In a vote of conference schools, Mt. Carmel High School will remain a member of the Big 8 Athletic Conference only through May of the 2020 school year. With recent changes in the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) football state tournament series, the Golden Aces will not be able to field a full Big 8 Conference football schedule, and, fulfill the requirements of the IHSA beginning with the Fall season of 2021.
Conference member schools agreed that it was in the best interest of the student-athletes from all schools to honor existing contracts in all sports through the next school year. This will allow approximately 18 months for new contracts to be established and all other contest preparations to be finalized.
Mt. Carmel, the ninth school to be a part of the conference since its inception in 1980, joined the Big 8 Conference at the beginning of the 2003 - 2004 school year. During that time the Illinois school has won 15 conference titles in Football (6); Girls Basketball (4); Girls Golf (2) and Boys Golf (3).
The football schedule for the remaining six schools (Boonville, Jasper, Mt. Vernon, Princeton, Vincennes and Washington) in the conference is still being formulated, and will be announced at a later date.