Black Diamond Conference
Encyclopedia
The Black Diamond Athletic Conference (BDC) is a high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 athletic conference
Athletic conference
An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams, playing competitively against each other at the professional, collegiate, or high school level. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller and smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels...

 represented by 13 schools in the southern portion 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,...

. The conference currently offers championships for girls in Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, Cross Country, Golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, Softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

, Track & Field, and Volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

. In boy's sports, the BDC offers championships in Baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, Basketball, Cross Country, Football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, Golf, and Track & Field.

Early History 1949-1968

The Black Diamond Conference was created first as a football-only conference in 1949. The original schools were members of the Coal Belt Conference
Coal Belt Conference
The Coal Belt Conference was an Illinois high school athletic conference in existence from 1946-1956. The conference dissolved when 5 of its 7 members joined the Black Diamond Conference full time.-Members:...

 for other sports.

The original conference schools were Carterville, Christopher, Elkville, Sesser, and Zeigler.

In 1956, the Black Diamond added Boys Basketball and the conference became full-time.

Carbondale University High, a charter member of the Coal Belt Conference, joined the conference in 1963 and remained a member until 1968, when the school closed.

In 1962, Elkville High School Consolidated with Vergennes HS to become Elverado High School and Zeigler High School consolidated with Royalton High School to become Zeigler-Royalton High School. (Zeigler-Royalton was known as West Franklin High School when the current campus was built in the late 60's. After confusion with West Frankfort, the school went back to being called Zeigler-Royalton.)

In 1963, Sesser High School Consolidated with Valier High School to become Sesser-Valier High School.

1968-2003

Trico (Campbell Hill) joined the Black Diamond in 1968 -69 season and won three consecutive BDC Basketball Titles. They left the BDC after the 1970-71 season after failing to start a football program.

Carterville and Christopher left the BDC to join the Southern Illini Conference after the 1973 season for and returned in 1975. There was no football race in 1974 and no basketball races in 1974-75 and 1975-76.

Johnston City joined the conference in 1975.

McLeansboro (Now Hamilton Co.) joined for football only in 1990 when Christopher and Zeigler-Royalton combined their football programs.

Cairo and Eldorado joined in 1992 for football only.

Eldorado would later join for Girls Basketball and both Boys and Girls Track & Field in 1992 and Girls Volleyball in 1995

McLeansboro joined the BDC for Baseball and Boys and Girls Track & Field in 1992 and Girls Volleyball in 1995.

2003 Expansion

The 2003-2004 school year saw the largest single expansion in conference history. Carmi-White County and Fairfield joined from the defunct North Egypt Conference
North Egypt Conference
The North Egypt Conference was an Illinois high school athletic conference in existence from 1929 to 2003-Members:-State Titles:...

 and former member Trico rejoined the conference. Cairo, Eldorado, and Hamilton County became full time members by joining the conference for all sports.

The conference was divided into two divisions, East and West. The West Division consisted of the original five members Carterville, Christopher, Elverado, Sesser-Valier, and Zeigler-Royalton and new member Trico. The East consisted of five new members Cairo, Carmi-White County, Eldorado, Fairfield, and Hamilton County and current member Johnston City.

The conference also began to crown a champion from each division in Basketball and Volleyball. All other sports have one champion. The Diamond Duels in Basketball puts the 6 teams in each division against each other for Bragging Rights. The Duels have no outcome on Conference Champions.

Recent Years 2004-Present

Cairo High School left the conference at the end of the 2007-2008 school year and Vienna High School joined the conference in the 2008-2009 school year.

Carterville left the BDC at the conclusion of the 2009-2010 school year to the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference
Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference
The Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference is a high school athletic conference represented by 12 schools in southern Illinois. The conference is divided into two divisions. While technically in the same conference each division crowns its own champion, and each winner is regarded as the...

. Chester High School took their place in the BDC.

With Carterville leaving the conference, the Black Diamond has dropped Wrestling as a Conference sport as only 3 schools now have wrestling programs.

Goreville High School joined the BDC for the 2011-2012 school year as a member of the BDC West Division.

Current Members

School Location
(Population)
Nickname(s) Colors Years Member Enrollment
(2011/12)
Additional Information
Eastern Division
Carmi-White County High School
Carmi-White County High School
Carmi-White County High School is a public high school in Carmi, Illinois, United States.-Notable Alumni:* Josh Elder - comic book creator...

Carmi, Illinois
Carmi, Illinois
Carmi is a city in White County, Illinois, along the Little Wabash River. The population was 5,240 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of White County.-Demographics:...


