The Junior Varsity was an American alternative rock band from Springfield, Illinois.

Guitarist Andy Wildrick put the original line-up of The Junior Varsity together in 2002. After a few line-up changes, they recorded an EP and began playing around central Illinois. Following the release of full length album on British Records, the band played over 200 shows. “Many people say all you have to do to make it is tour, tour, tour, but we found out this isn’t the case, building a fan base comes slowly,” explained Wildrick, “nevertheless, we got good reviews for the album, and decided to drop out of college and pursue the band full time.” Moving into a dilapidated house in Bloomington, they wrote the album and rehearsed constantly. The band took jobs at fast food joints and in Wildrick’s case, doing experimental drug trials to make ends meet; they spent every spare minute rehearsing or touring in preparation for their next move. Victory Records took notice of their frequent, well-received shows in Chicago, and signed the band to a deal, the same day as their close friends from the local scene, June.

On December 28th, 2007, The Junior Varsity had their official farewell show at Club Chrome in Springfield, IL with opening bands The Graduate, WiSE & BURN, and Greenwood. The full lineup performed that evening for the first time since Summerfest.