Ridge & Valley Conference

The Ridge & Valley Conference is a high school athletic conference in Wisconsin. Founded in 1979, its members are small schools concentrated in the southern part of the state's Driftless Area. All conference members belong to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

The Ridge & Valley Conference was formed in 1979 when the larger Scenic Central Conference split into two smaller conferences from its existing Northern and Southern divisions.[1] All seven schools in the Southern Division (De Soto, Ithaca, Kickapoo, La Farge, North Crawford, Seneca and Wauzeka-Steuben) plus Weston from the Northern Division formed the Ridge & Valley Conference's membership roster.[2] Membership has not experienced any changes over the history of the conference among full members.

Football

1979-2020

The Ridge & Valley Conference began football sponsorship along with all other sports after its split from the Scenic Central Conference in 1979, with all members participating. After winning the first three R&V football titles, De Soto was moved to the Scenic Bluffs Conference in 1982,[3] swapping affiliations with the newly reinstated football program at Brookwood.[4] This arrangement was reversed for the 2001 season, with De Soto returning to the conference and Brookwood moving back to the Scenic Bluffs.[5][6] By this time, some of the conference members started to consolidate their programs due to lack of available players. The first two schools to do so were Kickapoo and La Farge, who combined their programs beginning with the 2004 season.[7] In 2016, Seneca and Wauzeka-Steuben merged their football teams,[8] along with Weston and Scenic Bluffs members Wonewoc-Center.[9] Riverdale's entry into the Ridge & Valley from the Southwest Wisconsin Activities League kept its football roster at seven schools.[10] The 2019 season saw an eighth school, Highland of the Six Rivers Conference, join as associate members in football.

2020-present

In February 2019, the WIAA and the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association released a comprehensive realignment for Wisconsin's high school football conferences, set to begin with the 2020 football season and run on a two-year cycle.[11] Three programs (Kickapoo/La Farge, North Crawford and Wonewoc-Center/Weston) made the switch to eight-player football for the 2020 season,[12] and were replaced by Boscobel of the SWAL and Hillsboro of the Scenic Bluffs.[13] For the 2022-2023 competition cycle, De Soto made the switch to eight-player football with Iowa-Grant moving over from the SWAL as their replacement.[14] in 2024, the Ridge & Valley Conference made the decision to move to eight-player football,[15] welcoming four former members back into the conference (De Soto, Kickapoo-La Farge, North Crawford Wonewoc-Center/Weston) along with newcomers Belmont, Monticello and Wisconsin Heights joining Highland (the only holdover from 2023) to form its initial roster.[16] In 2026, Wonewoc-Center and Weston are planning to dissolve their cooperative agreement for football, and Weston will partner with Ithaca's eleven-player program.[17] Wonewoc-Center is currently slated to continue as an eight-player program exclusive to that school.[18]

List of member schools

Current members

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined
De Soto De Soto, WI Public 127 Pirates     1979[2]
Ithaca Ithaca, WI Public 133 Bulldogs     1979[2]
Kickapoo Viola, WI Public 157 Panthers     1979[2]
La Farge La Farge. WI Public 66 Wildcats     1979[2]
North Crawford Soldiers Grove, WI Public 124 Trojans     1979[2]
Seneca Seneca, WI Public 102 Royals     1979[2]
Wauzeka-Steuben Wauzeka, WI Public 78 Hornets     1979[2]
Weston Cazenovia, WI Public 84 Silver Eagles     1979[2]

Current football-only members

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Primary Conference
Belmont Belmont, WI Public 121 Braves     2024 Six Rivers
Highland Highland, WI Public 105 Cardinals     2019 Six Rivers
Kickapoo/La Farge Viola, WI Public 223 Predators     2004, 2024 Ridge & Valley
Monticello Monticello, WI Public 98 Ponies     2024 Six Rivers
Wisconsin Heights Mazomanie, WI Public 228 Vanguards     2024 CYTBN (2025)
Wonewoc-Center/Weston Wonewoc, WI Public 199 SilverWolves     2016, 2024 Scenic Bluffs, Ridge & Valley

Future football-only members

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joining Primary Conference
Wonewoc-Center Wonewoc, WI Public 115 Wolves     2026 Scenic Bluffs

Former football-only members

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Seasons Primary Conference
Brookwood Ontario, WI Public 175 Falcons     1982-2000 Scenic Bluffs
Riverdale Muscoda, WI Public 202 Chieftains     2016-2023 SWAL
Seneca/Wauzeka-Steuben Seneca, WI Public 180 Blue-Golds     2016-2023 Ridge & Valley
Boscobel Boscobel, WI Public 212 Bulldogs     2020-2023 SWAL
Hillsboro Hillsboro, WI Public 163 Tigers     2020-2023 Scenic Bluffs
Iowa-Grant Livingston, WI Public 204 Panthers     2022-2023 SWAL

