St. Bede statement on leaving the Three Rivers Conference

Editor’s note: St. Bede Academy released this statement to the Bureau County Republican in regards to it decision to leave the Three Rivers Conference at the end of the 2022-23 school year and join the new Chicago Prairie Football League and the Tri-County Conference for all other sports.

Last month, St. Bede Academy notified the Three-Rivers Athletic Conference (TRAC) member schools of our intention to depart the conference upon completion of the 2022/23 school year.

While we greatly respect and appreciate the TRAC and its member schools, St. Bede Academy must always make decisions which we believe to be in the best interests of our students and our school community. Within this spirit we feel the following changes will accomplish such goals.

Beginning with the 2023/24 school year, St. Bede Academy will be joining seven other schools to form the Chicago Prairie Football Conference. In conjunction with this move, we will be rejoining the Tri-County Conference for all other sports/activities. These moves provide St. Bede Academy with a nice mix of schools, both local and within the suburbs. We like the “fit” from a competitive perspective and it also allows us the opportunity to connect with our alumni residing in those areas. Additionally, we feel that these moves also provide us the opportunity to re-engage in “rivalry” type games with several member schools of our new home.

While any change may and will pose some challenges, we are confident in our ability to provide the very best possible participation experiences for our school community and pledge our best efforts in formulating quality schedules for all of our activities and their various levels of play. Not only to advance and elevate our programs but to continue to put our students and coaches into environments in which they can be successful, both on and off the field/court/mat of play..

We sincerely thank all of the TRAC member schools for their leadership in providing for the needs of their students, their families, and their communities. We wish them all the very best in their future endeavors.

Kevin Hieronymus’ story on St. Bede departure from the Three Rivers