(5,240)
Bulldogs
Lady Bulldogs
Maroon
White
2003–Present 385
Eldorado High School Eldorado, Illinois
Eldorado, Illinois
Eldorado is a city in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,122 at the 2010 census, with a 1925 peak of 8,000. Although the city's name is spelled as if it were Spanish, the name was originally "Elder-Reado" -- a combination of the last names of the town's two founders,...


(4,122)
Eagles Purple
Gold
1992-2003 (affiliate)
2003–Present
340
Fairfield Community High School Fairfield, Illinois
Fairfield, Illinois
Fairfield is the county seat of Wayne County, Illinois, United States, the site of Frontier Community College, , , and Airtex; an auto parts manufacturing facility...


(5,154)
Mules
Lady Mules
Red
Black
2003–Present 422
Hamilton County Senior High School McLeansboro, Illinois
McLeansboro, Illinois
McLeansboro is a city in Hamilton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,883 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Hamilton County. Located in Southern Illinois, the town was named for Dr. William B. McLean, who donated the land for its founding...


(2,883)
Foxes
Lady Foxes
Kelly Green
White
1990-2003 (affiliate)
2003–Present
374 Named McLeansboro High School prior to opening of current campus in 2001.
Johnston City High School Johnston City, Illinois
Johnston City, Illinois
Johnston City is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,557 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Johnston City is located at ....


(3,543)
Indians
Lady Indians
Red
Black
1975–Present 353
Vienna High School Vienna, Illinois
Vienna, Illinois
Vienna is a city in Johnson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,434 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Johnson County, and the site of two well-known state penitentiaries. Heron Pond - Little Black Slough Nature Preserve, a National Natural Landmark, is nearby. The...


(1,434)
Eagles
Lady Eagles
Royal Blue
Orange
2008–Present 353
Western Division
Chester High School
Chester High School (Chester, Illinois)
Chester High School is a public high school in Chester, Illinois, United States.- References :Chester High School Summit Yearbook 2009www.chester139.com/chs- Dance and Drill :...

Chester, Illinois
Chester, Illinois
Chester is a city located on the bluffs of the Mississippi River Valley in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. The population was 8,400 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Randolph County and is located south of St. Louis, Missouri.-History:...


(8,400)
Yellow Jackets
Lady Yellow Jackets
Orange
Black
2010–Present 337
Christopher High School Christopher, Illinois
Christopher, Illinois
Christopher is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,382 at the 2010 census. It was the site of an early-morning railroad freight train derailment on Monday, December 4, 2006, involving two locomotives and 21 cars of an 83-car Union Pacific train; an unknown...


(2,382)
Bearcats
Lady Cats
Blue
Orange
1949-1973
1975–Present
253
Elverado High School Elkville, Illinois
Elkville, Illinois
Elkville is a village in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,001 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Elkville is located at ....


(1,001)
Falcons
Lady Falcons
Blue
Gold
1962–Present 161 Name stands for Elkville, Vergennes, and Dowell.
Goreville High School Goreville, Illinois
Goreville, Illinois
Goreville is a village in Johnson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 938 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Goreville is located at ....


(938)
Blackcats Gold
Black
2011-Present 184
Sesser-Valier High School Sesser, Illinois
Sesser, Illinois
Sesser is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,128 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Sesser is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....


(2,128)
Red Devils Maroon
White
1963–Present 207 Co-ops with Waltonville in Baseball and Golf, but competes outside of conference play.
Trico High School Campbell Hill, Illinois
Campbell Hill, Illinois
Campbell Hill is a village in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 333 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, Campbell Hill has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:...


(333)
Pioneers
Lady Pioneers
Blue
Gold
1968-1971
2003–Present
283
Zeigler-Royalton High School Zeigler, Illinois
Zeigler, Illinois
Zeigler is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1801 at the 2010 census. The current mayor is Dennis Mitchell.-Geography:Zeigler is located at ....


(1,801)
Tornadoes
Lady Tornadoes
Navy Blue
White
1962–Present 191

Cooperative Programs

Team Name Schools Sports Host Nickname(s) Colors Enrollment
(2011/12)
Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton Christopher
Zeigler-Royalton
Football, Track & Field Christopher Bearcats
Lady Cats
Blue
Orange
528
Eldorado-Galatia Eldorado
Galatia
Galatia, Illinois
Galatia is a village in Saline County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 933.-Geography:Galatia is located at ....

