The Badger Conference was formed in 1952, [1] and most of its members came from two conferences that disbanded the year prior: Edgerton, Fort Atkinson, Monroe, Stoughton and Wisconsin High from the Southern Ten Conference, and Evansville, Jefferson, Lake Mills and Milton from the Rock River Valley League. Middleton, formerly of the Madison Suburban Conference, rounded out the original membership roster at ten schools. Three years after joining the conference, three schools left for the Madison Suburban Conference: Evansville, Lake Mills and Milton. [2] They were replaced by the recently opened Monona Grove High School, who joined the conference in 1956. [3] Sun Prairie moved over from the Madison Suburban Conference in 1963, [4] and University of Wisconsin High was closed the next year, with its students being moved to Madison Central High School. [5] The Badger Conference's membership roster would stay consistent until major realignment in the late 1970s.
Expansion and divisional split (2001–present)
In 2001, the Badger Conference expanded from nine to fourteen schools, adding three schools formerly in the South Central Conference (Baraboo, Portage and Reedsburg) and two who joined from the Capitol Conference (McFarland and Mount Horeb). [14] In order to accommodate this, the conference split its members into North and South Divisions: [15]
| North Division | South Division |
|---|
| Baraboo | Edgewood |
| DeForest | McFarland |
| Mount Horeb | Monona Grove |
| Portage | Monroe |
| Reedsburg | Oregon |
| Sauk Prairie | Stoughton |
| Waunakee | Verona |
In 2008, McFarland and Verona left the Badger Conference to join the Rock Valley and Big Eight Conferences, respectively. [16] Their place in the South Division was taken by Fort Atkinson and Milton, who rejoined the Badger Conference from the Southern Lakes Conference. [17] Beaver Dam and Watertown joined from the dissolved Wisconsin Little Ten Conference in 2017 [18] and were placed in separate divisions (Beaver Dam in the North, Watertown in the South). In 2021, the Badger Conference realigned its divisions by East and West for most sports: [19]
| East Division | West Division |
|---|
| Beaver Dam | Baraboo |
| DeForest | Edgewood |
| Fort Atkinson | Monroe |
| Milton | Mount Horeb |
| Monona Grove | Oregon |
| Stoughton | Portage |
| Watertown | Reedsburg |
| Waunakee | Sauk Prairie |
This alignment only remained in place for two years, as it was replaced by Large School and Small School divisions in 2023. During this same year, McFarland and Monroe swapped conference affiliations: McFarland rejoined the Badger Conference and Monroe went to the Rock Valley Conference. [20] Monroe's departure left Stoughton as the only school to have been a member of the conference for its entire history.
