The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association's Big Eight Conference is a high school athletic conference in south-central Wisconsin. The management of the conference is vested in the principals of the member schools, who determine the rules governing eligibility of athletes and schedules.
| School | Location | Enrollment | Mascot | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Janesville Craig | Janesville, WI | 1,684 | Cougars | |
| Janesville Parker | Janesville, WI | 1429 | Vikings | |
| Madison East | Madison, WI | 1662 | Purgolders | |
| Madison La Follette | Madison, WI | 1577 | Lancers | |
| Madison Memorial | Madison, WI | 2122 | Spartans | |
| Madison West | Madison, WI | 2226 | Regents | |
| Middleton High School | Middleton, WI | 2357 | Cardinals | |
| Sun Prairie East | Sun Prairie, WI | 1329 | Cardinals | |
| Sun Prairie West | Sun Prairie, WI | 1347 | Wolves | |
| Verona Area High School | Verona, WI | 1801 | Wildcats |
| School | Sport |
|---|---|
| Fort Atkinson/Cambridge | Boys' Volleyball |
| Edgewood Catholic | Boys' Volleyball |
In summer 2018, a plan to move Janesville Craig and Janesville Parker out of the Big Eight to the Badger South Conference for football only emerged. [1] In the spring of 2020, the conference voted to accept Sun Prairie West High School as a member once the school opens in 2022. [2] In 2022, Beloit Memorial High School announced they would be joining the Southern Lakes Conference in 2023 with the exception of Football, which will move to the SLC in fall 2022.
Conference USA (CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas.
The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participate in the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The 14 member institutions of the Sun Belt are distributed across the Southern United States.
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level, primarily competing in the Big Ten Conference for all sports since the 1896–97 season. The women's ice hockey team competes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA), while the men's crew team compete in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges (EARC).
Joseph A. Craig High School is a public high school located in the city of Janesville, Wisconsin. Craig, a part of the School District of Janesville, has a student enrollment of approximately 1,800. Located on the east side of Janesville, it is named after Joseph A. Craig, who was instrumental in attracting the General Motors Janesville Assembly Plant to the city.
George S. Parker High School is a comprehensive public high school located on the west side of the city of Janesville, Wisconsin. The school, named for George S. Parker, founder of the Parker Pen Company, is a part of the School District of Janesville and was constructed in 1967. The rival east side school is Joseph A. Craig High School.
William Francis "Bo" Ryan Jr. is an American former college basketball coach. He was the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team of the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2001 to December 2015. Ryan served as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin–Platteville from 1984 to 1999 and at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee from 1999 to 2001. His overall collegiate coaching record was 747–233. Ryan was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017.
Barry Lee Alvarez is an American former college football coach and athletic director at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He served as the head football coach at Wisconsin for 16 seasons, from 1990 to 2005, compiling a career record of 119–72–4. He has the longest head coaching tenure and the most wins in Wisconsin Badgers football history. Alvarez stepped down as head coach after the 2005 season, and remained as athletic director until July 1, 2021.
Sun Prairie East High School (SPEHS) is a public high school in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, United States. It is one of two high schools in the Sun Prairie Area School District, the other being Sun Prairie West High School. During the 2022-2023 school year, there were 1,365 students at Sun Prairie East High School. SPEHS is a WIAA Division 1 school and is a member of the Big Eight athletic conference in all sports except for football, in which it is a WIAA Division 2 school and a member of the Badger Conference.
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The Badger Conference is a high school athletic conference comprising 16 high schools in south-central Wisconsin. Established in 1951, the Badger Conference is a member of the WIAA.
The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As of the 2024 season, there are 10 conferences and 134 schools in FBS.
The 2020 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by third-year head coach Scott Frost and played their games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska, as members of the West Division in the Big Ten Conference.
The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as the American, is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States featuring 14 full member universities and 8 affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I, with its football teams competing in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Member universities represent a range of private and public universities of various enrollment sizes located primarily in urban metropolitan areas in the Northeastern, Midwestern, and Southern regions of the United States.
The Badger-Illini Conference was an intercollegiate athletic conference that existed from 1932 to 1956. It had members in the states of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. After the departure of certain members in 1956, the league subsequently became the Badger-Gopher Conference.
The 2019 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Badgers were led by fifth-year head coach Paul Chryst and competed as members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They played their home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
The 2020 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Badgers were led by sixth-year head coach Paul Chryst and competed as members of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They played their home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
Sun Prairie West High School (SPWHS) is a high school in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, United States. It is one of two high schools in the Sun Prairie Area School District, the other being Sun Prairie East High School. During the 2022-2023 school year, there were 1,345 students at Sun Prairie West High School. SPWHS is a WIAA Division 1 school and is a member of the Big Eight athletic conference in all sports except for football, in which it is a WIAA Division 2 school and a member of the Badger Conference.
Beginning in the 2021–22 academic year, extensive changes occurred in NCAA conference membership, primarily at the Division I level.
Keeanu Kyrie Benton is an American football nose tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Wisconsin.