[1] The conference covered a large geographic area and sociological spectrum "from the Indiana border to Joliet, from impoverished Ford Heights to affluent Frankfort, from virtually all-black Hillcrest to almost all-white Lincoln-Way Central and from Joliet, enrollment 4,993, to 1,066- student Rich South"[1] In 2004, the athletic directors voted 30–3, the principals' board of control voted 6–2, and the district superintendents voted 16–3 to approve a new conference realignment which was to take effect in 2006.

[2] Shortly after the announcement, Lincoln-Way Community High School District board member Maureen Jagmin, whose district represented two of the schools leaving to form a new conference, was forced to resign after she left racist statements on a reporter's voice mail.

In April 2006, a federal civil rights lawsuit was filed against the schools which had left claiming that "(an) apartheid-like realignment used public funds to regress to separate but equal".

[16] The conference sponsors competition in Individual Events, Chess, Drama and Group Interpretation.

Since 2005, the following teams and activities have finished in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state tournaments: