The Tri-County Conference is a high school conference in north central Illinois. The conference participates in athletics and activities in the Illinois High School Association. The conference incorporates 8 small public and 2 small private high schools, with enrollments between 82 and 428 students in LaSalle, Livingston, Marshall, Putnam, and Woodford counties.

History The first year of competition for the Tri-County was 1927 with ten charter schools: Hennepin, Henry, Hopkins Township in Granville, Lacon, Lostant, Magnolia, Senachwine Township in Putnam, McNabb Swaney, Tonica, and Varna. During the lifetime of the conference, most of these ten very small rural schools have remained in the league in one form or another. Some have left and returned and many of them have consolidated to become new entities. Regardless, the conference has changed many times over the years.

The first two schools to consolidate were Henry and Senachwine Township High Schools. The new high school became known as Henry-Senachwine Consolidated High School beginning in the fall of 1947 and would be located in Putnam, Illinois. The following year, Magnolia High School merged into Swaney High School near the town of McNabb, ceasing the existence of the Magnolia Pirates. In 1949, Varna High School consolidated with Lacon High School to create Mid-County High School, located in Varna. Sparland, a team that was part of the Tri-County but left for the Little 6 Conference in 1958, consolidated with Mid-County High School to form Midland High School in 1995.

Rutland joined the Tri-County in the early 1930s; however, they would leave for the Mid State Conference during a consolidation with the Minonk-Dana School District in 1956. This new high school would be known as Minonk-Dana-Rutland. Toluca and Wenona High Schools joined the Tri-County in the early 1930s; however, in 1992 they consolidated with Minonk-Dana-Rutland to create Fieldcrest High School located in Minonk, Illinois. Fieldcrest remained in the Mid State Conference.

Some small schools would cease operations during the course of time. Original member, Lostant High School in Lostant, Illinois, remained a member of the conference until 1958 when it would join the Little 6 Conference. They would return to the Tri-County in 1961; however, in 1993 the school closed due to financial constraints. Students from Lostant were given options to attend one of four nearby schools: Fieldcrest, Putnam County, Streator, or LaSalle-Peru.

During the 1950s and 60s, there was a push in the state to consolidate rural districts. Several schools in the Tri-County followed the initiative and either merged or consolidated. In 1956, the high schools of Roanoke and Benson, long-time rivals, consolidated to form Roanoke-Benson High School and continue to be a member of the conference. Washburn High School, located in Washburn, Illinois, was a school that had existed in the league since 1929; however, it would consolidate with the high school from Lowpoint to create Lowpoint-Washburn High School in 1952. In 1966, two charter schools, Hennepin and Hopkins Township, would consolidate with previously consolidated Magnolia-Swaney High School to form Putnam County High School.

During the tenure of the Tri-County, schools like Eureka, Bureau Valley, and Peoria Christian joined and left. Another example of a school that would join the league and leave is DePue High School. DePue would leave the Indian Valley Conference in 1994, join the Tri-County, only to leave in 2020 to join the Little Ten Conference. Bradford High School, who joined the league in 1994, was deactivated in 2001 based on low enrollment. Students from Bradford were given the choice of attending Bureau Valley, Henry-Senachwine, or Stark County High Schools.

For nearly a century, the Tri-County has remained in operation with at least six high schools. Currently the league consists of six full members and four partial members, the full members are; Putnam County, Henry-Senachwine, Roanoke-Benson, Streator Woodland, Varna Midland, and Lowpoint-Washburn. Beginning in 2023–24 school year, Peru St. Bede, Dwight and Ottawa Marquette will compete in the Tri-County for all sports except football, which will compete in the newly formed Chicago Prairie Football League. Seneca, also a partial member of the Tri-County, plays in the Vermilion Valley (South) Conference for football.

