SPARTA — By a unanimous vote Thursday night, the Sparta school board approved the school leaving the Southern Illinois River to River–Mississippi to accept an invitation to join the Cahokia Conference.
Sparta becomes the fourth school to formally accept an invitation to join the Cahokia. Roxana, Okawville, and East Alton/Wood River previously approved joining. A fifth school, Chester, will recommend to its board to approve as well. That vote will be next Thursday (6/18).
The new look, expanded Cahokia Conference will feature 18 teams, divided into three divisions–large, medium, and small. Sparta will slot into the medium division along with Carlyle, Okawville, Red Bud, Wesclin, and potentially Chester. The Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets would be able to renew a longtime conference and Randolph County rivalry that has been dormant since Chester joined the Black Diamond in 2010.
Sparta has been a member of the SIRR Mississippi since the conference was formed in 1992. Sparta is the smallest school in the Mississippi with an enrollment of 342 and has struggled to compete in many sports. School officials believe the new conference home will be a better fit in terms of school size, competition, and location.
The move will take place starting with the 2021-22 school year.
Sparta High School principal Scott Beckley joined Darren Kinnard to talk about the move.