Membership timeline

Full members

Football members

Membership map

Ridge & Valley Conference
13km
8.1miles
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Location of Ridge & Valley Conference full members:
1
De Soto
2
Ithaca
3
Kickapoo
4
La Farge
5
North Crawford
6
Seneca
7
Wauzeka-Steuben
8
Weston

List of state champions

Fall sports

Football
School Year Division
De Soto 1983 Division 6
De Soto 1984 Division 6

Winter sports

None

Spring sports

Baseball
School Year Division
De Soto 2000 Division 3
De Soto 2001 Division 3
Ithaca 2016 Division 4
Ithaca 2023 Division 4
Softball
School Year Division
Seneca 1983 Class C
Seneca 2000 Division 3
Girls Track & Field
School Year Division
North Crawford 1991 Division 3
North Crawford 1992 Division 3

List of conference champions

Boys Basketball

School Quantity Years
North Crawford 18 1980, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2024, 2025
Seneca 11 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023
Wauzeka-Steuben 7 1987, 1991, 2005, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
Kickapoo 6 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997
Weston 4 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990
La Farge 2 1989, 2014
Ithaca 1 2024
De Soto 0

Girls Basketball

School Quantity Years
Ithaca 14 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1990, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2013, 2014
Seneca 13 1980, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018
Kickapoo 11 1988, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2025
Wauzeka-Steuben 7 2015, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025
Weston 7 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2008, 2009
North Crawford 4 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998
De Soto 1 2006
La Farge 0

Football

School Quantity Years
Ithaca 15 1985, 1986, 1992, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2019
De Soto 10 1979, 1980, 1981, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013
Seneca 9 1983, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2010
North Crawford 7 1982, 1983, 1984, 1997, 2004, 2005, 2013
Highland 4 2020, 2021, 2023, 2024
Kickapoo 4 1983, 1984, 1988, 1989
Seneca/Wauzeka-Steuben 4 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022
Weston 4 1982, 1985, 1993, 1995
Kickapoo/La Farge 2 2008, 2012
Brookwood 1 1987
Belmont 0
Boscobel 0
Hillsboro 0
Iowa-Grant 0
La Farge 0
Monticello 0
Riverdale 0
Wauzeka-Steuben 0
Wisconsin Heights 0
Wonewoc-Center/Weston 0

References

  1. ^ "Area high schools form two new conferences". Wisconsin State Journal. August 12, 1979. p. 22. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Wonewoc-Center is Scenic Bluffs pick". Wisconsin State Journal. August 26, 1979. pp. 55 (Football '79 insert). Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  3. ^ "Cashton must contend with an old nemesis". Wisconsin State Journal. August 29, 1982. pp. 60 (Football '82 insert). Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  4. ^ "Without De Soto, parity's back". Wisconsin State Journal. August 29, 1982. pp. 62 (Football '82 insert). Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  5. ^ "Scouting the Bluffs". La Crosse Tribune. August 24, 2001. pp. 30 (Prep Kickoff 2001 insert). Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  6. ^ Ramsden, Ben (August 24, 2001). "De Soto takes on new challenge". La Crosse Tribune. pp. 33 (Prep Kickoff 2001 insert). Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  7. ^ "Preps: Other Area Teams (see Ridge & Valley)". Wisconsin State Journal. August 29, 2004. pp. 59 (Football 2004 insert). Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  8. ^ Preusser, Charley (January 23, 2015). "Seneca and Wauzeka-Steuben approve a co-op football team". SWNews4u.com. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  9. ^ "New Weston-Wonewoc football Silver Wolves debut Friday". Reedsburg Independent. August 18, 2016. p. 21. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  10. ^ Martin, Erin (October 15, 2015). "Riverdale approves football conference change". SWNews4u.com. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
  11. ^ "Revised Football-Only Conference Plan Released". Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 9, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  12. ^ "WFCA Eight Player Conference Alignment – Recommendation" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. May 20, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  13. ^ "WFCA/WIAA Football-Only Realignment Proposal" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 6, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  14. ^ "Proposed Football Only Conference Alignment - 11-Player" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 11, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  15. ^ "Six Rivers Conference football will survive". SWNews4u.com. May 1, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  16. ^ "2024-25 Conference Realignment Plan – 8-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  17. ^ "2026 - 27 Conference Realignment – 11-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. December 10, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  18. ^ "2026 - 27 Conference Realignment – 8-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. December 10, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
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