Western Big 6 Conference
The Western Big 6 Conference is a high school conference in western central Illinois. The conference participates in athletics and activities in the Illinois High School Association. The conference comprises public high schools with large enrollments, as well a private school, in the Illinois Quad Cities, Galesburg, Illinois, and Quincy, Illinois.
Current Membership
Sources:IHSA Conferences and IHSA Member Schools DirectoryHistory
The Western Big 6 Conference was established in 1969. The conference consisted of four schools from the Quad Cities area, one from Quincy, and one from Galesburg. The charter members were Moline High School, Rock Island High School, Rock Island Alleman High School, United Township High School, Quincy Senior High School, and Galesburg High School. Enrollments have ranged from over 2000 students, to Alleman, the league's only private school, with just under 500.Prior to the advent of the Western Big 6 Conference, the schools of the present day conference are known to have participated in several other conferences:
- Quincy participated in Mississippi Valley Conference from 1922-1923 along with Macomb, Carthage, Fort Madison, Keokuk, and Pittsfield. Quincy also participated in the Tri State Conference from 1932-1935 along with Macomb, Canton, Fort Madison, Hannibal, Keokuk, Kirksville.
- Canton, East Moline, Galesburg, Kewanee, Moline and Rock Island participated in football at various times in the early 1950s under the Northwest Conference banner. 1956 was the final season for the conference.
- East Moline, Moline and Rock Island participated in the Quad Cities Metro Conference, along with Davenport Central and Davenport West, throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Rock Island Alleman joined in 1969. The 1977-1978 school year was the last for the competition in this conference.
- Simultaneous with the Quad Cities Metro Conference, East Moline, Moline and Rock Island were members of the Mississippi Valley Conference. In addition to Davenport Central and Davenport West, Iowa schools from Cedar Rapids, Clinton and Dubuque were also part of this conference.
- More of an association than a league or conference for football, the Illini Conference organization featured Bartonville, Limestone, Canton, East Peoria, Galesburg, Kewanee, Pekin, Peoria Richwoods, and Peoria Woodruff at various times in the 1950s and 1960s. The league's members never played a complete round robin schedule in football and most played concurrently in other conferences. The final season for football in the Illini was 1971.
- Starting in 2019-2020 season Geneseo High School and Sterling High School joined the conference in all activities.
| School | Years | Consolidations | Conference Came From | State Championships |
| Alleman High School | 1969–Present | n/a | Unknown | 7 |
| Galesburg High School | 1969–Present | n/a | Illini | 2 |
| Geneseo High School | 2019–Present | Atkinson High School | NIB-12 | - |
| Moline High School | 1969–Present | 1952 Coal Valley | Mississippi Valley | 9 |
| Quincy High School | 1969–Present | n/a | Unknown | 9 |
| Rock Island High School | 1969–Present | n/a | Mississippi Valley | 5 |
| Sterling High School | 2019–Present | N/A | NIB-12 | - |
| United Township High School | 1969–Present | 1920 Silvis | Mississippi Valley | 3 |
Competitive Success
The present day Western Big 6 Conference has won 38 state championships in IHSA sponsored athletics and activities. Through the 2010-2011 season the conference has won Illinois state titles in:- Boys Baseball
- Boys Basketball
- Boys Cross Country
- Boys Golf
- Boys Soccer
- Boys Tennis
- Boys Track and Field
- Boys Wrestling
- Chess
- Drama
- Fishing
- Girls Basketball
- Girls Bowling
- Girls Golf
- Girls Softball
- Girls Track and Field
- Music Sweepstakes
- Scholastic Bowl