Wolf River Valley Conference

The Wolf River Valley Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin, with its membership concentrated in the north central part of the state. Founded in 1932 and dissolved in 1970, its member schools belonged to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

1932-1957

30km
19miles
Location of Original Wolf River Valley Conference Members

The Wolf River Valley Conference was formed in 1932 from a split of four schools from the Central Wisconsin Conference. Birnamwood, Rosholt, Tigerton and Wittenberg were all members of the conference's Northern Section and were joined by Mattoon to form a five-member circuit.[1] Four out of the five original members were located in Shawano County, with one (Rosholt) based in Portage County. By the end of the 1930s that number had increased to eight schools as Scandinavia joined in 1934[2] and two schools (Bowler and Gresham) entered the conference in 1939.[3] The Wolf River Valley Conference would compete with this membership roster for just over a decade before Wittenberg left to compete as an independent in 1948,[4] leaving the conference with seven members. White Lake would join from the Northern Lakes Conference in 1957,[5] bringing membership back up to eight schools.

1957-1970

30km
19miles
Location of Final Wolf River Valley Conference Members

In the 1960s, rural school district consolidation began to take its toll on Wolf River Valley Conference membership. The first to leave the conference was Scandinavia in 1960 after their merger with Iola of the Central Wisconsin Conference.[6] Mattoon followed them out in 1962 as their district was consolidated into Antigo of the Wisconsin Valley Conference.[7] Bear Creek would join in 1965 after their exit from the Little Nine Conference,[8] but their stay was short-lived as the district was folded into Clintonville of the Mid-Eastern Conference in 1969.[9] The Wolf River Valley Conference was disbanded in 1970, with Bowler, Rosholt and Tigerton becoming members of the Central State Conference.[10] Gresham and White Lake became independents, and both joined conferences in 1972 (Gresham to the Central State, White Lake to the Northern Lakes).[11][12] Birnamwood was merged with Wittenberg in 1970, and the new Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School inherited Wittenberg's place in the Central Wisconsin Conference.[13]

Conference membership history

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Left Conference Joined Current Conference
Birnamwood Birnamwood, WI Public N/A Orioles     1932[1] 1970[13] Closed (merged into Wittenberg-Birnamwood)
Mattoon Mattoon, WI Public N/A Cardinals     1932[1] 1962[7] Closed (consolidated into Antigo)
Rosholt Rosholt, WI Public 176 Hornets     1932[1] 1970[10] Central State Central Wisconsin
Tigerton Tigerton, WI Public 75 Tigers     1932[1] 1970[10] Central State Central Wisconsin
Wittenberg Wittenberg, WI Public N/A Wildcats     1932[1] 1948[4] Independent Closed (merged into Wittenberg-Birnamwood)
Scandinavia Scandinavia, WI Public N/A Vikings     1934[2] 1960[6] Closed (merged into Iola-Scandinavia)
Bowler Bowler, WI Public 100 Panthers     1939[3] 1970[10] Central State Central Wisconsin
Gresham Gresham, WI Public 82 Wildcats     1939[3] 1970[11] Independent Central Wisconsin
White Lake White Lake, WI Public 43 Lakers     1957[5] 1970[12] Independent Central Wisconsin
Bear Creek Bear Creek, WI Public N/A Bruins     1965[8] 1969[9] Closed (consolidated into Clintonville)

Membership timeline

List of conference champions

Boys Basketball

School Quantity Years
Tigerton 9 1932, 1933, 1934, 1937, 1943, 1950, 1959, 1969, 1970
Birnamwood 8 1936, 1938, 1942, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961
Gresham 5 1960, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966
Wittenberg 5 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948
Mattoon 4 1937, 1938, 1955, 1957
Bowler 3 1954, 1962, 1963
Rosholt 3 1935, 1951, 1968
Bear Creek 1 1967
Scandinavia 0
White Lake 0
Champions from 1939-1941 and 1949 unknown

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Five High Schools in New Conference". Wausau Daily Herald. April 26, 1932. p. 10. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Information on Wisconsin's High School Basketball Leagues". Wisconsin State Journal. January 15, 1935. p. 12. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Birnamwood and Wittenberg Share Wolf Valley Lead". Stevens Point Journal. February 14, 1940. p. 6. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Wittenberg, Hodags Meet in WIAA Play Tonight at Antigo". Rhinelander Daily News. March 2, 1950. p. 6. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Prep Cage Standings (see Northern Lakes and Wolf River Valley)". Wisconsin State Journal. March 2, 1958. p. 24. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Phants Can Clinch Share of NEW Title (see Central Wisconsin Conference standings)". Green Bay Press-Gazette. February 9, 1961. p. 3. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Joint School Districts to Meet Monday". Green Bay Press-Gazette. July 20, 1962. p. 19. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Brillion Will Leave EWC". Appleton Post-Crescent. December 4, 1964. p. 20. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Laib, Mildred (October 20, 1969). "Bear Creek Students Like Change". Appleton Post-Crescent. p. 1. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  10. ^ a b c d "Port to join 10-school conference next year". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. September 12, 1969. p. 8. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  11. ^ a b "CSC Admits Two New for 1971-72". Stevens Point Journal. November 22, 1971. p. 14. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  12. ^ a b Kloppenburg, Dick (April 13, 1972). "Poor Richard's Sports Almanac". Wausau Daily Herald. p. 19. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Wittenberg-Birnamwood Classes Start Wednesday". Wausau Daily Herald. August 23, 1969. p. 3. Retrieved January 30, 2025.
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