Kishwaukee_River_Conference
Kishwaukee River Conference
Organization of eight high schools in northern Illinois
The Kishwaukee River Conference (KRC) is an organization of eight high schools in northern Illinois. These high schools are members of the Illinois High School Association.
 |
| Conference | IHSA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Region | Northern Illinois (McHenry, Kendall, and DeKalb counties) |
On November 8, 2013, it was announced that Woodstock and Woodstock North planned to leave the Fox Valley Conference by 2015 and create a new conference.[1] After rumors that members of the Big Northern Conference's East Division might join this new conference, it was announced on November 19 that five BNC members - Burlington Central, Genoa-Kingston, Harvard, Johnsburg (which at the time was still in the Fox Valley Conference but was joining the BNC as the start of the 2014–15 school year), Marengo, and Richmond-Burton were invited to join the new conference, creating a proposed 8-team conference.[2] The next day, it was announced that the name for this new conference will be the Kishwaukee River Conference.[3] In February 2014, it was reported that Harvard and Genoa-Kingston had decided to remain in the BNC, while Richmond-Burton and Johnsburg remained undecided; Harvard later announced that they would, in fact, leave the BNC for the KRC, with the first season of the KRC to be during the 2016–17 school year.[4][5] In June 2014, Richmond-Burton and Johnsburg both voted to officially become charter members of the KRC in 2016.[6][7]
On July 19, 2017, the KRC voted 5-1 to remove Burlington Central from the conference, effective following the 2018–19 school year.[8] Burlington Central will join the Fox Valley Conference starting in the 2019–20 school year.[9]
In 2021, the KRC entered into a football partnership with the Interstate Eight Conference. The partnership creates two divisions for football, one consisting of the 7 smallest schools across the two conferences and one consisting of the 7 largest schools. In the 2021–22 season, the "Blue" division will include Harvard, Johnsburg, Marengo, and Richmond-Burton, while the "White" division will include Woodstock and Woodstock North.[10] The KRC will play its own conference schedule again in 2024.[11]
In 2022, Sandwich High School and Plano High School pledged to join the Kishwaukee River Conference, starting in the 2023-24 season, leaving the Interstate 8.[11]
The conference's current members, as of 2023–24:[12]
| School | Town | Team Name | Colors | Year Joined | Enrollment[nb 1][13] | IHSA Classes 2/3/4[nb 2][nb 3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard High School | Harvard | Hornets | 2016 | 773.5 | A/2A/3A | |
| Johnsburg High School | Johnsburg | Skyhawks | 2016 | 575.5 | A/1A/2A | |
| Marengo Community High School | Marengo | Indians | 2016 | 656 | A/2A/2A | |
| Plano High School | Plano | Reapers | 2023 | 766 | A/2A/3A | |
| Richmond-Burton Community High School | Richmond | Rockets | 2016 | 572.5 | A/2A/3A | |
| Sandwich High School | Sandwich | Indians | 2023 | 579 | A/2A/2A | |
| Woodstock High School | Woodstock | Blue Streaks | 2016 | 1017.5 | AA/2A/3A | |
| Woodstock North High School | Woodstock | Thunder | 2016 | 936 | A/2A/3A |
Previous Members
| School | Town | Team Name | Colors | Year Joined | Year Left | Total Years | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central High School | Burlington | Rockets | 2016 | 2019 | 3 | Fox Valley Conference |
Membership Timeline
Three IHSA State Championships have been earned by members of the KRC.
Football
- Richmond-Burton
- 2019–20 4A
Competitive Cheerleading
- Johnsburg
- 2021–22 S
Softball
- Marengo
- 2016–17 3A
- Starting in the 2019–20 school year, the school enrollments listed by the IHSA are the average of the previous 2 school years and are updated every 2 years.
- The state series class which a school competes in not only depends on the school's student population, but on the sport or activity. Some activities divide schools into two classes, some into three, and others into four. The listing here is in the order of two class, three class, and four class. The more "A"s in a class, the larger the schools competing. For more information on this, see Illinois High School Association#State Series Format.
- Schools are not assigned a classification for football until they have qualified for the playoffs each year. A school's classification not only depends on their student population, but on the populations of the other schools who have qualified. Thus, some schools routinely move between classes.
- "Woodstock schools may look to leave FVC | Northwest Herald". www.nwherald.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14.
- "Richmond-Burton uncertain on Kishwaukee River Conference | Northwest Herald". www.nwherald.com. Archived from the original on 2013-11-23.
- "BNC won't admit Woodstock, Woodstock North | Northwest Herald". www.nwherald.com. Archived from the original on 2016-08-27.
- "Kishwaukee River Conference votes to remove Burlington Central following 2018-19 school year". www.nwherald.com. Retrieved 2017-09-18.
- Radtke, John. "Burlington Central will join Fox Valley Conference in 2019-20". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
- Carifio, Eddie (2021-01-15). "Interstate 8, Kishwaukee River Conference enter into football partnership". Shaw Media. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
- Stevenson, Joe (25 January 2023). "Kishwaukee River Conference will add Plano and Sandwich for the 2023-24 school year". Shaw Local. Retrieved 20 February 2023.
- "Conferences and Affiliated Schools". Illinois High School Association. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
- IHSA. "Alphabetical Enrollments | Enrollments & Classifications | Schools | IHSA". ihsa.org. Retrieved 2016-08-27.