Interstate Eight Conference

The Interstate Eight Conference (Interstate 8 or I–8) is an athletic conference of Illinois high schools that are members of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA). The conference currently has 8 member schools that compete in 12 different sports (boys' basketball, girls' basketball, girls' volleyball, boys' golf, girls' golf, football, boys' soccer, girls' soccer, wrestling, baseball, softball, and track and field).

The Interstate Eight began in 1979 and originally had eight schools—Coal City, Dwight, Marseilles, Plano, Reed Custer, Seneca, Wilmington, and Yorkville.Sandwich soon entered the I-8 when Marseilles dropped out.[1] In 1991, Yorkville was replaced by Lisle. In 2006 Herscher, Manteno, Peotone, and Westmont joined the conference.[1] Despite the conference growing from eight to 12 teams, the conference name remained Interstate 8. Dwight left the conference prior to the 2014–15 season while Streator joined the conference.[2][3]

Most of the member schools are in rural/smaller towns. Westmont and Lisle are suburbs of Chicago but enrollments are small in size. Westmont's population is divided between the varying schools in the area, including high schools in Darien, Woodridge, Hinsdale, Bolingbrook, Naperville, Lisle, Lombard, and Glen Ellyn. Lisle's enrollment is small, due to Lisle's relatively small size as a city, as well as being located East of Naperville, which has at least four high schools in the immediate vicinity, as well as the Glenbard schools and Wheaton-Warrenville South all being within a close proximity to the high school.

The Conference is divided into Large and Small divisions during football season and teams only play members of their division for the conference schedule. Baseball and softball are divided into North and South divisions. In all other sports, the conference is undivided.

In 2019-20, Plano and Sandwich will be adding to the Interstate 8 Conference with six former Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference, Kaneland, LaSalle-Peru, Morris, Ottawa, Rochelle, and Sycamore while Reed-Custer, Manteno, Peotone, Herscher, Wilmington, Seneca, Streator, Coal City, Westmont and Lisle left the conference.