Starting with the 2023-24 season, both Plano High School and Sandwich High School left the Interstate Eight Conference (I-8) to join the Kishwaukee River Conference (KRC). This was determined in late 2022 when both schools announced they would no longer be a part of the I-8 the next school year. The current I-8 conference includes Kaneland, LaSalle-Peru, Morris, Ottawa, Rochelle and Sycamore.
Plano was the last remaining original member of the I-8 conference, which was founded in 1979. Sandwich has spent the last 38 years in the conference, having joined in 1985. However, to some players, it may not be a surprise that they left. Sandwich’s departure in particular was not a shock to senior basketball and soccer player Emily Kunzer.
“With Sandwich, since they’ve never had a soccer team, I figured at one point they might leave,” Kunzer said.
The six remaining members all recently joined the conference in 2019. By joining the Kishwaukee River Conference, Plano and Sandwich will compete against Harvard, Johnsburg, Marengo, Richmond-Burton, Woodstock and Woodstock North.
“I know Plano and Sandwich struggled in our conference,” head volleyball coach Cynthia Violett said. “They were looking for somewhere they could go and be more successful…just disappointed that we didn’t pick anybody else.”
Both schools are smaller by student population when compared with other I-8 schools. Sandwich and Plano have student bodies of just over 700, while the other six schools have between 900-1,300 students. This change could be seen as a positive for Kaneland, as it allowed coaches to schedule larger schools if they wanted to.
“We found a tournament to pick up in place of those four matches, and we ended up playing 4A schools instead of Plano and Sandwich. We played Glenbard West, Lake Park, Trinity and a couple other 4A schools,” Violett said.
The I-8 and KRC combine for football, which is why Kaneland played Woodstock and Woodstock North for conference games this season.
Athletic & Activities Director David Rohlman said the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is currently working on a proposal to start something known as district play for football seasons.
“There’s a lot going on with football right now,” Rohlman said. “There’s a proposal to get away from conference play and go to district play. That’ll be something that’s voted on in the state in December.”
Football is currently the only sport where some teams do not make the playoffs. With other sports, every school gets put into a regional tournament and is seeded based on their performance throughout their regular seasons.
“The other thing [the IHSA] is talking about doing is opening up and allowing more [football] teams into the playoffs,” Rohlman said.
The proposal to switch to districts for football means that schools would be part of an eight-team district based on geography and school size. Schools would play the seven other teams in their district in place of their conference games, while leaving two games for non-conference play.
Kaneland’s partnership with the KRC for football is also ending after this season. This means Kaneland is not going to play Woodstock or Woodstock North for a conference game next year.
“For weeks three and nine, now we’re looking for another program [to play],” Rohlman said. “And what’s going to end up happening is we’re probably going to have to travel quite a distance at least one of those two weeks to find an opponent.”
Typically, schools give other conference members a two-year notice prior to leaving. Since Sandwich and Plano announced their departure from the conference last December, several schedule changes had to occur for every team.
“It’s very difficult because all of the schedules were already done, and all of the schedules included all eight teams, including Sandwich and Plano. So within six months we literally had to redo all of the conference schedules,” Rohlman said.
At this point, no other schools have been proposed to join the I-8 conference, so for now, it will remain with only six schools. With all of this recent uncertainty, nothing is official for Kaneland’s future in a different conference.
“The one that’s important to us as a school in a conference situation is not just athletics, it’s all the other things. Academics, fine arts, all of those things,” Rohlman said.
Coaches, though, have already started thinking about what types of schools they might like to see join the conference.
“I would love to see DeKalb and Yorkville back [in our conference]. I think they kept it competitive. Maybe Burlington (Central), maybe Hampshire. Nothing too far, but yet they’re competitive schools,” Violett said.
