Coulee Conference

The Coulee Conference is a high school athletic conference of medium-sized schools based in west central Wisconsin. Founded in 1926, it is one of Wisconsin's oldest athletic conferences and its member schools are affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

1926-1977

13km
8.1miles

   

Location of Original Coulee Conference Members

The Coulee Conference was formed in 1926 by six small high schools in west central Wisconsin: Bangor, Galesville, Holmen, Mindoro, Onalaska and West Salem. ^[1] The original member schools were located in La Crosse and Trempealeau Counties, and the conference was named after the Coulee Region in the southwestern part of Wisconsin's Driftless Area. Membership increased to seven schools in 1936 when Trempealeau joined the Coulee Conference ^[2] and eight in 1942 when Melrose became members. ^[3] After Galesville's merger with Ettrick in 1949, ^[4] the Coulee Conference's roster remained consistent for sixteen years until Melrose and Mindoro merged in 1965, ^[5] with the new school (Melrose-Mindoro) taking on the membership of its two predecessors. ^[6] Arcadia moved over from the original Mississippi Valley Conference to keep membership at eight schools. ^[7] In 1971, Gale-Ettrick merged with Trempealeau to create the new Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School, ^[8] with the new school remaining in the Coulee Conference. As in the previous consolidation of conference members, the ledger was kept at eight schools by adding Cochrane-Fountain City from the Dairyland Conference. ^[9]

1977-1987

In 1977, the Coulee Conference lost three members to conference realignment in the region: two to the Dairyland Conference: (Cochrane-Fountain City and Melrose-Mindoro) ^[10] and one to the Scenic Central Conference (Bangor) ^[11] Replacing the three exiting schools were Black River Falls from the South Central Conference ^[12] and two schools from the Scenic Central Conference (Royall and Westby). ^[11] Royall was strongly opposed to being placed in the Coulee Conference for a multitude of reasons including small size compared to other Coulee schools, increased travel distances, and loss of traditional Scenic Central rivalries. ^[13] After the WIAA's two-year freeze on conference realignment expired in 1979, Royall joined with their former Scenic Central brethren to form the new Scenic Bluffs Conference. ^[14] The next year, the Coulee Conference accepted its first (and to date, only) out-of-state member, adding La Crescent from Minnesota (located across the Mississippi River from La Crosse) as Royall's replacement. ^[15]

1987-present

Membership in the Coulee Conference remained consistent for most of the 1980s, with Viroqua moving over from the Southwest Wisconsin Athletic League as the conference's ninth member in 1987. ^[16] This would turn out to be the high water mark for the conference, as Holmen and Onalaska were growing in enrollment beyond the size their conference rivals and wanted to explore other options. ^[17] Both schools left to become charter members of the new Mississippi Valley Conference in 1989 with former members of the Big Rivers (La Crosse Central and La Crosse Logan) and South Central (Sparta and Tomah) Conferences. ^[18] In 1996, Luther High School in Onalaska was invited to join the Coulee Conference after being expelled from their former home in the Dairyland Conference. ^[19] They began conference play the next year, ^[20] and the Coulee Conference's roster remained consistent for the next decade. In 2007, La Crescent-Hokah returned to a Minnesota-based conference as they left to become members of the Hiawatha Valley League, ^[21] bringing the Coulee Conference to its current alignment of seven schools. In 2020, Aquinas High School joined the Coulee Conference for football only.

Football

The Coulee Conference sponsored football for the first time with the 1959 season, and six conference members comprised the initial roster: Bangor, Gale-Ettrick, Holmen, Onalaska, Trempealeau and West Salem. ^[22] By the 1964 season, all eight Coulee Conference members were football participants, and aside from a few schools that briefly left the conference, membership for football mirrored membership for all other sports. For the 2019 season, the Coulee Conference was dissolved as a football entity, with schools dispersed to the South Central Conference (Black River Falls and Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau), ^[23] Southwest Wisconsin Activities League (Luther) ^[24] and Southwest Wisconsin Conference (Arcadia, Viroqua and Westby). ^[25] Around this time, the WIAA and Wisconsin Football Coaches Association collaborated on a massive realignment of Wisconsin's high school football conferences to be reviewed on a two-year competition cycle. ^[26] The initial 2020-2021 alignment revived the Coulee Conference for football, with five full members (Arcadia, Black River Falls, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau, Viroqua and Westby) joining associate members Altoona (Cloverbelt) and Aquinas (Mississippi Valley) to round out the seven-member group. ^[27] For the 2022-2023 cycle, the Coulee Conference was expanded to eight football-playing members with the return of West Salem from the Mississippi Valley Conference. ^[28] Luther rejoined the Coulee Conference for the 2024-2025 realignment, replacing Altoona after their shift to the Middle Border Conference. This alignment will remain in place through at least the 2026-2027 competition cycle. ^[29]

