Upstate Illini Conference
The Upstate Illini 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 75-1,000 students in Bureau, Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Kane, Lee, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties.
History
The name Upstate Illini was originally given to a collection of 6 schools coming from four conferences, the Blackhawk, Route 72, Northwestern Illinois and SHARK. The six original teams included:. This league began play in 1974, however it quickly disbanded only two years later in 1976. Some of these schools would return to their original conferences, while others remained with a new moniker, the Northwest 8 Conference.Eventually talks for a re-branding of the Northwest 8 took place in 1987, due to the fact that it had grown to 12 teams and was looking to expand beyond that number. 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, Elizabeth -Warren and South Beloit and the South Division: Ashton-Franklin Center, Kirkland-Hiawatha, Milledgeville, Mt. Carroll, Mt. Morris and Polo.
In 1993, Mt. Morris was merged into the Oregon School District and dropped out of the conference. In that same year, Huntley joined and the divisions were realigned into East - Durand, Huntley, Kirkland-Hiawatha, North Boone, Rockford Lutheran and South Beloit and West - Ashton-Franklin Center, Milledgeville, Mt Carroll, Pearl City, Polo, River Ridge and Warren. In 1995 Huntley dropped out and Pecatonica was added to the East division and East Dubuque, Forreston and La Moille were added to the West Division while Ashton-Franklin Center moved from the West division to the East. In 1996 the Northwestern Illinois Conference and Upstate Illini merged under the Upstate Illini banner. Based on these new additions, three divisions were formed West - Dakota, East Dubuque, Galena, Lena-Winslow, Orangeville, River Ridge, Stockton and Warren. East - Ashton-Franklin Center, Durand, Kirkland-Hiawatha, North Boone, Pecatonica, Rockford Lutheran and South Beloit. South - Forreston, Freeport Aquin, Lanark, Milledgeville, Mt. Carroll, Pearl City and Polo. In 1999 Savanna was added to the South Division and Rockford Christian Life to the East Division making the total number of teams 24, the largest conference in Illinois outside of the Chicago Public League. The year 2000 was the last year under the Upstate Illini name because six schools left in 2001 to form the Four Rivers Conference. Rockford Lutheran and Rockford Christian Life also departed the conference in 2001, seeking competition more suited to their locations and size by joining the Private School League. The remaining schools realigned under the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference banner.
All-Time Membership
The Upstate Illini Conference had various divisions throughout its history, the list of schools encompasses all of the schools which were once a part of the conference.| School | Location | Mascot | Colors | Year Joined | Year Left | IHSA Classes A/AA | IHSA Music Class | IHSA Football Class | Current NUIC Member |
| Aquin Catholic High School | Freeport, IL | Bulldogs | Navy Blue, Gold | 1996 | 2000 | A | D | 1A | Yes |
| Ashton-Franklin Center High School | Ashton, IL | Raiders | Black, Gold, White | 1988 | 2000 | A | - | 1A | Yes |
| Dakota High School | Dakota, IL | Indians | Maroon, White | 1996 | 2000 | A | C | 1A | Yes |
| Durand High School | Durand, IL | Bulldogs | Royal Blue, White | 1988 | 2000 | A | C | 1A | Yes |
| East Dubuque High School | East Dubuque, IL | Warriors | Royal Blue, White | 1995 | 2000 | A | C | 1A | Yes |
| Eastland High School | Lanark, IL | Cougars | Royal Blue, Orange | 1996 | 2000 | A | C | Coops w/Pearl City | Yes |
| Forreston High School | Forreston, IL | Cardinals | Red, White, Black | 1995 | 2000 | A | C | 1A | Yes |
| Galena High School | Galena, IL | Pirates | Royal Blue, White | 1996 | 2000 | A | C | 1A | Yes |
| Huntley High School | Huntley, IL | Redskins | Red, Black, White | 1993 | 1995 | A | A | 3A | No |
| Kirkland-Hiawatha High School | Kirkland, IL | Hawks | Navy Blue, Gold | 1996 | 2000 | A | D | 1A | No |
| La Moille High School | La Moille, IL | Lions | Red, White | 1995 | 1996 | A | D | 1A | No |
| Lena-Winslow High School | Lena, IL | Panthers | Black, Gold | 1996 | 2000 | A | C | 2A | Yes |
| Milledgeville High School | Milledgeville, IL | Missiles | Orange, Black | 1988 | 2000 | A | D | 1A | Yes |
| Mount Carroll High School | Mount Carroll, IL | Hawks | Purple, Gold | 1988 | 2000* | A | D | 1A | No* |
