The Super Football Conference is a football-only athletic league of high schools in New Jersey. The 111-team (representing 112 schools with the Cliffside Park / Ridgefield co-op) league was formed in 2016.Stanmyre, Matthew. "Schedules released for 115-team North Jersey Super Football Conference", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 30, 2015. Accessed April 3, 2017.
History The SFC consists of nearly all of the football playing members of four conferences that were formed after a significant realignment in New Jersey high school athletics saw the creation of several new leagues.
The conferences that came together to form this league were: The Big North Conference, which consists of many larger public and parochial schools in Passaic County and Bergen County. The Hudson County Interscholastic League, which consists of most of the public and parochial schools in Hudson County with the exceptions of Secaucus High School, Weehawken High School, and Harrison High School (which all belong to the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference). The Super Essex Conference, which consists entirely of schools in Essex County. The Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference, which consists of schools located in Morris County, Sussex County and Warren County.
The league, which included more than one hundred schools, is the largest such league in the United States.Cooper, Darren. "Here's what we know about the new Super Football Conference 2020 schedule", The Record, July 23, 2020. Accessed March 22, 2021. "The Super Football Conference (SFC) is a 112-team group, the largest high school football-only conference in America, and is teams from five different counties."
In 2020, the SFC announced the forming of what they referred to as the Ivy Divisions. Two sets of teams play exclusively against each other in the Ivy White and Ivy Red divisions, and both are composed of teams that have consistently had trouble either fielding a team or staying competitive. The teams are grouped together largely regardless of size, and each of the initial schools that compete in the divisions are required to commit to them for two years. Ivy Division schools are precluded from state playoff consideration.Cooper, Darren. "Super Football Conference creating 'Ivy Division' for struggling programs", The Record, May 1, 2019. Accessed March 24, 2021. "Seeking to restore participation and enthusiasm to high school football programs that have struggled to compete consistently, the Super Football Conference announced plans to start a 12-team 'Ivy Division' in the 2020 season. Teams that compete in the 'Ivy Division' will play exclusively against each other and won't participate in the NJISAA football playoffs.... Twelve schools from Bergen, Hudson, Essex and Morris counties have applied to compete in the Ivy Division: Bergen Tech, Cliffside Park, Dickinson, Fair Lawn, Ferris, Memorial, Dover, Dwight-Morrow, Fort Lee, Glen Ridge, Marist and Tenafly."
The Ivy Divisions expanded from 12 to 18 teams for the 2026 season, adding the Ivy Gold division and expanding the Ivy Playoffs from four to six teams.
Divisions There are a total of 22 divisions in the SFC, and each division contains between four and six teams. Divisions are aligned every two years based on team performance, school-size, and location.
United Red
Bergen Catholic High School Don Bosco Preparatory High School Paramus Catholic High School Saint Joseph Regional High School St. Peter's Preparatory School
United White
Delbarton School DePaul Catholic High School Pope John XXIII Regional High School Seton Hall Preparatory School
Freedom Red
Bayonne High School Columbia High School Irvington High School Passaic County Technical Institute Union City High School
Freedom White
Barringer High School Bloomfield High School East Orange Campus High School Livingston High School Montclair High School West Orange High School
Freedom Blue
Clifton High School Eastside High School (Paterson) Hackensack High School Passaic High School Ridgewood High School
Liberty Red
Northern Highlands Regional High School Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan Ramapo High School Wayne Hills High School Wayne Valley High School
Liberty White
Chatham High School Morris Knolls High School Morristown High School Mount Olive High School West Morris Central High School
Liberty Blue
West Morris Mendham High School Morris Hills High School Randolph High School Roxbury High School Warren Hills Regional High School
Liberty Gold
Montville Township High School Parsippany Hills High School Passaic Valley Regional High School Sparta High School West Milford High School
Patriot Red
Orange High School Central High School (Newark) Nutley High School Weequahic High School West Essex High School
Patriot White
Hudson Catholic Regional High School Lincoln High School Malcolm X Shabazz High School Henry Snyder High School West Side High School (Newark)
Patriot Blue
Fair Lawn High School Paramus High School Pascack Valley High School River Dell High School Teaneck High School
American Red
Dumont High School Lakeland Regional High School Mahwah High School Ramsey High School Westwood Regional High School
American White
James Caldwell High School Hanover Park High School Madison High School Mountain Lakes High School Pequannock Township High School
American Blue
Hackettstown High School High Point Regional High School Morris Catholic High School Jefferson Township High School Newton High School Vernon Township High School
National Red
Cedar Grove High School Glen Ridge High School Hoboken High School Newark Collegiate Academy Verona High School
National White
Boonton High School Hopatcong High School Indian Hills High School Kinnelon High School Parsippany High School Whippany Park High School
National Blue
Kittatinny Regional High School Lenape Valley Regional High School North Warren Regional High School Sussex County Technical School Wallkill Valley Regional High School
Independent
Immaculata High School
Ivy Red
Cliffside Park High School (co-op with Ridgefield Memorial High School) William L. Dickinson High School James J. Ferris High School Kearny High School Memorial High School (West New York) North Bergen High School
Ivy White
Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest Dwight Morrow High School Fort Lee High School Pascack Hills High School Ridgefield Park High School Tenafly High School
Ivy Gold
Belleville High School Bergenfield High School Bergen County Technical Schools Dover High School John F. Kennedy High School (Paterson) Millburn High School
References