Big North Conference

Big North Conference

Classification	NJSIAA
Region	New Jersey
Founded	2009
No. of members	41

The Big North Conference is a high school athletic conference in New Jersey. It is one of six North Jersey "super athletic conferences" created by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) in 2009. There are 41 member schools in the Big North Conference, with all members located in either Bergen County or Passaic County, New Jersey.

History

As high school athletics in New Jersey grew in the 1990s and 2000s, problems began to develop in the organization of leagues and conferences. Transportation costs began to grow, as some conferences had teams from as many as four different counties competing against each other. Other conferences were losing competitive balance, as a growth in non-public school enrollment and athletic programs caused tension between non-public and public schools, with public schools accusing non-public schools of recruiting. Conferences also demanded more flexibility in scheduling, as schools felt locked into league and division schedules against opponents either too weak or too strong for true competitive balance.

The strongest tensions were found in the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, where public schools who were frustrated by the competitive imbalance with non-public schools, especially Don Bosco Preparatory (Ramsey) and Bergen Catholic (Oradell) in football or Immaculate Heart Academy (Township of Washington) in girls' athletics, threatened to secede from the league.

Therefore, in 2008 the NJSIAA established a "Leagues and Conferences Realignment Committee" to discuss the need for realigning conferences and leagues throughout New Jersey. Their original proposal for schools in northern New Jersey was the creation of six super conferences from the eleven conferences then in existence.^[1] While the original proposal^[2] was not accepted as presented, it was adjusted and schools realigned yet again, to create the current system in place in New Jersey athletics.

The current realignment started in the 2010–11 school year, after a one-year transition period, when many Big North members schools were part of the North Jersey Tri-County Conference. The NJSIAA had stated that the present system may only go into effect for two to three years, and after a review of the system, a reversion to the old conference alignment may be possible. Athletic Directors in the conference, however, voted in March 2011 to revise the division alignments within the conference for the 2012-2013 academic years and voted against the transfer of DePaul Catholic High School into the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference.^[3] Pascack Hills High School initially changed its mind about leaving the NJIC to join the Big North, but subsequently asked to be admitted.^[4] The Cowboys became the 41st member of the conference to begin the 2012-13 school year.

Current schools

Bergen County Public Schools School Location Team Name Bergen County Technical High School Hackensack Knights Bergenfield High School Bergenfield Bears Cliffside Park High School Cliffside Park Red Raiders Dumont High School Dumont Huskies Dwight Morrow High School Englewood Maroon Raiders Fair Lawn High School Fair Lawn Cutters Fort Lee High School Fort Lee Bridgemen Hackensack High School Hackensack Comets Indian Hills High School Oakland Braves Mahwah High School Mahwah Thunderbirds Northern Highlands Regional High School Allendale Highlanders Northern Valley Regional High School Demarest Norsemen Northern Valley Regional High School Old Tappan Golden Knights Paramus High School Paramus Spartans Pascack Hills High School Montvale Cowboys Pascack Valley High School Hillsdale Indians Ramapo High School Franklin Lakes Raiders Ramsey High School Ramsey Rams Ridgefield Park High School Ridgefield Park Scarlets Ridgewood High School Ridgewood Maroons River Dell Regional High School Oradell Golden Hawks Teaneck High School Teaneck Highwaymen Tenafly High School Tenafly Tigers Westwood Regional High School Township of Washington Cardinals

Bergen County Non-Public Schools School Location Team Name Academy of the Holy Angels Demarest Angels Bergen Catholic High School Oradell Crusaders Don Bosco Preparatory High School Ramsey Ironmen Immaculate Heart Academy Township of Washington Blue Eagles Paramus Catholic High School Paramus Paladins St. Joseph Regional High School Montvale Green Knights Passaic County Public Schools School Location Team Name Clifton High School Clifton Mustangs Eastside High School Paterson Ghosts John F. Kennedy High School Paterson Knights Lakeland Regional High School Wanaque Lancers Passaic County Technical Institute Wayne Bulldogs Passaic High School Passaic Indians Passaic Valley High School Little Falls Hornets Wayne Hills High School Wayne Patriots Wayne Valley High School Wayne Indians West Milford Township High School West Milford Highlanders Passaic County Non-Public Schools School Location Team Name DePaul Catholic High School Wayne Spartans

Sports Offered

Fall Sports Cross Country Field Hockey Football Gymnastics Soccer Tennis (Girls) Volleyball (Girls)

Winter Sports Basketball (Boys) Basketball (Girls) Bowling Cheerleading Ice Hockey Swimming Winter Track Wrestling

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

Conference Divisions: Football

As conference play started in the 2010 academic year, teams were split into six divisions for football purposes, seven divisions for every other sport.^[5] The hope in developing the division system is that the system will increase rivalries and promote competitive balance while minimizing travel time between schools within each division.

Division I (United) Bergen Catholic DePaul Catholic Don Bosco Prep Paramus Catholic St. Joseph Regional

Division II (Liberty) Clifton Eastside (Paterson) Fair Lawn Kennedy (Paterson) Passaic Passaic County Technical Institute

Division III (Freedom) Bergen Tech Hackensack Paramus Ridgewood Teaneck Wayne Hills

Division IV (Independence) Northern Valley-Old Tappan Pascack Valley Passaic Valley Ramapo Wayne Valley West Milford

Division V (National) Bergenfield Indian Hills Lakeland Northern Highlands Northern Valley-Demarest Tenafly

Division VI (American) Cliffside Park Dumont Dwight-Morrow (Englewood) Fort Lee Ridgefield Park

Conference Divisions: Other Sports

United Division Academy of the Holy Angels^[G] Bergen Catholic^[B] DePaul Catholic^[C] Don Bosco Prep^[B] Immaculate Heart Academy^[G] Paramus Catholic^[C] St. Joseph Regional^[B] ^[G] : Girls' athletics only ^[B] : Boys' athletics only ^[C] : Co-Educational

Liberty Division Bergen Tech Clifton Eastside (Paterson) Kennedy (Paterson) Passaic Passaic County Technical Institute

Freedom Division Hackensack Indian Hills Northern Highlands Paramus Ramapo Ridgewood

Independence Division Fair Lawn Lakeland Passaic Valley Wayne Hills Wayne Valley West Milford

National Division Bergenfield Northern Valley-Demarest Northern Valley-Old Tappan Pascack Valley Teaneck Tenafly

Patriot Division Mahwah Pascack Hills Ramsey River Dell Westwood

American Division Cliffside Park Dumont Dwight Morrow (Englewood) Fort Lee Ridgefield Park

References

1. "NJSIAA Proposed Realignment," http://www.njsba.org/sb_notes/20080904/realignment.html, accessed September 24, 2010.
2. "Conference Realignment Proposal," http://blog.nj.com/hssportsextra/2008/08/HSconfWEB.pdf, accessed September 24, 2010.
3. Baumiller, J.C. "Athletics Directors set team alignment", Northern Valley Suburbanite, March 24, 2011. Accessed September 11, 2012.
4. Cooper, Darren "Cowboys ready to join Big North", The Record, April 26, 2011. Accessed September 3, 2013.
5. "Big North Conference alignment" http://www.northjersey.com/sports/hs_sports/njsiaa_news/61411957.html, accessed September 24, 2010.

External links

• Big North Conference Website
• Tom Bergeron (Newark Star-Ledger), "NJSIAA Realignment Plan: Six Super Conferences in North/Central Jersey" accessed September 25, 2010.
• League Affiliations of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association for 2012-13