The NJTCC consisted of 45 public and non-public schools in Bergen, Passaic and Hudson counties, and existed for the 2009–2010 academic year.
As high school athletics in New Jersey grew in the 1990s and 2000s, problems began to develop in the organization of leagues and conferences.
The strongest tensions were found in the Northern New Jersey Interscholastic League, where public schools, who were frustrated by the competitive imbalance with non-public schools, especially Don Bosco Preparatory (Ramsey) and Bergen Catholic (Oradell) in football or Immaculate Heart Academy (Township of Washington) in girls' athletics, threatened to secede from the league.
[2] While the original proposal[3] was not accepted as presented, it was adjusted and schools realigned yet again, to create the current system in place in New Jersey athletics.
The North Jersey Tri-County Conference served as a mega conference during the one-year transition period (2009-2010) before statewide realignment, and in many ways was simply a clearinghouse for logistical and competitive balance while the NJSIAA and its member schools continued to debate the realignment process.