There are twelve member NBIAL schools, which are split up into two divisions. Division 1 is made up of all Group III schools, while Division 2 is made up of Group II schools. Group is a classification of the school size as determined by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. The bigger the Group, the more students that go to that school. The league had originally eight members, but added Westwood and Wayne Hills in the mid-1970s. It expanded further, adding Bergenfield and Fair Lawn in the early 1990s, and split into two divisions for most sports. Mahwah replaced Westwood when the latter left the league, and Ramsey replaced longtime league member River Dell. After the original NJSIAA realignment in 2009, Paramus Catholic High School was added to the NBIL while Wayne Hills and Fair Lawn left to join the North Jersey Tri-County Conference. The NBIL ceased to exist following the 2009-10 seasons, and its remaining member institutions joined with most of the NJTCC schools to form the Big North Conference. Pascack Hills, who participated in the NBIL in every sport except for football, was the only school that did not and followed its football conferencemates to the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference; they eventually reconsidered and moved to the Big North in 2012.
Division 1
Division 2
League sports
The North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League allows member schools to compete with each other in many sports spread out among three seasons. Although the league does not have a cheerleading division, many member schools have their own cheerleading teams. Other sports, such as fencing, are offered by some schools, but like cheerleading, are not included as part of the NBIL. The following is a list of the sports that the NBIL offers. Some sports do not have a team from every school, while other sports have teams from all twelve schools. Each bullet is technically an individual team, but in sports marked with an asterisk, these two teams usually practice together and have almost every if not all of their meets, games, matches, competitions, and other events at the same time.
The NBIL encourages parents and spectators to support good sportsmanship and to be positive role models to student athletes. Smoking is not allowed at NBIL events. Spectators are asked to "enthusiastically encourage" their own teams, to refrain from booing and using negative remarks, and to applaud "outstanding play" by any team. State and NBIL regulations prohibit noisemakers, signs, and banners at competitions.
