Gateway-West Central Conference

The Gateway-West Central Conference is an affiliated pair of former high school athletic conferences with their membership concentrated in west central Wisconsin. Competing from 1941 to 1952, all member schools belonged to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

30km
19miles
Location of Gateway Conference Members
30km
19miles
Location of West Central Conference Members

The Gateway-West Central Conference was founded in 1941, resulting from a split of the nine-member South Central Conference. Logan High School in La Crosse was not only the largest high school in the conference, it was the most dominant with perennial contenders in multiple sports.[1] Coupled with being a geographic outlier in west central Wisconsin, the smaller schools to the east (Baraboo, Portage, Reedsburg, Richland Center and Wisconsin Dells) voted to remove Logan from the conference in 1941.[2] The three closest schools geographically to Logan (Sparta, Tomah and Viroqua) voted with Logan to keep them in the conference, but were outnumbered by a 5-4 margin and formed the Gateway Conference.[3] Another conference under the same organizational structure was formed by three members of the Gateway (Sparta, Tomah and Viroqua), along with Mauston of the Juneau County League and Westby of the Monroe-Vernon Conference which was called the West Central Conference.[4]

The two conferences were affiliated but competed for two different championships, and all games played between the three dual members counted in the standings for both leagues. This arrangement lasted until 1947, when the Gateway Conference was dissolved and three of its members (Logan, Sparta and Tomah) joined with Chippewa Falls to form the North Central Conference under the same organizational structure.[5] Westby also left the West Central Conference as football members to join the new Scenic Central Conference that year.[6] Two years later, this alignment was scrapped in favor of a return to the original Gateway Conference lineup for the 1949-50 school year.[7] The Gateway and West Central Conferences continued competition for three more years before both were disbanded in 1952.[8]

Conference membership history

Gateway/North Central Conference

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Colors Joined Left Conference Joined Current Conference
La Crosse Logan La Crosse, WI Public 738 Rangers     1941[3] 1952 [8] Independent Mississippi Valley
Sparta Sparta, WI Public 909 Spartans     1941[3] 1952 [8] South Central Mississippi Valley
Tomah Tomah, WI Public 919 Indians     1941[3] 1952 [8] South Central Mississippi Valley
Viroqua Viroqua, WI Public 339 Blackhawks     1941,[3] 1949[7] 1947,[5] 1952[8] South Central Coulee
Chippewa Falls Chippewa Falls, WI Public 1,454 Cardinals     1947[5] 1949[7] Independent Big Rivers

West Central Conference

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Colors Joined Left Conference Joined Current Conference
Mauston Mauston, WI Public 474 Golden Eagles     1941[3] 1952 [8] South Central
Sparta Sparta, WI Public 909 Spartans     1941[3] 1952 [8] South Central Mississippi Valley
Tomah Tomah, WI Public 919 Indians     1941[3] 1952 [8] South Central Mississippi Valley
Viroqua Viroqua, WI Public 339 Blackhawks     1941[3] 1952 [8] South Central Coulee
Westby Westby, WI Public 305 Norsemen     1941[3] 1952 [8] Juneau County Coulee

Membership timeline

Gateway/North Central Conference

Full members

Football members

West Central Conference

Full members

Football members

List of conference champions

Gateway/North Central Conference

Boys Basketball

School Quantity Years
La Crosse Logan 8 1942, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951
Tomah 6 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1952
Chippewa Falls 0
Sparta 0
Viroqua 0

Football

School Quantity Years
La Crosse Logan 3 1948, 1949, 1951
Sparta 1 1948
Tomah 1 1950
Chippewa Falls 0
Viroqua 0

West Central Conference

Boys Basketball

School Quantity Years
Tomah 8 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1952
Sparta 2 1942, 1948
Viroqua 2 1949, 1950
Mauston 0
Westby 0

Football

School Quantity Years
Tomah 8 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1951
Sparta 3 1942, 1947, 1948
Mauston 1 1947
Viroqua 1 1942
Westby

References

  1. ^ "Logan High School Ousted from South Central Conference". La Crosse Tribune. December 3, 1940. p. 10. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  2. ^ "South Central Conference Schools Vote to Oust La Crosse Logan". Wisconsin State Journal. December 5, 1940. p. 25. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Two New Cage Loops Formed for Next Year". La Crosse Tribune. January 26, 1941. p. 9. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  4. ^ Lentz, Art (November 28, 1941). "Gateway Circuit Joins West Central for '41-'42 Basketball Schedule". The Capital Times. p. 19. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "E.J. McKean, Tomah Announces Formation of New Conference". La Crosse Tribune. March 24, 1947. p. 5. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  6. ^ "4 Schools Organize New Football Wheel". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. October 31, 1947. p. 2. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c "Sparta Opens '49 Cage Drills". La Crosse Tribune. November 2, 1949. p. 15. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Eight Teams Join in New South-Central Conference". Portage Daily Register. November 21, 1951. p. 6. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
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