On Monday, December 21, 2015, the Lincoln school board voted 6-1 to leave the Central State Eight Conference and join the Apollo Conference. This move would not happen right away however; it would take effect for the 2017-18 school year. The agreement would include all activities in which the Railsplitters participate.

This is not be the first time that the Central State Eight Conference has lost a member to the Apollo Conference. Taylorville High School left the Central State Eight two years ago when the CS8 added both Decatur Eisenhower and MacArthur for all sports, giving the CS8(X) ten teams.

The Apollo Conference currently consists of Taylorville, Mt. Zion, Mattoon, Salem, Charleston, and Effingham. Mahomet-Seymour will also join the Apollo as a full member in 2017-18.

Bill Welt of the Lincoln Courier reported that Lincoln school board president, Jim Mammen, is quoted regarding the move, “My basis is what can we do to improve education…” He goes on to mention how they chose the Apollo Conference because they offer more co-curricular activities–such as art shows, music, and scholastic bowls–as well as academic opportunities, including conference-wide administrative meetings.

To some, Lincoln’s move to join the Apollo is not welcomed. People in Lincoln feel that the move to the Apollo does not make a whole lot of sense geographically. Lincoln’s travel to CS8 opponents is easily accessible by interstates. While travel to the Apollo schools, is mainly made via two-lane highways. Plus, the closest Apollo school to Lincoln is Mount Zion, which is approximately 45 miles away–while the farthest is Salem, which is approximately 130 miles away.

However, Lincoln’s enrollment currently hovers around 850-860 students, fitting better with the Apollo’s mean enrollment of 828. Mattoon currently has around 1000 students while Mount Zion has the smallest at around 710.

Others argue that this move was based on two sports: basketball and football. The Lincoln basketball team is somewhat of a powerhouse as of late. Being  the conference runner-up last year and earning a State championship berth in 2014 speaks of their success. Whereas, the football team has scuffled for a long time. The football team has had two coaches over the last two seasons and has not won a game since October 9, 2012, in a 19-6 victory over Stanford Olympia, a 2A school.
With Lincoln leaving the CS8, it will open a spot on the football schedule for the remaining CS8 teams. It remains to be seen if the CS8 will try to “court” another team to take Lincoln’s spot, or will teams be once again forced to find a non-conference football game starting in 2017.