The North Jersey Interscholastic Conference, or NJIC, is a high school athletic conference located in New Jersey. It is one of the so-called "super conferences" created by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) as a part of a realignment of high school sports leagues in North and Central New Jersey announced in 2009. The conference is composed of small-enrollment schools.[1]
A total of 36 public and private high schools are part of the NJIC. Most of the schools are located in Bergen County (27), with the rest in Passaic County (6) and Hudson County (3).[2] Butler High School, in Morris County, was added starting in the 2018–19 school year.[3]
Increasing conflict over competitive imbalance in New Jersey high school sports leagues led to the formation of a committee to study the issue in 2008. The group proposed to disband the 11 athletic conferences in the northern part of the state and create six larger "super conferences".[4]
After a lengthy series of meetings and revisions, final implementation of the plan took place with the start of the 2010–11 school year. In the northeast corner of New Jersey, two super conferences emerged: the Big North Conference for larger schools and the NJIC for smaller schools.[5]
All NJIC schools were previously associated with four previous conferences: The Bergen County Scholastic League National / Olympic, the Bergen County Scholastic League / American, the Bergen-Passaic Scholastic League, and the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League. All of the BCSL National/Olympic and B-PSL members joined the NJIC. Rutherford HS was the only BCSL American Division School to enter the NJIC. Pascack Hills was the only NBIAL school to enter the NJIC.[6] Paterson Catholic High School(a member of the B-PSL) closed in the spring of 2010 and therefore never joined the NJIC.[7]
Pascack Hills High School was a member of the BCSL National/Olympic for football only; it was part of the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League for all other sports and was the only NBIAL school to join the NJIC. The school petitioned the NJIC to join the Big North for the 2011-12school year, was granted permission by the NJIC, and this conference switch was then approved by the Big North and the NJSIAA.
Three other schools—Hawthorne Christian, Mary Help of Christians and Saddle River Day—had been independent prior to the start of the realignment process. Hawthorne Christian and Saddle River Day were placed in the BCSL National/Olympic and Mary Help of Christians Academy was placed in the B-PSL as a transitional step before the NJIC began play.[8]
The North Jersey Interscholastic Conference is a registered New Jersey Non-Profit Corporation.
| School | Location | Team Name |
| Becton Regional High School | East Rutherford | Wildcats |
| Bergen Arts and Science Charter School | Garfield, New Jersey | Yellowjackets |
| Bogota High School | Bogota | Buccaneers |
| Cresskill High School | Cresskill | Cougars |
| Elmwood Park Memorial High School | Elmwood Park | Crusaders |
| Emerson High School | Emerson | Cavaliers |
| Garfield High School | Garfield | Boilermakers |
| Glen Rock High School | Glen Rock | Panthers |
| Hasbrouck Heights High School | Hasbrouck Heights | Aviators |
| Leonia High School | Leonia | Lions |
| Lodi High School | Lodi | Rams |
| Lyndhurst High School | Lyndhurst | Golden Bears |
| Midland Park High School | Midland Park | Panthers |
| New Milford High School | New Milford | Knights |
| North Arlington High School | North Arlington | Vikings |
| Palisades Park High School | Palisades Park | Tigers |
| Park Ridge High School | Park Ridge | Owls |
| Ridgefield Memorial High School | Ridgefield | Royals |
| Rutherford High School | Rutherford | Bulldogs |
| Saddle Brook High School | Saddle Brook | Falcons |
| Waldwick High School | Waldwick | Warriors |
| Wallington High School | Wallington | Panthers |
| Wood-Ridge High School | Wood-Ridge | Blue Devils |
| School | Location | Team Name |
| Dwight-Englewood School | Englewood | Bulldogs |
| Immaculate Conception High School | Lodi | Blue Wolves |
| Saddle River Day School | Saddle River | Rebels |
| St. Mary High School | Rutherford | Gaels |
| School | Location | Team Name |
| Harrison High School | Harrison | Blue Tide |
| Secaucus High School | Secaucus | Patriots |
| Weehawken High School | Weehawken | Indians |
| School | Location | Team Name |
| Butler High School | Butler | Bulldogs |
| School | Location | Team Name |
| Hawthorne High School | Hawthorne | Bears |
| Manchester Regional High School | Haledon | Falcons |
| Pompton Lakes High School | Pompton Lakes | Cardinals |
| School | Location | Team Name |
| Eastern Christian High School | North Haledon | Eagles |
| Hawthorne Christian Academy | Hawthorne | Defenders |
| Mary Help of Christians Academy | North Haledon | Blue Jays |
The NJIC is divided into four divisions, largely along geographic and enrollment lines. Divisional alignments are reviewed every 2-year scheduling cycle by the conference. Because not all conference members participate in bowling, cross-country, football, golf, tennis and wrestling, different divisional alignments exist for those sports. Football and wrestling are sports specific and do not fall into the traditional divisional alignments.[9]