NIB 12 down to 5 teams?

[JCHillmen]

L-P, Morris, Rochelle, Ottawa, and Geneseo to join Sandwich and Plano in restarting the Interstate 8.

That leaves yorkville, dekalb, sycamore,kaneland, and Sterling in the NIB12 and I wouldn't be shocked if Sterling was invited to the new I8 as well.

That leaves 4 or 5 schools caught in a tough geographic area and tough enrollment sizes.....too big for anything west of them and just a little too small for most of the large suburban conferences. They could look to poach Burlington Central before they accept their new conference invite. But that still may be short teams in Sterling bolts. Maybe the southwest prairie picks up kanelabd and yorkville? Maybe the existing nib12 tries to get the Oswego schools?

If the southwest prairie does add the comparatively small kaneland and yorkville, maybe you see one division of 4 Plainfield and 2 joliet schools. And one division of Romeoville, minooka, 2 Oswego schools, yorkville, and kaneland.

Will be interesting to see if yorkville, kaneland, dekalb, and sycamore can stick together and get a few schools to join them or if they have to splinter into whatever they can find.

 

[amishhunter]

They should never have left Glenbard South, Geneva and Batavia. You reap what you sow.

 

[BataviaDogs1]

They should never have left Glenbard South, Geneva and Batavia. You reap what you sow.

Very true, wish Kaneland would just play us for a non-con. Them and Marmion. Would be a great a atmosphere and crowd. We have at Lemont and home against Naperville North weeks 1 and 2 next year.

However, everything happens for a reason. Can’t say Batavia’s football program would be where it’s at with out the breakup of the old Western Sun. We were put in the Upstate 8 as the smallest school and things worked out, and now the smallest school in the Dukane.

 

[JCHillmen]

They should never have left Glenbard South, Geneva and Batavia. You reap what you sow.

Can't say I agree with you. Sycamore And dekalb will be smaller than geneva and Batavia for decades. Yorkville may eventually catch them enrollment wise and kaneland maybe further down the road, but the western sun did not work too well for any party. You have to go with similar enrollments overall and nobody was really benefiting from that arrangement. I think just about all the programs are better off now than they were 8 years ago.

 

[mc140]

Maybe they can join with all the publics left in the metro which will be bailing around this time next year.

 

[Cat Box]

Maybe they can join with all the publics left in the metro which will be bailing around this time next year.

Is that certainty or speculation when you say the public schools of the Metro Suburban will be bailing?

Those public’s are awefly far east and IMO not competitive enough to hang with DeKalb, Sycamore and Kaneland.

 

[PanthersWildcats86]

First, congrats to Sandwich & Plano in finding the most logical geographical conference...got their Christmas wish...that group made sense with Morris being denied entry into the old I-8...

Second, have to wonder about Streator...I realize that they joined the I-8 to get away from some of those schools, but are they doing themselves any favors by being the 5A monster in a conference of small 4A & 3A schools? And should anyone think the core Kankakee area 6 (Peotone, Manteno, Herscher, CC, Wilmo, RC) thought Streator was less of a threat than Plano & Sandwich? From a purely travel standpoint, however, its a lot easier to get to Streator than to Plano/Sandwich from the rest of the conference...

 

[25sparky]

I miss the trip to Streator...the stench of the Water Treatment Plant drifting aimlessly over the battlefield on a calm serene warm fall evening...priceless.

 

[PanthersWildcats86]

Conference shuffling abounds...sure, another year of the Metro with more Catholic schools might shuffle some publics towards the NIC 10 remains. Another geographic nightmare for the NIC remains could be the Southland...Kankakee was interested in the current I-8, and the shrinking Rich Township schools have less & less in common with their neighbors...Part of me wonders if the NIC remains might be interested in the Rockford schools conference...

 

[EdgyTim]