| Mount Morris High School | Mount Morris, IL | Mounders | Red, Black | 1990 | 1993 | A | D | 1A | No |
| North Boone High School | Poplar Grove, IL | Vikings | Green, White | 1988 | 2000 | A | C | 2A | No |
| Orangeville High School | Orangeville, IL | Broncos | Purple, Gold | 1996 | 2000 | A | D | 1A | Yes |
| Pearl City High School | Pearl City, IL | Wolves | Red, White, Black | 1988 | 2000 | A | D | 2A | Yes |
| Pecatonica High School | Pecatonica, IL | Indians | Purple, Vegas Gold | 1995 | 2000 | A | C | 1A | Yes |
| Polo Community High School | Polo, IL | Marcos | Blue, Gold | 1990 | 2000 | A | C | 1A | Yes |
| River Ridge High School | Elizabeth, IL** | Wildcats | Navy Blue, Grey | 1996 | 2000 | A | D | Coop w/Warren | Yes |
| Rockford Christian Life High School | Rockford, IL | Eagles | Blue, Gray | 1999 | 2000 | A | C | 2A | No |
| Rockford Lutheran High School | Rockford, IL | Crusaders | Purple, White | 1988 | 2000 | A | C | 2A | No |
| Savanna High School | Savanna, IL | Indians | Red, White | 1999 | 2000* | A | C | 2A | No* |
| South Beloit High School | South Beloit, IL | Sobos | Scarlet Red, White | 1988 | 2000 | A | C | 1A | Yes |
| Stockton High School | Stockton, IL | Blackhawks | Maroon, Gold | 1996 | 2000 | A | C | 1A | Yes |
| Warren High School | Warren, IL | Warriors | Orange, Black | 1988 | 2000 | A | D | 1A | Yes |
Membership timeline
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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 Three-Rivers Conference
id:OtherC1 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that was a member of the NWIC
id:OtherC2 value:rgb # Use this color to denote a team that was a member of the Mid Northern Conference
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width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:s
bar:1 color:Full from:1988 till:2000 text:Ashton-Franklin Center
bar:2 color:Full from:1988 till:2000 text:Durand
bar:3 color:Full from:1988 till:2000 text:Kirkland-Hiawatha
bar:4 color:Full from:1988 till:2000 text:Milledgeville
bar:5 color:Full from:1988 till:2000 text:Mt. Carroll
bar:6 color:Full from:1988 till:2000 text:North Boone
bar:7 color:Full from:1988 till:1995 text:Pearl City
bar:7 color:AssocOS from:1995 till:2000 text:
bar:8 color:AssocOS from:1988 till:2000 text:River Ridge
bar:9 color:Full from:1988 till:2000 text:Rockford Lutheran
bar:10 color:Full from:1988 till:2000 text:South Beloit
bar:11 color:AssocOS from:1988 till:2000 text:Warren
bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:1988 till:1990 text:Polo
bar:12 color:Full from:1990 till:2000 text:
bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1988 till:1990 text:Mt. Morris
bar:13 color:Full from:1990 till:1993 text: *School Merged with Oregon
bar:14 color:AssocF from:1988 till:1993 text:Huntley
bar:14 color:Full from:1993 till:1995 text:
bar:14 color:OtherC2 from:1995 till:2000 text:
bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:1995 text:East Dubuque
bar:15 color:Full from:1995 till:2000 text:
bar:16 color:OtherC2 from:1988 till:1995 text:Forreston
bar:16 color:Full from:1995 till:2000 text:
bar:17 color:OtherC2 from:1988 till:1995 text:Pecatonica
bar:17 color:Full from:1995 till:2000 text:
bar:18 color:AssocF from:1988 till:1995 text:La Moille
bar:18 color:Full from:1995 till:1996 text:
bar:18 color:AssocF from:1996 till:2000 text:
bar:19 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:1996 text:Freeport Aquin
bar:19 color:Full from:1996 till:2000 text:
bar:20 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:1996 text:Dakota
bar:20 color:Full from:1996 till:2000 text:
bar:21 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:1995 text:Eastland
bar:21 color:AssocOS from:1995 till:2000 text:
bar:22 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:1996 text:Galena
bar:22 color:Full from:1996 till:2000 text:
bar:23 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:1996 text:Lena-Winslow
bar:23 color:Full from:1996 till:2000 text:
bar:24 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:1996 text:Orangeville
bar:24 color:Full from:1996 till:2000 text:
bar:25 color:OtherC1 from:1988 till:1996 text:Stockton
bar:25 color:Full from:1996 till:2000 text:
bar:26 color:AssocF from:1988 till:1999 text:Rockford Christian Life
bar:26 color:Full from:1999 till:2000 text:
bar:27 color:AssocF from:1988 till:1999 text:Savanna
bar:27 color:Full from:1999 till:2000 text:
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text:^"Upstate Illini Membership History"
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