Southern Dairyland Conference

The Southern Dairyland Conference is a high school athletic conference with its membership concentrated in south central Wisconsin. Football was the only sport sponsored by this conference, which was founded in 1959 and disbanded after the 1962 football season. All conference members were affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

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Location of Final Southern Dairyland Conference Members

The Southern Dairyland Conference, also known by its official title of the Dairyland High School Football Conference, was formed by four high schools in the Madison metropolitan area in November 1958: Deerfield, Johnson Creek, Marshall and Palmyra.[1] It became known as the Southern Dairyland in the local media to avoid confusion with an all-sport circuit called the Dairyland Conference that was inaugurated that same year in western Wisconsin. Three members of the new conference (Deerfield, Marshall and Palmyra) were previously members of the Southern Regional Conference,[2] which sponsored eight-man football before it was disbanded after the 1958 football season.[3] All three schools made the decision to transition to eleven-man football for the 1959 season. They were joined by Johnson Creek, a school that already sponsored eleven-man football and were members of the Madison Suburban Conference.[4] Norris Foundation in Mukwonago and Williams Bay joined the conference for the 1960 season when they also moved to eleven-man football and were in search of affiliation.[5] The conference's membership roster was completed in 1961, when Wisconsin School for the Deaf in Delavan joined the loop.[6] Competition lasted until the 1962 season,[7] when four schools (Norris Farm, Palmyra, Williams Bay and Wisconsin School for the Deaf) formed the Indian Trails Conference (along with Clinton and Northwestern Military & Naval Academy), which began competition in fall 1963.[8] The other three former Southern Dairyland members (Deerfield, Johnson Creek and Marshall) joined the Madison Suburban Conference for the 1963 football season, a conference that they were already affiliated with for their other interscholastic sports.[9]

Conference membership history

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Seasons Conference Joined Primary Conference
Deerfield Deerfield, WI Public 216 Demons     1959-1962 Madison Suburban Madison Suburban
Johnson Creek Johnson Creek, WI Public 180 Bluejays     1959-1962 Madison Suburban Madison Suburban
Marshall Marshall, WI Public 292 Cardinals     1959-1962 Madison Suburban Madison Suburban
Palmyra Palmyra, WI Public 195 Panthers     1959-1962 Indian Trails Southeastern Wisconsin
Norris Foundation Mukwonago, WI Public, Alternative 10[10] Nors'men     1960-1962 Indian Trails Southeastern Wisconsin
Williams Bay Williams Bay, WI Public 212 Bulldogs     1960-1962 Indian Trails Southeastern Wisconsin
Wisconsin School for the Deaf Delavan, WI Public, Special Needs 26[11] Firebirds     1961-1962 Indian Trails Independent

Membership timeline

List of conference champions

School Quantity Years
Marshall 2 1961, 1962
Deerfield 1 1959
Johnson Creek 1 1960
Norris Foundation 0
Palmyra 0
Williams Bay 0
Wisconsin School for the Deaf 0

References

  1. ^ "Dairyland Grid League Formed". Wisconsin State Journal. 12 November 1958. p. 28. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  2. ^ "Bay Tops Whitewater 12-6 For Second League Victory". Lake Geneva Regional News. 2 October 1958. p. 9. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  3. ^ "Grid Schedule Announced at Williams Bay". Lake Geneva Regional News. 17 September 1959. p. 9. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  4. ^ "Lake Mills in 1st Win, Sun Prairie Takes Lead". Janesville Weekly Gazette. 18 October 1958. p. 11. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  5. ^ "Creek Wins Dairyland". The Capital Times. 22 October 1960. p. 12. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  6. ^ "Marshall Laces Deerfield, 33-0". The Capital Times. 30 September 1961. p. 14. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  7. ^ "Deerfield in 21-7 Defeat". The Capital Times. 27 October 1962. p. 12. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  8. ^ "New Prep Loop to Open in '63". The Capital Times. 17 February 1962. p. 11. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  9. ^ "Area High School Football Standings (see Madison Suburban Conference)". Wisconsin State Journal. 26 September 1963. pp. 4, Section 4. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  10. ^ "Norris School District". National Center for Educational Statistics. Retrieved 21 May 2025.
  11. ^ Wilson, Travis (27 November 2023). "All school enrollment figures for 2023-24 sports year with one- and five-year enrollment comparisons". Wisconsin Sports Network. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
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