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 The new conference begins play during the 2017-18 school year and
brings together the following high schools: Central Catholic
(Bloomington), Illinois Valley Central (Chillicothe), Olympia
(Stanford), Pontiac, and Prairie Central (Fairbury) from the Corn
Belt Conference and The High School of St. Thomas More (Champaign),
Monticello, Rantoul, St. Joseph-Ogden (St. Joseph), and Unity
(Tolono) from the Okaw Valley Conference. In February, principals and athletic directors from all ten schools
voted unanimously to explore the creation of a new conference. The
proposal was then taken back to each school's Superintendent and
Board of Education for consideration at the schools’ March Board
meetings where unanimous approval was again secured leading to
today’s announcement.
The current presidents of the Corn Belt and Okaw Valley conferences
are excited about both the academic and athletic aspects of the
Illini Prairie Conference.
Sean Foster, Principal of Central Catholic High School and
President of the Corn Belt Conference says, “The new conference is
exciting not only from an athletic standpoint, but also from an
academic standpoint. Both conferences bring an appreciation of Fine
Arts and professional development for our teachers.”
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Ryan Bustle, Principal of The High School of St. Thomas More and President of
the Okaw Valley Conference adds, “The Illini Prairie Conference offers
opportunities for all of our students to excel. It was formed with the goals of
strong competition and sportsmanship on the field and strong cooperation and
teamwork inside the classroom.”
The conference was named after the student bodies of all participating schools
chose their favorite conference names and submitted them for consideration by
the principals. Illini Prairie was the unanimous choice.
[Sean Foster via Ed Jodlowski,
Olympia High School]
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