(12-18-24) Yesterday Rockford Christian announced that it will be moving to the I8FA (8-man football) in 2025. The Royal Lions canceled their 2024 season due to low numbers.

Isaiah Johnson, Athletic Director

“We are excited for the opportunity to provide a safe, competitive football environment for our student-athletes, and we look forward to publishing the varsity schedule for those games later this year.”

Du-Pec (coop) will fill the empty spot, left by Rockford Christian’s departure, in the Big Northern Conference (BNC) for football starting in 2026 to keep the conference at ten teams.

Beginning the 2026-2027 school year, Du-Pec will also join the BNC for boys soccer and girls soccer. With the move to the BNC Du-Pec leaves the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference (NUIC) with one less football member.

Rockford Christian press release :

Rockford Christian remains committed to providing an excellent experience for student-athletes. In the fall of 2024, the athletic department made the difficult decision to forgo the 11-man football season when it became apparent declining numbers would potentially compromise the health and safety of our players. The local 8-man division filled as many games as possible through bye weeks or game cancellations and were able to schedule five games against various 8-man, JV teams to give our students a partial football experience.

To be more proactive for next fall, conversations were fostered with the Big Northern Conference as well as the IHSA 8-Man Association to seek a solution in the best interest of Royal Lion players and the football program. After meeting with the Big Northern Conference to discuss Rockford Christian’s required participation guidelines for 11-man and ways they intend to redevelop the program for the future, the conference elected to fill the opening we created in football by inviting Du-Pec (Durand/Pecatonica) into the conference. Despite the addition of Du-Pec, Rockford Christian remains a full member of the Big Northern Conference and will continue to compete in all sports and activities in which they currently participate other than football.