Big Eight Conference (IHSAA)

Big Eight Conference
Established 1980
Members All Class AAA
Region 7 Counties: Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Posey, Warrick, and Wabash of Illinois
Headquarters Indiana
Locations

The Big Eight Conference is an athletic conference currently comprising six IHSAA Class AAA high schools located in Southwestern Indiana with one IHSA Class AAA member in Southern Illinois. The conference members are small city-based schools located in Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Posey, and Warrick counties in Indiana and Wabash County in Illinois.

History

The Big Eight Conference was created in 1980 when seven members of the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference (Boonville, Jasper, Mount Vernon, Princeton, Tell City, Vincennes Lincoln, and Washington) left to form a new conference with a member of the Pocket Athletic Conference (Gibson Southern). Gibson Southern left in 1992 to rejoin the PAC and Tell City followed in 2001 also to rejoin the PAC, reducing the Big Eight to six members. Mount Carmel joined in 2003 to increase the membership to seven. Currently Mount Carmel, located in Illinois, is the only school from outside Indiana to compete in an Indiana athletic conference.

Member schools

Current members

School Mascot Colors Location Joined
Conference		 Enrollment
08-09		 IHSAA Class IHSAA Class
Football		 Gym
Size		 # / County
Boonville Pioneers           Boonville 1980 936 AAA AAAA 5,650 87
Warrick
Jasper Wildcats           Jasper 1980 1,055 AAA AAAA 5,200 1 19
Dubois
Mount
Carmel 2		 Golden
Aces		                Mount
Carmel		 2003 649 (IL)AAA[1] (IL)AAA[2] 2,500 93
Wabash
Mount
Vernon		 Wildcats           Mount
Vernon		 1980 849 AAA AAA 3,200 65
Posey
Princeton
Community		 Tigers                Princeton 1980 679 AAA AAA 5,200 3 26
Gibson
Vincennes
Lincoln		 Alices                Vincennes 1980 772 AAA AAA 5,466 42
Knox
Washington Hatchets           Washington 1980 746 AAA AAA 7,090 14
Daviess
Information
     Schools that operate on Eastern Time.

1 Jasper High School has rebuilt their gym after a roof collapse that occurred on May 2, 2011 during an intense rainstorm.[3]
The gym was inaugurated for the 2012 half of the 2011-12 season.

2 Only extra-Indiana School in an IHSAA-sanctioned conference.
Departed disbanded North Egypt Conference of Illinois.

3 As of 2012-13, Princeton plays in a new 5,200 seat gym which replaced the aging 3,000 seat old gym which is still occasionally used for tourneys as of 2016.

Former members

School Mascot Colors Location Years with
Conference		 County Current Conference
Gibson
Southern		 Titans          
    		 Fort Branch 1980-1992 4 26
Gibson		 Pocket
Tell
City		 Marksmen           Tell City 1980-2001 4 5 62
Perry		 Pocket

State championships

Boonville Pioneers (1)

Jasper Wildcats (8)

Mount Carmel Golden Aces (3)

Princeton Community Tigers (2)

Vincennes Lincoln Alices (3)

Washington Hatchets (9)

Former Member State Championships

Gibson Southern Titans (3)

Big Eight Championships

Football Championships by School

School Championships Years
Jasper 22 1981, 1982, 1984*, 1985, 1986*, 1987, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996*, 1998, 1999*, 2000, 2001, 2004*,
2005, 2006*, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014*
Vincennes Lincoln 9 1983*, 1984*, 1996*, 1997, 1999*, 2002, 2003, 2004*, 2014*
Tell City 6 1980, 1984*, 1988, 1989, 1991*, 1992
Mount Carmel 5 2006*, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014*
Boonville 3 1984*, 1986*, 1991*
Gibson Southern 1 1983*
Princeton Community 1 1993
Mount Vernon 0
Washington 0

Boys Basketball Championships[4][5]

School Championships Years
Vincennes Lincoln 19 1981, 1982*, 1984*, 1987, 1988, 1989*, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999*, 2002, 2003*,
2004, 2006, 2012, 2013
Jasper 7 1982*, 1989*, 1993, 1996, 1999*, 2000*, 2014*
Washington 7 1983, 1995, 2003*, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011
Boonville 4 1986, 1999*, 2000*, 2001
Princeton Community 5 1984*, 1985, 2009, 2010, 2014*
Mount Carmel 0
Mount Vernon 0
Tell City 0
Gibson Southern 0

Girls Basketball Championships[6]

School Championships Years
Washington 10 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998*, 1999, 2001, 2003
Jasper 8 1982, 1983, 1988, 1991, 1998*, 2005, 2010*, 2012
Boonville 6 1981, 1984*, 1985, 1986, 1987, 2000
Mount Carmel 4 2007, 2008, 2011, 2013
Vincennes Lincoln 4 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009
Mount Vernon 2 1984, 2010*
Tell City 2 1989, 1990
Princeton Community 2 2014, 2015

Note: Big Eight Conference championships are determined by a single round-robin among the active members. The Big Eight Conference does not break ties in the standings for championship purposes, instead co-championships are awarded.

Interesting Fact

The Big Eight Conference now has two different members that captured the 3A boys basketball title in successive years. Washington captured the 2007-08, 2009–10, and 2010–11 State Titles and Princeton captured the 2008-09 State Title. Very rarely has this occurred in the history of the state finals.[7]

Neighboring Conferences

References

  1. ↑ http://www.ihsa.org/school/schools/1347.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.ihsa.org/school/schools/1347.htm
  3. ↑ http://tristatehomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=268157
  4. ↑ "John Harrell's INDIANA BOYS' BASKETBALL".
  5. ↑ "Big 8 Conference Constitution" (PDF).
  6. ↑ http://pastgb.homestead.com/files/confchamps.htm. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ↑ http://www.ihsaa.org/b-basketball_frame.htm
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