Central Wisconsin Conference

The Central Wisconsin Conference is a high school athletic conference comprising twenty-one high schools in three divisions in central Wisconsin. Founded in 1926, the conference and its member schools are affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

The Central Wisconsin Conference was formed in 1926 by six small high schools in two counties (Portage and Waupaca) in central Wisconsin: Amherst, Iola, Little Wolf (later renamed Manawa), Marion, Waupaca and Weyauwega.^[1] Tigerton and Wittenberg joined the conference in 1927 to create an eight-member circuit.^[2] The conference expanded to ten with the entrance of Birnamwood and Rosholt in 1929, and the conference split into Northern and Southern sections:^[3]

This alignment lasted for three years before going back to the original six member schools in 1932, when Birnamwood, Rosholt, Tigerton and Wittenberg joined with Mattoon High School to form the Wolf River Valley Conference.^[4] Football was first sponsored as an interscholastic sport by the Central Wisconsin Conference in 1945, and four schools (Manawa, Marion, Waupaca and Weyauwega) participated in the first season.^[5] Wittenberg joined as a football-only member from the Wolf River Valley Conference in 1947^[6] and continued until they gained full membership three years later.^[7]

In 1950, the Central Wisconsin Conference experienced its first changes to membership in nearly two decades, with the entrance of Mosinee and the return of Wittenberg from the Wolf River Valley Conference.^[7] Mosinee left the Marathon County League in 1949,^[8] shortly before the creation of the Marawood Conference with former members of the Wood County League. Their stay in the CWC would be brief, lasting only a single season. Mosinee's spot in the CWC would be taken in 1951 by Bonduel,^[9] who joined after the Mid-Valley Conference disbanded the year prior.^[10] The conference would continue with eight members until the early 1960s. Iola High School merged with Scandinavia High School in 1960, and the new Iola-Scandinavia High School took Iola's place in the conference.^[11] A ninth school would be added in 1962, as Wautoma joined after the 7-C Conference dissolved.^[12] Bonduel left to join the Northeastern Wisconsin Conference in 1964,^[13] and Wautoma did the same two years later to become a charter member of the short-lived Vacationland Conference.^[14] The recently opened high school in Little Chute joined the CWC in 1969,^[15] bringing the loop back up to eight members, but significant changes would be coming in the 1970s.

Major changes came to Central Wisconsin Conference membership in 1970. Four schools left the conference that year: Waupaca and Weyauwega became charter members of the East Central Conference, and Amherst and Iola-Scandinavia joined the Central State Conference. Wittenberg and Birnamwood also consolidated into Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School while retaining Wittenberg's CWC affiliation. Bonduel and Wautoma rejoined the CWC; Bonduel from the NEW Conference and Wautoma from the shuttered Vacationland Conference. A third new member (Shiocton) made their CWC debut, joining from the recently dissolved Little Nine Conference.^[16] The seven-member group would remain for three seasons before Weyauwega rejoined the CWC in 1973 after leaving the East Central Conference.^[17] They traded affiliations with Little Chute, who experienced a bump in enrollment after the closing of St. John High School and outgrew the CWC. Little Chute entered the Eastern Wisconsin Conference in 1974.^[18] Shiocton would leave to join the Central State Conference in 1977,^[19] and Wautoma would follow them out two years later for membership in the East Central Conference. Oconto and Oconto Falls moved over from the Bay Conference in 1979 to put the league at seven members, which it would remain at for the next five years.^[20]

In 1984, Oconto and Oconto Falls both left the Central Wisconsin Conference to join the Packerland Conference, leaving the CWC at five schools. That same year, the twelve-member Central State Conference, another conference of small schools with a similar geographic footprint, was absorbed by the CWC.^[21] To accommodate the expansion and facilitate scheduling, the conference divided into Large and Small School divisions that year:^[22]

Menominee Indian and Rosholt swapped divisions in 1986, and the alignment remained stable for fourteen years.^[23] In 2000, Pacelli High School in Stevens Point joined the conference's Large Schools division after the breakup of the Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference and the merger of the WIAA and WISAA became final, bringing membership to eighteen schools.^[24] Two years later, Marion and Shiocton switched divisions with Rosholt (making their return to the Large Schools division) and Tri-County before further changes came a few years later.^[25]

In 2008, the Central Wisconsin Conference moved Rosholt to the Small Schools division of the conference, and renamed their divisions the Central Wisconsin 8 (formerly the Large Schools division)^[26] and the Central Wisconsin 10 (Small Schools):^[27]

This arrangement lasted for nearly a decade before the next major realignment. In 2017, the CWC added three schools: Northland Lutheran in Kronenwetter, Pittsville and Wisconsin Valley Lutheran in Mosinee. Northland Lutheran and Pittsville joined from the Marawood Conference while Wisconsin Valley Lutheran previously competed as an independent.^[28] The CWC also dropped the numerical designator from their divisions and split into three seven-member divisions to accommodate the expansion:

White Lake joined the CWC North Division in 2021, moving over from the Northern Lakes Conference.^[29] The next year, Manawa shifted to the Eastern Division, rejoining old rivals in the Central Wisconsin Eight.^[30] The conference lost a member in 2023 when Wisconsin Valley Lutheran closed its doors,^[31] bringing the North Division down to six schools and the Central Wisconsin Conference to its current alignment.

 Northern Section  Southern Section  Large Schools  Small Schools  Central Wisconsin 8  Central Wisconsin 10  East Division  North Division South Division

 Large Schools  Small Schools  Central Wisconsin 8  Central Wisconsin 10

 Eastern Division  Western Division

• Central Wisconsin Conference (official site)