South Seven Conference

South Seven Conference
Data
Established	1939
Members	6
Region	Southern Illinois

The South Seven Conference is a high school athletic conference represented by 6 schools in the southern Illinois.

History

The South Seven was formed in 1939 when Centralia and Mt. Vernon departed the North Egyptian Conference and joined Marion, Benton, Harrisburg, Herrin and West Frankfort (hence, the name of the conference since it only had 7 members). Carbondale joined the conference in 1963, but the name of the conference was not changed.

In 1993, the four smallest schools (Benton, Harrisburg, Herrin and West Frankfort) departed for the River-to-River Conference. Edwardsville and O'Fallon were added, with the former being a short-term replacement while a permanent member was sought. In 1995, Edwardsville left for the Southwestern Conference and was replaced by Cahokia. Over the next couple of years, O'Fallon would continue to grow to the point that it was much larger than the rest of the schools, and in 2000 the Panthers also left for the Southwestern Conference, replaced by Belleville Althoff. Throughout the changes, the "South Seven" moniker has remained even though the conference currently only has 6 members and has never had exactly 7 member schools in almost 50 years.

From time to time, there are rumors or questions about adding a 7th school; the most common suggestion being that Salem should join the conference (especially given its proximity to both Centralia and Mt. Vernon and the increasing distance it has to travel to fellow members of the Apollo Conference). However, Salem has repeatedly shown no interest in joining the South Seven.

Current members

School	Location (Population)	Enrollment (2012)	Nickname	Colors	Years Member	Previous Conference
Althoff Catholic High School	Belleville, Illinois (44,483)	416 686 w/1.65 multiplier	Crusaders	Navy   Gold	2001–Present	Independent
Cahokia High School	Cahokia, Illinois (15,241)	923	Comanches	Blue   White	1995–Present	????
Carbondale Community High School	Carbondale, Illinois (25,902)	1123	Terriers	Black   White	1963–Present	Southwest Egyptian Conference
Centralia High School	Centralia, Illinois (13,034)	979	Orphans	Red   White	1939–Present	North Egypt Conference
Marion High School	Marion, Illinois (17,193)	1109	Wildcats	Navy   Gold	1939–Present	????
Mount Vernon Township High School	Mount Vernon, Illinois (15,283)	1273	Rams/Lady Rams	Orange   Black	1939–Present	North Egypt Conference

Former members of the South Seven Conference

School	Nickname	Colors	Location	Years Member	Current Conference
Benton Consolidated High School	Rangers		Benton, IL	1939–1993	Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference
Edwardsville High School	Tigers		Edwardsville, IL	1993–1995	Southwestern Conference
Frankfort Community High School	Redbirds		West Frankfort, IL	1939–1993	Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference
Harrisburg High School	Bulldogs		Harrisburg, IL	1939–1993	Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference
Herrin High School	Tigers		Herrin, IL	1939–1993	Southern Illinois River-to-River Conference
O'Fallon High School	Panthers		O'Fallon, IL	1993–2000	Southwestern Conference