On November 2, there is a meeting regarding the Riverside Brookfield High School sports teams’ new conference. Due to the exit of many schools from the Suburban Metro Conference (MSC), the conference currently only has four teams. However, RB’s athletics plan to join the Upstate Eight Conference next year, a conference which already features ten teams with four teams joining next year: West Aurora, Elmwood Park, Ridgewood, and RB.
This monthly meeting consists of the athletic directors from the current Upstate Eight schools and is the first time that athletic directors from the new schools will participate. The two assistant principals of athletics, Tom Domin and Dan Jones, will be the RB representatives at the meeting. The head coach of the varsity football team, Sam Styler, is excited for the new conferences, not just for football, but for all sports.
“I’ve heard that there have been rumblings in terms of where all athletics are gonna be able to go and find a new home,” Styler said.
Next year, some teams will be able to participate in cemented conferences for the first time in the programs’ history. Dan Herbeck, the coach of the varsity badminton team, is looking forward to having a more set schedule due to joining the Upstate Eight.
“We don’t have a conference for badminton. Now, next season we’ll actually have teams to play in our conference. We will have something to look forward to,” Herbeck said.
As of now, RB’s teams are spread across multiple conferences, such as the Southland Conference for the football team. The football team is having to face tough opponents, even after switching conferences, so Styler is still focused on getting the six wins required for regional competition.
“We definitely still have some competition. Next week we’re gonna have a very strong opponent in Primoris,” Styler said.
Even with the sporting programs spread throughout mini conferences, the structure of statewide competitions shall resume as normal for the programs this year. Travel and most other proceedings of the programs will also resume as normal.
“[I’m] not sure about the divisions yet. However, sectionals will still take place as scheduled,” Herbeck said.
Some teams, such as badminton, are currently participating in miniature conferences for the new season. There is always the possibility that with conference changes new rivalries can be formed and past rivalries can be built upon.
“We’ve always had a really good rivalry with Glenbard South, and I’m looking forward to getting back to playing them in the regular season,” Herbeck said.
Although RB teams are only in their current conferences for this year, they want their memory to persist after the season.
“We’re here to make a name for ourselves. We want to make sure they remember when RB was able to join for a year and we hopefully leave our legacy in that conference,” Styler said.
