Kishwaukee River Conference
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| Conference | IHSA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Region | Northern Illinois (McHenry, Kendall, and DeKalb counties) |
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.
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]
Membership
The conference's current members, as of 2023–24:[12]
| School | Town | Team name | Colors | Year Joined | Enrollment[13] | IHSA Classes 2/3/4[nb 1][nb 2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard High School | Harvard | Hornets | 2016 | 778 | A/2A/3A | |
| Johnsburg High School | Johnsburg | Skyhawks | 2016 | 467 | A/1A/2A | |
| Marengo Community High School | Marengo | Indians | 2016 | 661 | A/2A/2A | |
| Plano High School | Plano | Reapers | 2023 | 736 | A/2A/3A | |
| Richmond-Burton Community High School | Richmond | Rockets | 2016 | 524 | A/2A/3A | |
| Sandwich High School | Sandwich | Indians | 2023 | 563 | A/2A/2A | |
| Woodstock High School | Woodstock | Blue Streaks | 2016 | 938 | AA/2A/3A | |
| Woodstock North High School | Woodstock | Thunder | 2016 | 910 | 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
State championships
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