Western Big 6 Conference


The Western Big 6 Conference is a high school conference in western central Illinois. The conference participates in athletics and activities in the Illinois High School Association. The conference comprises public high schools with large enrollments, as well a private school, in the Illinois Quad Cities, Galesburg, Illinois, and Quincy, Illinois.

Current membership



SchoolLocation
MascotColors2019-20 EnrollmentIHSA Classes 2/3/4IHSA Music ClassIHSA Football ClassIHSA Cheerleading Class
Alleman High SchoolRock Island, IL
Pioneers 435 / 709.50 A/1A/2AB4AMedium squad
Galesburg High SchoolGalesburg, IL
Silver Streaks 1,284AA/2A/3AAA6AMedium squad
Geneseo High SchoolGeneseo, IL
Maple Leafs 840.5AA/2A/3AA4AMedium squad
Moline High SchoolMoline, IL
Maroons 2,061AA/3A/4AAA7ALarge squad
Quincy High SchoolQuincy, IL
Blue Devils 1,788AA/3A/4AAA7ALarge Squad
Rock Island High SchoolRock Island, IL
Rocks 1,626AA/2A/3AA6AMedium squad
Sterling High SchoolSterling, IL
Golden Warriors 1,021AA/2A/3AA5AMedium squad
United Township High SchoolEast Moline, IL
Panthers 1,666AA/3A/4AAA6AMedium squad

''Sources:IHSA Conferences and IHSA Member Schools Directory''

History

The Western Big 6 Conference was established in 1969. The conference consisted of four schools from the Quad Cities area, one from Quincy, and one from Galesburg. The charter members were Moline High School, Rock Island High School, Rock Island Alleman High School, United Township High School, Quincy Senior High School, and Galesburg High School. Enrollments have ranged from over 2000 students, to Alleman, the league's only private school, with about 300.
Prior to the advent of the Western Big 6 Conference, the schools of the present day conference are known to have participated in several other conferences:
  • Quincy participated in Mississippi Valley Conference from 1922-1923 along with Macomb, Carthage, Fort Madison, Keokuk, and Pittsfield. Quincy also participated in the Tri State Conference from 1932-1935 along with Macomb, Canton, Fort Madison, Hannibal, Keokuk, Kirksville.
  • Canton, East Moline, Galesburg, Kewanee, Moline and Rock Island participated in football at various times in the early 1950s under the Northwest Conference banner. 1956 was the final season for the conference.
  • East Moline, Moline and Rock Island participated in the Quad Cities Metro Conference, along with Davenport Central and Davenport West, throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Rock Island Alleman joined in 1969. The 1977-1978 school year was the last for the competition in this conference.
  • Simultaneous with the Quad Cities Metro Conference, East Moline, Moline and Rock Island were members of the Mississippi Valley Conference. In addition to Davenport Central and Davenport West, Iowa schools from Cedar Rapids, Clinton and Dubuque were also part of this conference.
  • More of an association than a league or conference for football, the Illini Conference organization featured Bartonville Limestone, Canton, East Peoria, Galesburg, Kewanee, Pekin, Peoria Richwoods, and Peoria Woodruff at various times in the 1950s and 1960s. The league's members never played a complete round robin schedule in football and most played concurrently in other conferences. The final season for football in the Illini was 1971.
  • Starting in 2019-2020 season Geneseo High School and Sterling High School joined the conference in all activities.
SchoolYearsConsolidationsConference Came FromState Championships
Alleman High School1969–Presentn/aUnknown7
Galesburg High School1969–Presentn/aIllini2
Geneseo High School2019–PresentAtkinson High School NIB-12-
Moline High School1969–Present1952 Coal ValleyMississippi Valley9
Quincy High School1969–Presentn/aUnknown9
Rock Island High School1969–Presentn/aMississippi Valley5
Sterling High School2019–PresentN/ANIB-123
United Township High School1969–Present1920 SilvisMississippi Valley3

Competitive success

The present-day Western Big 6 Conference has won 38 state championships in IHSA-sponsored athletics and activities: