Mississippi Valley Conference (Wisconsin)

The Mississippi Valley Conference (MVC) is a high school athletic conference in southwest Wisconsin. Founded in 1989, the conference and its member schools belong to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association and are located in the La Crosse-Onalaska-Sparta combined statistical area.

The first incarnation of the Mississippi Valley Conference was founded in 1933 and contained five smaller high schools in western Wisconsin: Alma, Arcadia, Durand, Mondovi and Osseo.^[1] Augusta joined from the Little Eight Conference in 1935,^[2] replacing Alma after their return to the Bi-County Conference. Whitehall followed in 1936^[3] while maintaining dual membership in the Trempeleau Valley Conference (which they left in 1938). Black River Falls became the conference's seventh member school when it joined in 1938.^[4] These seven schools competed together for two decades before three left to become charter members of the new Dairyland Conference in 1959: Augusta, Osseo and Whitehall.^[5] Chippewa Falls and Cochrane-Fountain City took their place that same year.^[6] Menomonie was also accepted into the conference for 1959 but withdrew before ever playing a game.^[7] Three schools exited the conference in 1963: Black River Falls for the South Central Conference, Chippewa Falls for the Big Rivers Conference and Cochrane-Fountain City for the Dairyland Conference.^[8] For the last two years of its existence, the Mississippi Valley Conference competed as a three-school circuit until Arcadia left for the Coulee Conference in 1965, thus ending the conference's run.^[9]

The current incarnation of the Mississippi Valley Conference was formed in 1989^[10] to accommodate for the growing attendance in schools in traditional rural-based conferences and shorten travel distances for its members.^[11] Holmen and Onalaska joined from the Coulee Conference, Sparta and Tomah from the South Central Conference, and La Crosse Central High School and Logan High School from the Big Rivers Conference. Shortly after, in 1997, Aquinas High School joined from the Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference of the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association, a private school athletic league, to become the conference's seventh member.^[12]

In 2014, West Salem began competition in the Mississippi Valley Conference for football only, remaining in the Coulee Conference for all other sports.^[13] Aquinas left the MVC's football roster in 2019 when they joined the Southwest Wisconsin Activities League as associate members for that sport.^[14] The next year, a comprehensive realignment of Wisconsin high school football conferences was implemented by the WIAA with input from the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association to run on a two-year cycle.^[15] All six of the MVC's public high schools (Central, Holmen, Logan, Onalaska, Sparta and Tomah) remained in the conference with associate members River Falls (Big Rivers) and West Salem (Coulee) filling out the ranks.^[16] River Falls and West Salem returned to their respective conferences for the 2022-2023 realignment cycle with two schools from the Badger Conference (Baraboo and Reedsburg) replacing them.^[17] This alignment will stay in effect through at least the 2026-2027 competition cycle.^[18][19]

The MVC sponsors 19 varsity sports. They are:

• Fall: Football, boys' soccer, girls' tennis, volleyball, boys' cross country, girls' cross country and girls' golf
• Winter: Boys' basketball, girls' basketball, gymnastics, wrestling boys' hockey.
• Spring: Boys' track, girls' track, boys' golf, boys' tennis, girls' soccer, baseball and softball.

The Mississippi Valley Conference has a number of intense rivalries, both based on proximity, and performance.

• Central Vs. Logan - The two La Crosse public schools' intense rivalry is well publicized by local media and is highlighted by football's Battle for the Ark of Victory.
• Central Vs. Aquinas - A heated battle for city supremacy and the overall city championship.
• Logan Vs. Aquinas - A heated battle for city supremacy and the overall city championship.

• Holmen Vs. Onalaska - Proximity spices up this rivalry, as the two school districts overlap city boundaries. Both schools also came over from the Coulee Conference together.
• Tomah Vs. Sparta - Both came over from the South Central Conference and are separated by 17 miles of Interstate 90. The closest conference foe for both teams.
• Reedsburg Vs. Baraboo - Both moved to the MVC as affiliated members and have one of the longest rivalries in the state.

In addition to these main rivalries, many other rivalries have developed based on different sports and success. In the early 2000s, Holmen and Aquinas had fierce competitions in Boys' Basketball in which tickets were sold out days after going on sale. Additionally, in the early 1990s, Onalaska Vs. Central was a heated matchup in Boys' Basketball. That rivalry was rekindled in the 2010s as both teams regularly competed for state bids. In wrestling, Holmen Vs. Sparta and Holmen Vs. Tomah have come and gone. In Boys' Ice Hockey, Onalaska and Aquinas/Holmen/G-E-T/C-FC hold a battle for the Omni Center rivalry, as both teams play in the same venue.

Many non-conference rivalries are also in the MVC. Onalaska Vs. West Salem, Logan and Central Vs. Eau Claire Memorial and North, Tomah Vs. Black River Falls, and Holmen Vs. G-E-T are all annual football games. Aquinas maintains matchups with old conference members from their WISAA days.

In many different sports, particularly but not limited to football, basketball, and wrestling, the three big rivalries will frequently be played on the same days, coining the phrase Rivalry Week in football and Rivalry Night in other sports. These rivalries are Central Vs. Logan, Holmen Vs. Onalaska, and Sparta Vs. Tomah. Occasionally, Aquinas will be inserted into a city match up or against Holmen or Onalaska on a Rivalry Night.

• MVC website