The North Central Illinois Conference is no longer broken down into two divisions, now identified solely as the NCIC with five remaining members — Princeton, Hall, Mendota, Chillicothe and Rock Falls.
Gone are the seven NCIC Reagan schools, which have departed to form the new Northern Illinois Big 12 with the former Western Sun Conference, reuniting the teams with former NCIC rival Rochelle.
Gone are the Kewanee Boilermakers, who abandoned the NCIC ship to seek smoother waters in the Big Rivers Conference, alongside Bureau Valley and St. Bede.
The Rock Falls Rockets will follow Kewanee out the door in 2011, blasting off to the Big Northern.
Next year, the NCIC will disband all together as a football conference with Princeton, Hall and Mendota all accepting invitations to play in the West Central Conference, leaving Chillicothe IVC scrambling to find a new home.
Upon closer inspection, the BCR discovered some glitches with the online schedules. The Sept. 3 game between St. Bede and Morrison is listed as “N” rather than home or away on each team’s individual schedule. It is also scheduled to being at Morrison in the week-by-week listings.
St. Bede admissions director Tom McGunnigal told the BCR it should be a St. Bede home game.
Also, the Bruins’ Week 7 game vs. Erie/Prophetstown will be played on Oct. 9, the annual St. Bede Saturday afternoon homecoming game, rather than Friday, Oct. 8 as posted at ihsa.org.
Here’s a rundown of the 2010 slate for our five area schools:
Princeton: The Tigers are picking up three new opponents this fall, including future West Central foe Monmouth-Roseville in the Aug. 27 season opener. Monmouth replaces Rockridge, another future West Central opponent, on the PHS schedule.
PHS remains home against Peoria Manual for Week 2. The Tigers will then head on the road for a three-game road stand at Peoria Notre Dame Sept. 10, followed by trips to Rock Falls (Sept. 17) to face the Rockets for the last time in NCIC play and newcomer Lena-Winslow (Sept. 24), which replaces longtime rival Kewanee on the Tiger schedule.
PHS returns to NCIC play Week 6 when neighbor Spring Valley Hall comes to town Sept. 1. The IVC Grey Ghosts invade Bryant Field the next week under the Friday Night Lights.
In Week 8, the Tigers will travel to Mendota before wrapping up the regular season with a trip to newcomer Stanford Olympia of the Corn Belt Conference on Oct. 22.
Hall: The Red Devils will find five “newbies” on their 2010 schedule, four right out of the gate.
The Aug. 27 opener finds the Red Devils traveling to newcomer Winnebago. Next up are home dates with Momence on Sept. 3, Lake Forest Academy on Sept. 10 and a Saturday matinee vs. downstate Mount Carmel on Sept. 18.
The Red Devils will kick off the NCIC slate at Mendota on Sept. 24 followed by dates at Princeton (Oct. 1), at home vs. Rock Falls (Oct. 8) and back on the road at Chillicothe (Oct. 15).
Hall welcomes newcomer Eureka to Nesti Stadium for the Oct. 22 season finale. The Hornets replace Champaign St. Thomas More on the Hall slate.
Bureau Valley: The Storm open the 2010 campaign at home Aug. 27 vs. Ottawa Marquette. The next week, the Storm travel to Port Byron to face Riverdale on Oct. 3.
The Storm will face a new opponent for the first time since the Big Rivers went to a single division when it travels to Kewanee Oct. 10. The Boilers replace River Valley, which left the conference to play as an independent.
Two home dates find the Storm hosting Amboy/LaMoille and St. Bede in Weeks 4-5. Back on the road, the Storm travels to Erie/Prophetstown Oct. 1.
The final three weeks find the Storm at home vs. Fulton (Oct. 8) followed by road games at Morrison (Oct. 15) and Sterling Newman (Oct. 23) at 1 p.m.
St. Bede: The Bruins will welcome Kewanee into the Big Rivers Conference Aug. 27 in Kewanee. After the Sept. 3 game vs. Morrison, the Bruins remain home for dates vs. Amboy/LaMoille (Sept. 10) and Sterling Newman (Sept. 17). Remaining dates are Sept. 24 at Bureau Valley, Oct. 1 at Ottawa Marquette, Oct. 9 at home vs. Erie/Prophetstown, Oct. 15 vs. Riverdale and Oct. 22 at Fulton.
Amboy/LaMoille: The Clippers open the season Aug. 27 at the Harbor vs. Riverdale and take on Kewanee the next week at home. Remaining dates are Sept. 10 at St. Bede, Sept. 17 at Bureau Valley, Sept. 24 home vs. Erie/Prophetstown, Oct. 1 at Fulton, Oct. 8 at Morrison, Oct. 15 at home vs. Newman and Oct. 22 at Ottawa Marquette.
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