Member schools

School Location County Mascot Colors Joined Previous Conference Enrollment IHSA Classes 1/2/3/4 IHSA Football Class IHSA FootballType Dwight High SchoolDwight CUSD Dwight, IL Livingston Trojans Green, White 2021 Sangamon Valley 264.44 A/1A/1A 2A/3A 11-manCoop Henry-Senachwine High School Henry, IL Marshall Mallards Red, Black 1947 — 136.83 A/1A/1A — None Lowpoint-Washburn High School Washburn, IL Woodford Wildcats Maroon, Gold 1952 — 82.335 A/1A/1A — None Marquette AcademyMarquette Academy Ottawa, IL LaSalle Crusaders Navy, Vegas Gold 1994 Big Northern 154 A/1A/1A 1A 11-man Midland High School Varna, IL Marshall Timberwolves Dark Green, Silver, Black 1995 — 206.085 A/1A/1A — None Putnam County High School Granville, IL Putnam Panthers Black, Gold 1966 — 258.35 A/1A/1A 4A 11-manCoop Roanoke-Benson High School Roanoke, IL Woodford Rockets Black, White 1956 — 160 A/1A/1A — None Seneca High SchoolSeneca High School Seneca, IL LaSalle Fighting IrishLady Irish Green, White 2018 Interstate Eight 428.5 1A/2A 2A/3A 11-man St. Bede AcademySt. Bede Academy Peru, IL LaSalle Bruins Green, White 2023 Three Rivers 282 A/1A/1A 1A 11-man Woodland High SchoolWoodland CUSD Streator, IL Livingston Warriors Red, Black, White 2006 Mid-State 157 A/1A/1A 1A 11-manCoop

Previous Members

School Location Mascot Colors YearJoined YearExited SchoolIn Use Consolidated CurrentDistrict Hennepin High SchoolHennepin High School Hennepin, IL Mallards Red, White 1927 1966 Yes Yes Putnam CountyPutnam County School District Henry Township High SchoolHenry Township High School Henry, IL Mallards Crimson, Black 1927 1947 No Yes Henry-SenachwineHenry-Senachwine School District Hopkins Township High SchoolHopkins Township High School Granville, IL Hornets Green, White 1927 1966 No Yes Putnam County Lacon Community High SchoolLacon Community High School Lacon, IL Lions Maroon, White 1927 1949 Yes Yes Mid-County Lostant High SchoolLostant High School Lostant, IL Rams Orange, Blue 1927, 1961 1958, 1993 Yes No School Closed Magnolia High SchoolMagnolia High School Magnolia, IL Pirates Maroon, Gold 1927 1948 No Yes Magnolia-Swaney Senachwine Township High SchoolSenachwine Township High School Putnam,IL Braves Unknown 1927 1947 No Yes Henry-Senachwine Swaney High SchoolSwaney High School McNabb, IL Pirates Blue, Gold 1927 1948 Yes Yes Magnolia-Swaney Tonica High SchoolTonica High School Tonica, IL Warriors Blue, White 1927 1990 Yes No School Closed Varna High SchoolVarna High School Varna, IL Green Dragons Green, White 1927 1990 No Yes Mid-County Washburn High SchoolWashburn High School Washburn, IL Unknown Unknown 1929 1952 Yes Yes Lowpoint-Washburn Lowpoint-Washburn CUSD Roanoke High SchoolRoanoke High School Roanoke, IL Unknown Unknown 1930 1956 Yes Yes Roanoke-BensonRoanoke-Benson CUSD Rutland High SchoolRutland High School Rutland, IL Rangers Maroon, White 1932 1956 No Yes Minonk-Dana-RutlandMinonk-Dana-Rutland High School Toluca High SchoolToluca High School Toluca, IL Wildcats Purple, Gold, White 1932 1992 Yes Yes FieldcrestFieldcrest CUSD Wenona High SchoolWenona High School Wenona, IL Mustangs Black, Orange 1932 1992 Yes Yes Fieldcrest Benson High SchoolBenson High School Benson, IL Broncos Black, Orange 1939 1956 Yes Yes Roanoke-Benson Sparland High SchoolSparland High School Sparland, IL Hilltoppers Red, White 1939 1958 Yes Yes MidlandMidland CUSD Magnolia-Swaney High School McNabb, IL Pirates Blue, Gold 1948 1966 Yes Yes Putnam County Mid-County High SchoolMid-County High School Varna, IL Bulldogs Black, White 1949 1995 Yes Yes Midland Bradford High SchoolBradford High School Bradford, IL Panthers Black, Orange 1994 2001 No No School Closed DePue High School DePue, IL Little Giants Blue, Orange 1994 2020 Yes No DCUSD #103DePue CUSD Eureka High School Eureka, IL Hornets Green, White 1995 2006 Yes No ECUD #140Eureka CUD Bureau Valley High School Manlius, IL Storm Navy, Columbia 1997 2006 Yes No BVCUSD #340Bureau Valley CUSD Peoria Christian High School Peoria, IL Chargers Purple, Gold, White 1997 2021 Yes No Peoria Christian SchoolsPeoria Christian School

Sources:IHSA Conferences, and IHSA Member Schools Directory

Membership timeline

Sources:Illinois High School Glory Days,

Boys Basketball Tournament Championships