Football, Cross Country, Golf, Track & Field Eldorado Eagles Purple
Gold
449
Elverado-Trico Elverado
Trico
Football Elverado Falcons Blue
Gold
444
Fairfield-Cisne Cisne
Cisne, Illinois
Cisne is a village in Wayne County, Illinois, United States. The population was 673 at the 2000 census. Cisne was named in 1870 in honor of Levi Cisne on the suggestion of Charles A. Beecher, who was influential in building the railroad and the station around which the village of Cisne...


Fairfield
Track & Field Fairfield Mules
Lady Mules
Red
Black
535
Sesser-Valier-Waltonville Sesser-Valier
Waltonville
Waltonville, Illinois
Waltonville is a village in Jefferson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 422 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Waltonville is located at ....

Girl's Basketball, Track & Field, Volleyball Sesser-Valier Red Devils Maroon
White
313
Sesser-Valier-Waltonville-Woodlawn Sesser-Valier
Waltonville
Woodlawn
Woodlawn, Jefferson County, Illinois
Woodlawn is a village in Jefferson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 698 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Mount Vernon Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

Football Sesser-Valier Red Devils Maroon
White
496
Vienna-Goreville Goreville
Vienna
Football Vienna Eagles Royal Blue
Orange
537
Zeigler-Royalton-Christopher Christopher
Zeigler-Royalton
Baseball, Girl's Basketball, Softball Zeigler-Royalton Tornadoes Navy Blue
White
528

Former Members

School Location Nickname(s) Colors Years Member Additional Information
Cairo High School Cairo, Illinois
Cairo, Illinois
Cairo is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is the county seat of Alexander County. Cairo is located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers. The rivers converge at Fort Defiance State Park, an American Civil War fort that was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant...

Pilots
Co-Pilots
Blue
White
1992-2003 (affiliate)
2003-2008
Carbondale University High School Carbondale, Illinois
Carbondale, Illinois
Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, in the state of Illinois, within the Southern Illinois region. It is located at the junction of Illinois Route 13 and U.S. Route 51, southeast of St. Louis, Missouri, on the northern edge of the Shawnee National Forest...

Lynxes Maroon
Gray
1963–1968 Closed in 1968.
Carterville High School
Carterville High School
Carterville High School is a public high school in Carterville, Illinois, United States.- History :Carterville High School is part of the Carterville Community Unit #5 School District in Illinois. It has an enrollment of approximately 550 students, but is continuing to grow every year...

Carterville, Illinois
Carterville, Illinois
Carterville is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, in the United States, and is geographically situated between Carbondale, Illinois and Marion, Illinois. The city is located next to Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge's of land and water contain a wide diversity of flora and...

Lions
Lady Lions
Navy Blue
Orange
1949-1973
1975-2010
Current member of the Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference
Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference
The Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference is a high school athletic conference represented by 12 schools in southern Illinois. The conference is divided into two divisions. While technically in the same conference each division crowns its own champion, and each winner is regarded as the...

.
Elkville High School Elkville, Illinois
Elkville, Illinois
Elkville is a village in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,001 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Elkville is located at ....

Bluebirds Blue
White
1949-1962 Consolidated with Vergennes
Vergennes, Illinois
Vergennes is a village in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 491 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Vergennes is located at ....

 and Dowell
Dowell, Illinois
Dowell is a village in Jackson County, Illinois, United States. The population was 441 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dowell is located at ....

 to form Elverado.
Sesser High School Sesser, Illinois
Sesser, Illinois
Sesser is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,128 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Sesser is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....

Red Devils Maroon
White
1949-1963 Consolidated with Valier
Valier, Illinois
Valier is a village in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 662 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Valier is located at ....

 to form Sesser-Valier.
Zeigler High School Zeigler, Illinois
Zeigler, Illinois
Zeigler is a city in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1801 at the 2010 census. The current mayor is Dennis Mitchell.-Geography:Zeigler is located at ....

Purple Tornadoes Purple
White
1949-1962 Consolidated with Royalton
Royalton, Illinois
Royalton is a village in Franklin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,130 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Royalton is located at ....

to form Ziegler-Royalton.

Cross Country

Cross Country has been a BDC sport since the 2003 expansion. The conference champion is determined by the winner of the conference tournament.

Football

The BDC was founded as a football-only conference and a title has been awarded in all but two years, 1974 and 75, since.
Currently there are 10 BDC football programs. 7 schools compete individually and 3 pairs, Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton, Elverado-Trico, and Vienna-Goreville, compete as co-op programs.
The BDC currently has a 9-game biennial rotating schedule with all programs playing each other once. Week 5, known as rivals week, however, does not rotate and has the same match-ups each year. These match-ups are as follows.
Rivals Week
Carmi-White County Fairfield
Chester Johnston City
Christopher-Zeigler-Royalton Sesser-Valier
Eldorado Hamilton County
Elverado-Trico Vienna-Goreville


BDC schools have also had moderate success at the state level winning two state titles, Zeigler-Royalton in 1982 and Carterville in 1996.

