Classic 8 Conference

The Classic 8 Conference is a high school athletic conference with its membership base in southeastern Wisconsin. Founded in 1997, the conference and its member schools belong to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

The Classic 8 Conference was formed in 1997 by eight large high schools in the western suburbs of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The six public school members of the new conference were previously members of the Southeast Conference (Arrowhead, Kettle Moraine, Mukwonago, Waukesha North, Waukesha South and Waukesha West).^[1] Two private Catholic high schools that were formerly in the Metro Conference (Catholic Memorial in Waukesha and Pius XI in Milwaukee) joined the conference in conjunction with the coming merger between the WIAA and their previous parent organization, the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association.^[2] The original lineup remained intact for the first fifteen years of competition. In 2012, Pius XI, which was the smallest school in the conference, left the Classic 8 to join the Woodland Conference and compete with schools that were closer in size.^[3] They were replaced by Muskego, who joined the Classic 8 from the Southeast Conference after the new Indian Trail High School opened on the west side of Kenosha.^[4] The Classic 8 absorbed a ninth member in 2017 when Oconomowoc joined from the shuttered Wisconsin Little Ten Conference.^[5] In 2020, Catholic Memorial left the Classic 8 as a football member due to difference in competition level with the conference's public high schools, joining the football-only Parkland Conference for that sport.^[6][7] The Classic 8 will return to an eight-member roster for the 2025-26 school year when Waukesha North and Waukesha South both join the Woodland Conference and Oak Creek moves over from the Southeast Conference.^[8]

In February 2019, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association, the WIAA released a sweeping football-only realignment for Wisconsin to commence with the 2020 football season and run on a two-year cycle.^[9] Most of the Classic 8 remained intact for football, with the exception of Catholic Memorial shifting to the new football-only Parkland Conference to create an eight-member loop.^[10] This alignment stayed intact through the 2022-2023 cycle.^[11] In 2024, the Classic 8 experienced a net loss of one member, with Waukesha North and Waukesha South moving over to the Parkland Conference, with Pewaukee swapping affiliations to make a seven-member conference. The Classic 8 also entered into a scheduling alliance with the Greater Metro Conference where there would be one mandatory crossover game per school that would count towards the conference standings.^[12] For the 2026-2027 realignment cycle, the Classic 8 will be losing Pewaukee to the North Shore Conference and Waukesha West to the Greater Metro Conference. These two schools are currently slated to be replaced by Oak Creek of the Southeast Conference and Sussex Hamilton of the Greater Metro Conference.^[13]

• Classic 8 Conference (official website)