central schools were welcome to the idea of inviting Princeton, Hall and Mendota, but were not interested in Quincy Notre Dame or IVC due to their possibilities of continued enrollment growth.
“We voted and offered to allow Princeton, Hall and Mendota to join us in football and we redivided the conference if they would,” he said.
It was Rumley’s understanding Hall was all in favor of joining the West Central, but he was unsure of Princeton’s and Mendota’s status with their ongoing discussion with the Big Northern.
If the NCIC trio comes aboard, giving the West Central a 12-team football league, they would be paired with three of the existing Olympic schools — Orion, Rockridge and Sherrard — to form the Northern Division. Olympic holdovers Monmouth-Roseville and Macomb would join Carthage Illinois West, Pittsfield/Griggsville/Perry, West Hancock and Camp Point Central/Augusta Southeastern to form the Southern Division.
In addition to five conference games, the two-division format would provide four crossover games on a rotating basis to fill each school’s nonconference slots.
“This would be a plus for the West Central having two automatic qualifiers and good publicity for the conference,” Rumley said. “There may be long trips, but it would be for football only and every other year.”
If Princeton and Mendota opted for the Big Northern, but Hall would join the WCC, there would be one division with 10 teams playing a nine-game conference schedule.
Macomb would be the farthest outpost for the NCIC trio, in a crossover scenario, giving Princeton a 136-mile trip and Hall a 150.
“The North Central is spoiled for how close those school are and spoiled for a long time,” Rumley said. “It’s almost like their suburban schools. To go from Streator to L-P or Ottawa or Kewanee to Princeton, those trips aren’t bad at all.”
With Rock Falls departure in 2011-2012, the NCIC will be down to five members — Princeton, Hall, Mendota, Chillicothe IVC and newcomer St. Bede. Kewanee is leaving the NCIC this fall in favor of the Three Rivers.
All seven schools in the NCIC Reagan are leaving to form the new Northern Illinois Big 12 with members of the Western Sun.
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