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. The conference is composed of small-enrollment schools.Mattura, Greg. "Small-school NJIC may debut its own league championship", The Record, January 9, 2017.Accessed August 30, 2020. "The small-school North Jersey Interscholastic Conference may debut its own boys basketball tournament this season, one season after introducing its girls hoops championship. The NJIC is composed of schools from Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties and the event offered to the 36 boys teams would serve as an alternative to likely competing against larger programs in a county tournament."
A total of 36 public and private high schools are part of the NJIC. Most of the schools are located in Bergen County (27), with the rest in Passaic County (6) and Hudson County (3).Member Schools, North Jersey Interscholastic Conference. Accessed August 30, 2020. Butler High School, in Morris County, was added starting in the 2018–19 school year.Havsy, Jane. "Butler off to smooth start in new small-school conference", Daily Record (Morristown), September 28, 2018. Accessed August 27, 2020. "Butler High School’s athletic teams wandered into uncharted territory this fall. The Bulldogs are taking on the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, an allegiance of NJSIAA Group I schools in Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties. As the league's first Morris County member, Butler began its transition from the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference in January 2016."
Formation
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"."NJSIAA Proposed Realignment," , accessed January 25, 2011.
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."Realignment Architects," http://www.northjersey.com/sports/hs_sports/football/102511419_Architects_behind_realignment.html
Almost all of the NJIC schools that originally joined the league were previously associated with either the Bergen County Scholastic League (BSCL) or Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League (B-PSL). The only exception was Pascack Hills High School of Montvale, which had been associated with the BCSL for football but had belonged to the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League (NBIL) for other sports. The BCSL schools that joined the league mostly came from its National and Olympic divisions, while Rutherford High School was the only member of the league's American division that did not join the Big North Conference.Paterson Catholic High School(a member of the B-PSL) closed in the spring of 2010 and therefore never joined 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. Hawthorne Christian and Saddle River Day were placed in the BCSL National/Olympic and Mary Help of Christians Academy was placed in the B-PSL as a transitional step before the NJIC began play.
In 2011-12, Pascack Hills left to join the rest of the former NBIL schools in the Big North for all sports. Several years later, the league added Butler High School from the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference.
Member schools
Bergen County public schools SchoolLocationTeam NameBecton Regional High SchoolEast RutherfordWildcatsBergen Arts and Science Charter SchoolGarfield, New JerseyYellowjacketsBogota High SchoolBogotaBuccaneersCresskill High SchoolCresskillCougarsElmwood Park Memorial High SchoolElmwood ParkCrusadersEmerson High SchoolEmersonCavaliersGarfield High SchoolGarfieldBoilermakersGlen Rock High SchoolGlen RockPanthersHasbrouck Heights High SchoolHasbrouck HeightsAviatorsLeonia High SchoolLeoniaLionsLodi High SchoolLodiRamsLyndhurst High SchoolLyndhurstGolden BearsMidland Park High SchoolMidland ParkPanthersNew Milford High SchoolNew MilfordKnightsNorth Arlington High SchoolNorth ArlingtonVikingsPalisades Park High SchoolPalisades ParkTigersPark Ridge High SchoolPark RidgeOwlsRidgefield Memorial High SchoolRidgefieldRoyalsRutherford High SchoolRutherfordBulldogsSaddle Brook High SchoolSaddle BrookFalconsWaldwick High SchoolWaldwickWarriorsWallington High SchoolWallingtonPanthersWood-Ridge High SchoolWood-RidgeBlue Devils
Bergen County non-public schools SchoolLocationTeam NameDwight-Englewood SchoolEnglewoodBulldogsImmaculate Conception High SchoolLodiBlue WolvesSaddle River Day SchoolSaddle RiverRebelsSt. Mary High SchoolRutherfordGaels
Hudson County Public Schools SchoolLocationTeam NameHarrison High SchoolHarrisonBlue TideSecaucus High SchoolSecaucusPatriotsWeehawken High SchoolWeehawkenIndians
Morris County public schools SchoolLocationTeam NameButler High SchoolButlerBulldogs
Passaic County public schools SchoolLocationTeam NameHawthorne High SchoolHawthorneBearsManchester Regional High SchoolHaledonFalconsPompton Lakes High SchoolPompton LakesCardinals
Passaic County Non-Public Schools SchoolLocationTeam NameEastern Christian High SchoolNorth HaledonEaglesHawthorne Christian AcademyHawthorneDefendersMary Help of Christians AcademyNorth HaledonBlue Jays
Sports offered
Fall sports
Cross Country Football Soccer Tennis (Girls) Volleyball (Girls)
Winter sports
Basketball Bowling Swimming Track & Field Wrestling
Spring sports
Baseball Golf Softball Tennis (Boys) Track & Field
Conference Divisions The NJIC is divided into four divisions, largely along geographic and enrollment lines. Divisional alignments are reviewed every 2-year scheduling cycle by the conference. Because not all conference members participate in bowling, cross-country, football, golf, tennis and wrestling, different divisional alignments exist for those sports. Football and wrestling are sports specific and do not fall into the traditional divisional alignments.
Colonial Division Elmwood Park Garfield Glen Rock Lodi Rutherford Eastern Christian Hawthorne Manchester Pompton Lakes Mary Help of Christians
Meadowlands Division Becton Hasbrouck Heights Immaculate Conception North Arlington Saddle Brook St. Mary Wallington Weehawken Wood-Ridge
Patriot Division Bogota Cresskill Emerson Hawthorne Christian Midland Park Palisades Park Park Ridge Saddle River Day Waldwick
References
External links Conference website NJICathletics.org