Golf

Golf was added after the 2003 expansion. The title is awarded to the winner of the conference tournament at season's end.

Volleyball

The BDC began awarding a volleyball championship during the 1994 season. Since 2003 each division has had separate champion determined by regular season conference records. Between 2003 and 2006 each champion would play each other in a Diamond Dual however this had no effect on the conference championship.

Wrestling

Wrestling began as conference sport after the 2003 expansion and remained until after the 2009/10 season. Only 4 BDC schools, Carmi-White County, Carterville, Fairfield, and Johnston City, competed for the title with Carmi-White County winning all 7. 6 of the 7 conference titles were awarded to the winner of the conference tournament held on the final weekend of the regular season. the 2010 title was awarded based on conference head to head records due to the tournament being canceled due to weather. Wrestling was removed as a conference sport after Carterville left the conference in 2010.

Champions

Season
Sport
2010/11 Champion(s)
2011/12 Champion(s)
Most Championships
Boy's Sports
Fall
Cross Country Chester (1) Chester (2) Eldorado (4)
Football Johnston City (10) Carmi-White County (3) Carterville (19)
Golf Hamilton County (2) Hamilton County (3) Carterville (3)
Hamilton County (3)
Winter
Basketball East Fairfield (2) Sesser-Valier (16)
West Trico (7)
Spring
Baseball Trico (2) Carterville (12)
Track & Field Carmi-White County (1) Carterville (27)
Girl's Sports
Fall
Cross Country Chester (1) Chester (2) Hamilton County (5)
Golf Carmi-White County (2) Eldorado (2) Carterville (3)
Volleyball East Fairfield (7)
Hamilton County (5)
Hamilton County (6) Fairfield (7)
West Christopher (1) Trico (4)
Winter
Basketball East Vienna (2) Sesser-Valier (13)
West Zeigler-Royalton-Christopher (Co-op) (3)
Spring
Softball Carmi-White County (3)
Johnston City (22)
Vienna (1)
Johnston City (22)
Track & Field Chester (1) Carterville (25)

Former Championships

Season
Sport
Years Held
Most Recent Champion
Most Championships
Winter
Wrestling 2003/04-2009/10 Carmi-White County Carmi-White County (7)

Championships by School

School Baseball Basketball Cross Country Football Golf Softball Track & Field Volleyball Wrestling Totals
Boy's Girl's Boy's Girl's Boy's Girl's Boy's Girl's Boy's Girl's Overall
Carmi-White County 3 2 3 0 2 3 2 2 3 1 3 0 7* 18 13 31
Chester 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 5
Christopher 0 5 1 13 1 20 0 1 38 3 41
Eldorado 1 4 5 4 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 10 8 18
Elverado 3 5 4 6 5 0 0 0 14 9 23
Fairfield 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 7 0* 4 9 13
Goreville 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hamilton County 1 1 3 3 5 0 3 0 0 0 2 6 8 16 24
Johnston City 2 8 2 10 0 0 22 0 0 0 0* 20 24 44
Sesser-Valier 0* 16 13 8 0* 1 0 6 25 19 44
Trico 2 7 1 0 2 0 1 4 10 7 17
Vienna 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 3
Zeigler-Royalton 0 11 3 7 0 0 7 1 2 0 19 12 31
Intraconference Cooperatives
Christopher-Z-R 4 3 2 0 3 1 9 4 13
Elverado-Trico 0 0 0
Vienna-Goreville 0 0 0
Former Members
Cairo 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
Carbondale University 2 2 0 4 0 4
Carterville 12 11 8 0 0 19 3 3 4 27 25 4 0 72 44 116
  • Championships won by Elkville, Sesser, and Ziegler are combined with Elverado, Sesser-Valier, and Zeigler-Royalton, respectively.
  • *Does not currently compete in conference sanctioned play.
  • Has never competed in conference sanctioned play.
  • Currently co-ops with another BDC school in conference sanctioned play.

State Titles

School Sport Titles Years Total
Carmi-White County Boy's Golf 5 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979 5
Eldorado Boy's Track and Field 1 1925 1
Hamilton County Boy's Basketball 1 1984 1
Johnston City Boy's Basketball 1 1929 1
Zeigler-Royalton Football 1 1982 1
Former Members
Cairo Boy's Track and Field 5 1983, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1992 5
Carterville Football 1 1996
2
Softball 1 2008

External links

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