Black Diamond Conference

The Black Diamond Athletic Conference (BDC) is a high school athletic conference represented by 13 schools in the southern portion of Illinois. The conference currently offers championships for girls in basketball, cross country, golf, softball, track and field, and volleyball. In boys' sports, the BDC offers championships in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, and track and field. The Black Diamond Conference was created first as a football-only conference in 1949. The original schools were members of the Coal Belt Conference for other sports. The original conference schools were Carterville, Christopher, Elkville, Sesser, and Zeigler. In 1956, the Black Diamond added Boys' Basketball and the conference became full-time. Carbondale University High, a charter member of the Coal Belt Conference, joined the conference in 1963 and remained a member until its closure in 1968. In 1962, Elkville High School Consolidated with Vergennes HS to become Elverado High School and Zeigler High School consolidated with Royalton High School to become Zeigler-Royalton High School. In 1963, Sesser High School Consolidated with Valier High School to become Sesser-Valier High School.