Western Big 6 now Mid-West 10 for football
7 months, 2 weeks ago
Expansion to take place next year
A process that involved years of discussions and months of planning finally reached its conclusion on Wednesday afternoon.
Officials from the Western Big 6 and Mid-State 6 conferences unanimously approved a two-year football schedule during a meeting in Galesburg. The expanded Big 6 -- renamed the Mid-West 10 Football Conference by league officials in what Alleman athletic director Steve Smithers called a "compromise" between the two -- will start play next fall.
"We're pretty much done," Big 6 president and United Township principal Carl Johnson said. "We have the tough spots ironed out."
Created in 1969, the Big 6 -- comprised of Alleman, Galesburg, Moline, Quincy, Rock Island and United Township -- officially has its first expansion in league history. All changes are for football only.
"Of course there is sadness," Johnson said, "but we're keeping our stability and adding great opportunities."
Peoria High, Manual, Notre Dame and Richwoods will fill out the 10-team conference starting next season. The expansion officially was approved in July after being discussed for years, but Wednesday offered the final steps in completing the process.
Updated 10 hours, 37 min ago