Northwest 8 Conference
| Association | IHSA |
|---|---|
| Ceased | 1990 |
| Region | Northwest Illinois (Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago counties) |
| Locations | |
 The Northwest 8 Conference within Illinois | |
The Northwest 8 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 75-600 students in Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago counties.
History
With the conference composed of teams from the short-lived original Upstate Illini Conference (1974 to 1976), the first year of competition was 1977 with eight charter schools: Ashton, Durand, Franklin Center, Leaf River, Milledgeville, Mt. Carroll, Pearl City and Rockford Lutheran. Prior to the 1982 season, Rockford Lutheran left the conference, moving to the Trailblazer Conference. In 1985, a significant change in structure occurred as Kirkland-Hiawatha left the Trailblazer Conference and joined the Northwest 8, Ashton and Franklin Center began their coop and Leaf River dropped football, leaving the league with 6 teams. In 1987, the final year of the conference, North Boone, South Beloit, Warren and River Ridge joined while Rockford Lutheran rejoined. Even though the conference was re-branded in 1988, the final year of competition was 1990 in order to realign football schedules.
Based on the fact that there were originally 8 teams, the conference maintained the name Northwest 8 even when the total number of schools dropped below or increased beyond that total. The league eventually rose to 12 teams and due the increased number, talks for a re-branding of the Northwest 8 took place in 1987. 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 (Lutheran), Elizabeth (River Ridge)-Warren (coop) and South Beloit and the South Division: Ashton-Franklin Center, Kirkland-Hiawatha, Milledgeville, Mt. Carroll, Mt. Morris and Polo.
Member schools
| School | Location | Mascot | Colors | Year Joined | Year Left | IHSA Classes A/AA[1] | IHSA Music Class[2] | IHSA Football Class[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashton High School |
Ashton, IL | Raiders | Black, Gold, White |
1977 | 1990 | A | - | 1A |
| Durand High School |
Durand, IL | Bulldogs | Royal Blue, White |
1977 | 1990 | A | C | 1A |
| Franklin Center High School |
Franklin Grove, IL | Eagles | Maroon, Gold |
1977 | 1990 | A | A | 1A |
| Kirkland-Hiawatha High School |
Kirkland, IL | Hawks | Navy Blue, Gold |
1985 | 1990 | A | D | 1A |
| Leaf River High School |
Leaf River, IL | Demons | Royal Blue, White |
1977 | 1989 | A | C | 1A |
| Milledgeville High School |
Milledgeville, IL | Missiles | Orange, Black |
1977 | 1990 | A | D | 1A |
| Mount Carroll High School |
Mount Carroll, IL | Hawks | Purple, Gold |
1977 | 1990 | A | D | 1A |
| Mt. Morris High School |
Mt. Morris, IL | Mounders | Red, Black |
1990 | 1990 | A | C | 1A |
| North Boone High School |
Poplar Grove, IL | Vikings | Green, White |
1989 | 1990 | A | C | 2A |
| Pearl City High School |
Pearl City, IL | Wolves | Red, White, Black |
1977 | 1990 | A | D | 1A |
| Polo Community High School |
Polo, IL | Marcos | Blue, Gold |
1990 | 1990 | A | C | 1A |
| River Ridge High School |
Elizabeth, IL** | Wildcats | Navy Blue, Grey |
1989 | 1990 | A | D | Coop w/Warren |
| Rockford Lutheran High School |
Rockford, IL | Crusaders | Purple, White |
1977, 1985 | 1981, 1990 | A | C | 2A |
| South Beloit High School |
South Beloit, IL | Sobos | Scarlet Red, White |
1989 | 1990 | A | C | 1A |
| Warren High School |
Warren, IL | Warriors | Orange, Black |
1989 | 1990 | A | D | 1A |
Sources:IHSA Conferences,[4] IHSA Coop Teams[5] ,and IHSA Member Schools Directory[6]
Membership timeline
Full members Full members (non-football) Full members (Football Coop) Upstate Illini Conference Mid-Northern Conference Other Conference
- River Ridge became a consolidated school district in 1986, combining Elizabeth High School and Hanover High School.