The Little Ten Conference is the oldest continuous high school athletic conference in the state of Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

. Founded in 1919, it was originally comprised the following small high schools in northern Illinois: Earlville, Hinckley, Leland

Leland High School (Leland, Illinois)

Leland High School is an American public high school located in Leland, Illinois. It serves grades 9 through 12 as part of the Leland Community School School District #1....

, Paw Paw

Paw Paw High School (Illinois)

Paw Paw High School, or PPHS, is a public four-year high school located at 511 Chapman in Paw Paw, Illinois, a village in Lee County, Illinois, in the Midwestern United States. PPHS serves the communities and surrounding areas of Paw Paw...

, Plano, Rollo, Sandwich, Shabbona, Somonauk, and Waterman. The conference is still in operation and currently consists of the following members: Earlville, Hinckley-Big Rock, Indian Creek, Kirkland Hiawatha, LaMoille, Leland, Newark, Paw Paw, Serena, and Somonauk. Over the years, there have been a number of other area schools in the conference, including Malta.

Charter members consist of Earlville, Leland, Paw Paw, Somonauk, Hinckley (now combined into Hinckley-Big Rock), Shabbona, and Waterman (which have respectively merged to form Indian Creek).

Junior High Conference

The Junior High schools of the respective communities have a conference, comprising

• St Mary's Catholic (DeKalb)
• Earlville
• Leland
• LaMoille
• Serena
• Newark
• Sandwich
• Somonauk
• Indian Creek
• Hinckley
• Big Rock

High School Conference Members, Past and Present

• Earlville (1919–2006, formed Co-Op with Leland)*
• Leland (1919–2006, formed Co-Op with Earlville)*
• Earlville-Leland Co-Op (2006-)
• Paw Paw (1919-)*
• Malta (1967–2000, school was closed)
• Kirkland-Hiawatha (2006-)
• Plano (1919–1967, Joined Interstate Eight Conference with Sandwich)*
• Sandwich (1919–1967, Joined Interstate Eight Conference with Plano)*
• Serena (1939-)
• Hinckley (1919–1957)*
• Big Rock (1919–1957)
• Hinckley-Big Rock (1957-, school districts merged)
• Shabbona (1919–1993)*
• Waterman (1919–1993)*
• Indian Creek (1993-, school districts merged)
• Newark (1967-)
• LaMoille (1996-)
• Somonauk (1919-)*
• Sheridan (1930–1939, school closed and district merged with Serena)
• Rollo (1919–1954, school closed and district merged with Shabbona)*
• Star designates original conference members

Mascots and Colors

The schools are represented by the following team nicknames:

• Earlville - Raiders - red & black
• Hinckley - Hawks
• Hinckley-Big Rock - Royals - blue & silver
• Indian Creek - Timberwolves - red, black, & white
• Kirkland Hiawatha - Hawks
• LaMoille - Lions - red
• Leland - Panthers - green & black
• Malta - Mustangs
• Newark - Norsemen - blue & red
• Paw Paw - Bulldogs - purple & yellow
• Rollo - Eagles
• Serena - Huskers
• Shabbona - Indians - red & white
• Sheridan - Vikings
• Somonauk - Bobcats - blue & yellow
• Waterman - Wolverines - red & black

External links

• http://ltcbasketball.tripod.com/index.html - A History of the Little Ten Conference Basketball Tournament
• http://www.illinoishsglorydays.com/index.html - Documentation on those member schools that are now defunct