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 and the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. 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.

History

The name SHARK is an acronym representing the first letter of its 5 charter members. 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.

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.
SchoolLocationCountyMascotColorsYear JoinedYear LeftStill open
Alden-Hebron
High School		Hebron, ILMcHenryGiants
Green, White, Black		19601964Yes
Amboy
High School		Amboy, ILLeeClippers
Red, White, Black		19731975Yes
Aquin Catholic
High School		Freeport, ILStephensonBulldogs
Navy Blue, Gold		19461955Yes
Beloit Catholic
High School		Beloit, WIRockCrusaders
Green, Gold		19641981No*
Harlem
High School		Machesney ParkWinnebagoHuskies
Black, Orange		19461958Yes
Harvard
High School		HarvardMcHenryHornets
Black, Gold		19531981Yes
Hononegah
High School		RocktonWinnebagoIndians
Purple, Gold		19461981Yes
Johnsburg
High School		JohnsburgMcHenrySkyhawks
Blue, Gold		19781981Yes
Kirkland-Hiawatha
High School		Kirkland, ILDeKalbHawks
Navy Blue, Gold		19461952Yes
Marengo
High School		MarengoMcHenryIndians
Maroon, White		19531981Yes
Marian Central Catholic
High School		WoodstockMcHenryHurricanes
Columbia Blue, White, Red		19801981Yes
North Boone
High School		Poplar Grove, ILBooneVikings
Green, White		19571981Yes
Richmond-Burton
High School		RichmondMcHenryRockets
Maroon, Gold		19581964Yes
St. Thomas Catholic
High School		Rockford, ILWinnebagoTommies
Purple, White		19551958No**
South Beloit
High School		South Beloit, ILWinnebagoSobos
Scarlet Red, White		19461981Yes
Turner
High School		Beloit, WIRockTrojans
Blue, Gold		19651968Yes
Winnebago
High School		Winnebago, ILWinnebagoIndians
Orange, Black		19641972Yes

*Beloit Catholic High School would close in 2000.

**St. Thomas Catholic High School would close in 1962.

Sources:IHSA Conferences, IHSA Coop Teams,and IHSA Member Schools Directory

Membership timeline


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Period = from:1946 till:1981
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Colors = id:barcolor
id:line value:pink
id:bg value:white
id:Full value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports
id:FullxF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports except for football
id:AssocF value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that is a full member in a football coop
id:AssocOS value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that was a member of the
id:OtherC1 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that was a member of the
id:OtherC2 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that was a member of the Mid Northern Conference

PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:Full from:1946 till:1955 text:Freeport Aquin
bar:2 color:Full from:1946 till:1958 text:Harlem
bar:3 color:Full from:1946 till:1981 text:Hononegah
bar:4 color:Full from:1946 till:1952 text:Kirkland-Hiawatha
bar:5 color:Full from:1946 till:1981 text:South Beloit
bar:6 color:Full from:1953 till:1981 text:Harvard
bar:7 color:Full from:1953 till:1981 text:Marengo
bar:8 color:Full from:1955 till:1958 text:St. Thomas
bar:9 color:Full from:1957 till:1981 text:North Boone
bar:10 color:Full from:1958 till:1964 text:Richmond-Burton
bar:11 color:Full from:1960 till:1964 text:Alden-Hebron
bar:12 color:Full from:1964 till:1981 text:Beloit Catholic
bar:13 color:Full from:1964 till:1972 text:Winnebago
bar:14 color:Full from:1965 till:1968 text:Beloit Turner
bar:15 color:Full from:1973 till:1975 text:Amboy
bar:16 color:White from:1976 till:1978 text:Johnsburg
bar:16 color:Full from:1978 till:1981 text:
bar:17 color:White from:1976 till:1980 text: Woodstock Marian
bar:17 color:Full from:1980 till:1981 text:
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text:^"SHARK Conference Membership History"
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