North Jersey Interscholastic Conference

The North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, or NJIC, is a high school athletic conference located in New Jersey. It is one of the so-called "super conferences" created by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) as a part of a realignment of high school sports leagues in North and Central New Jersey announced in 2009.

A total of 37 public and private high schools are part of the NJIC. Most of the schools are located in Bergen County, with the rest in Passaic County and Hudson County.

Formation of the NJIC

Increasing conflict over competitive imbalance in New Jersey high school sports leagues led to the formation of a committee to study the issue in 2008. The group proposed to disband the 11 athletic conferences in the northern part of the state and create six larger "super conferences".^[1]

After a lengthy series of meetings and revisions, final implementation of the plan took place with the start of the 2010-11 school year. In the northeast corner of New Jersey, two super conferences emerged: the Big North Conference for larger schools and the NJIC for smaller schools.^[2]

All NJIC schools were previously associated with two previous conferences: The Bergen County Scholastic League and the Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League. Most of the BCSL's members joined the NJIC, but the largest BCSL schools went to the Big North Conference instead. All B-PSL schools were slated to move to the NJIC.^[3] However, Paterson Catholic High School closed in the spring of 2010 and therefore never joined the NJIC.^[4]

Pascack Hills High School was a member of the B-PSL for football only; it was part of the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League for all other sports and is the only NBIAL school to join the NJIC. Three other schools--Hawthorne Christian, Mary Help of Christians and Saddle River Day--had been independent prior to the start of the realignment process. Those schools were placed in the BCSL or B-PSL as a transitional step before the NJIC began play.^[5]

Current Schools of the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference

Bergen County Public Schools School Location Team Name Becton Regional High School East Rutherford Wildcats Bogota High School Bogota Buccaneers Cresskill High School Cresskill Cougars Elmwood Park Memorial High School Elmwood Park Crusaders Emerson High School Emerson Cavaliers Garfield High School Garfield Boilermakers Glen Rock High School Glen Rock Panthers Hasbrouck Heights High School Hasbrouck Heights Aviators Leonia High School Leonia Lions Lodi High School Lodi Rams Lyndhurst High School Lyndhurst Golden Bears Midland Park High School Midland Park Panthers New Milford High School New Milford Knights North Arlington High School North Arlington Vikings Palisades Park High School Palisades Park Tigers Park Ridge High School Park Ridge Owls Pascack Hills High School Montvale Cowboys Ridgefield Memorial High School Ridgefield Royals Rutherford High School Rutherford Bulldogs Saddle Brook High School Saddle Brook Falcons Waldwick High School Waldwick Warriors Wallington High School Wallington Panthers Wood-Ridge High School Wood-Ridge Blue Devils

Bergen County Non-Public Schools School Location Team Name Dwight-Englewood School Englewood Bulldogs Immaculate Conception High School Lodi Blue Wolves Queen of Peace High School North Arlington Golden Griffins Saddle River Day School Saddle River Rebels St. Mary High School Rutherford Gaels Hudson County Public Schools School Location Team Name Harrison High School Harrison Blue Tide Secaucus High School Secaucus Patriots Weehawken High School Weehawken Indians Passaic County Public Schools School Location Team Name Hawthorne High School Hawthorne Bears Manchester Regional High School Haledon Falcons Pompton Lakes High School Pompton Lakes Cardinals Passaic County Non-Public Schools School Location Team Name Eastern Christian High School North Haledon Eagles Hawthorne Christian Academy Hawthorne Defenders Mary Help of Christians Academy North Haledon Blue Jays

Sports Offered

Fall Sports Cross Country Football Soccer Tennis (Girls) Volleyball (Girls)

Winter Sports Basketball Bowling Swimming Winter Track Wrestling

Spring Sports Baseball Golf Softball Tennis (Boys) Track & Field Volleyball (Boys)

Conference Divisions

The NJIC is divided into three divisions, largely along geographic lines, with each containing an "A" and "B" subdivision based on the size of the schools. Because not all conference members participate in football and wrestling, different divisions exist for those sports.^[6]

Colonial Division A Elmwood Park Garfield Glen Rock Lodi Pascack Hills Rutherford

Colonial Division B Eastern Christian Hawthorne Manchester Regional Mary Help of Christians Pompton Lakes

Meadowlands Division A Becton Harrison Lyndhurst North Arlington Queen of Peace Secaucus

Meadowlands Division B Hasbrouck Heights Immaculate Conception Saddle Brook St. Mary Wallington Weehawken Wood-Ridge

Patriot Division A Cresskill Dwight-Englewood Leonia New Milford Ridgefield Waldwick

Patriot Division B Bogota Emerson Hawthorne Christian Midland Park Palisades Park Park Ridge Saddle River Day

References

1. ^ "NJSIAA Proposed Realignment," http://www.njsba.org/sb_notes/20080904/realignment.html, accessed January 25, 2011.
2. ^ "Realignment Architects," http://www.northjersey.com/sports/hs_sports/football/102511419_Architects_behind_realignment.html
3. ^ "Realignment will mean new matchups for teams". NorthJersey.com. 2009-08-27. http://www.northjersey.com/sports/hs_sports/Realignment_will_mean_new_matchups_for_teams.html. Retrieved 2011-06-18. 
4. ^ "Paterson Catholic to close by end of school year". NorthJersey.com. http://www.northjersey.com/news/education/042110_Paterson_Catholic_to_close_by_end_of_school_year.html. Retrieved 2011-06-18. 
5. ^ "Schools are ready to deal with realignment". NorthJersey.com. 2009-08-27. http://www.northjersey.com/sports/hs_sports/football/Schools_are_ready_to_deal_with_realignment.html. Retrieved 2011-06-18. 
6. ^ "New football realignment finally agreed upon". NorthJersey.com. 2010-03-18. http://www.northjersey.com/sports/88328507_After_much_debate__new_football_realignment_is_finally_approved_.html. Retrieved 2011-06-18. 

External links

• Conference website