Corn Belt Conference
The Corn Belt Conference was a high school athletic conference in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), based in Central Illinois. The conference consisted of medium-sized and small high schools.[1]
History
[edit]The Corn Belt Conference was originally formed in 1950 by Clinton, Normal Community, Pontiac Township, Trinity (later Central Catholic), and University High Schools. The conference was incorporated into the former Heart of Illinois Conference in 1972 but was reformed in 1978.[2][3]
Eureka High School left the Corn Belt Conference for the Heart of Illinois Conference after the 2015–2016 school year. U-High and Mahomet-Seymour departed for the Central State Eight Conference and Apollo Conference respectively in the 2017–18 school year.[4][5] In April 2016, school boards of the remaining five schools and the school boards of the five schools in the Okaw Valley Conference voted unanimously to merge into a new Illini Prairie Conference beginning in the 2017–18 school year.[6]
Member schools
[edit]1950–1972
[edit]| School | Community | Team Name | Colors | IHSA class | School type | Year joined | Joined from | Year departed | Departed for | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Catholic (Trinity) High School | Bloomington | Saints | 1A/2A/3A | Private | 1950 | 1972 | Heart of Illinois (1970s) | [3] | ||
| Clinton High School | Clinton | Maroons | Public | 1950 | 1972 | Heart of Illinois (1970s) | [3] | |||
| Normal Community High School | Normal | Ironmen | AA, 2A, 3A | Public | 1950 | 1971 | Capitol | [3] | ||
| Pontiac Township High School | Pontiac | Indians | 4A | Public | 1950 | 1972 | Heart of Illinois (1970s) | [3] | ||
| University High School | Normal | Pioneers | 5A | Public lab school | 1950 | 1972 | Heart of Illinois (1970s) | [3] | ||
| Washington Community High School | Washington | Panthers | Public | 1957 | Illini | 1972 | Heart of Illinois (1970s) | [3] | ||
| St. Teresa High School | Decatur | Bulldogs | Private | 1967 | 1969 | [3] |
1978–2017
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Kindred, Randy (7 February 2013). "Corn Belt Conference votes to add IVC". The Pantagraph. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
- ^ a b Kindred, Randy (27 January 2016). "U High opts to join Central State Eight Conference". The Pantagraph. Retrieved 1 June 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "THE GREAT CONFERENCES". Illinois High School Glory Days. Archived from the original on 23 April 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- ^ Kindred, Randy (14 April 2015). "Eureka to leave Corn Belt for HOIC in 2016". The Pantagraph. The Pantagraph. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
- ^ Deacon, Joe (27 January 2016). "Corn Belt, remaining schools contemplate league's future". The Pantagraph. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
- ^ "Corn Belt Conference merger approved, Illini Prairie Conference created". Chillicothe Times-Bulletin. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 31 May 2016.