List of member schools

Current members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Joined
Arcadia	Arcadia, WI	Public	417	Raiders		1965 [7]
Black River Falls	Black River Falls, WI	Public	481	Tigers		1977 [12]
Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau	Galesville, WI	Public	400	Red Hawks		1971 [8]
Luther	Onalaska, WI	Private (Lutheran, WELS)	228	Knights		1997 [20]
Viroqua	Viroqua, WI	Public	339	Blackhawks		1987 [16]
West Salem	West Salem, WI	Public	607	Panthers		1926 [1]
Westby	Westby, WI	Public	305	Norsemen		1977 [11]

Current football-only members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Primary Conference
Aquinas	La Crosse, WI	Private (Catholic)	307	Blugolds		2020	Mississippi Valley

Former members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Left	Conference Joined	Current Conference
Bangor	Bangor, WI	Public	203	Cardinals		1926 [1]	1977 [11]	Scenic Central	Scenic Bluffs
Galesville	Galesville, WI	Public	N/A	Galloping Gales		1926 [1]	1949 [4]	Closed (merged into Gale-Ettrick)
Holmen	Holmen, WI	Public	1,215	Vikings		1926 [1]	1989 [18]	Mississippi Valley
Mindoro	Mindoro, WI	Public	N/A	Tigers		1926 [1]	1965 [5]	Closed (merged into Melrose-Mindoro)
Onalaska	Onalaska, WI	Public	923	Hilltoppers		1926 [1]	1989 [18]	Mississippi Valley
Trempealeau	Trempealeau, WI	Public	N/A	Bears		1936 [2]	1971 [8]	Closed (merged into G-E-T)
Melrose	Melrose, WI	Public	N/A	Eagles		1942 [3]	1965 [5]	Closed (merged into Melrose-Mindoro)
Gale-Ettrick	Galesville, WI	Public	N/A	Redmen		1949 [4]	1971 [8]	Closed (merged into G-E-T)
Melrose-Mindoro	Melrose, WI	Public	223	Mustangs		1965 [6]	1977 [10]	Dairyland
Cochrane-Fountain City	Fountain City, WI	Public	175	Pirates		1971 [9]	1977 [10]	Dairyland
Royall	Elroy, WI	Public	154	Panthers		1977 [11]	1979 [14]	Scenic Bluffs
La Crescent	La Crescent, MN	Public	347	Lancers		1980 [15]	2007 [21]	Hiawatha Valley (MSHSL)	Three Rivers (MSHSL)

Former football-only members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Seasons	Primary Conference
Altoona	Altoona, WI	Public	560	Railroaders		2020-2023	Cloverbelt, Middle Border

Membership timeline

Full members

Football members

Membership map

Coulee Conference

30km
19miles

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

   

Location of Coulee Conference full members:

1

Arcadia

2

Black River Falls

3

Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau

4

Luther

5

Viroqua

6

West Salem

7

Westby

Sports

The Coulee Conference sponsors 20 varsity sports:

• Fall - Football, boys' soccer, girls' tennis, volleyball, boys' cross country, girls' cross country and girls' golf
• Winter - Boys' basketball, girls' basketball, gymnastics, wrestling boys' hockey and girls' hockey.
• Spring - Boys' track, girls' track, boys' golf, boys' tennis, girls' soccer, baseball and softball.

List of state championships

Fall sports

Football

School	Year	Division
Westby	1978	Division 4
Westby	1985	Division 4
Westby	1986	Division 4
West Salem	2007	Division 4
Aquinas	2021	Division 5
Aquinas	2022	Division 5
Aquinas	2023	Division 5

Winter sports

Boys Basketball

School	Year	Division
Onalaska	1988	Class A
Luther	2023	Division 4

Gymnastics

School	Year	Division
Onalaska	1985	Class B

Spring sports

Baseball

School	Year	Division
West Salem	2017	Division 2

Boys Golf

School	Year	Division
Onalaska	1982
Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau	1994	Division 2
Arcadia	2010	Division 3

Softball

School	Year	Division
Arcadia	2014	Division 3

Boys Track & Field

School	Year	Division
Arcadia	1991	Division 3
Arcadia	1992	Division 3
Arcadia	1994	Division 3
Arcadia	1995	Division 3
Arcadia	1998	Division 3
Arcadia	1999	Division 3
Arcadia	2004	Division 3

Girls Track & Field

School	Year	Division
West Salem	1979	Class C
Arcadia	1998	Division 3
Arcadia	2003	Division 3
Arcadia	2004	Division 3
West Salem	2007	Division 2
Arcadia	2008	Division 2
Arcadia	2009	Division 3

Summer sports

Baseball

School	Year
Trempealeau	1968

List of conference championships

Boys Basketball

School	Quantity	Years
Onalaska	18	1927, 1929, 1933, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1961, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989
Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau	15	1972, 1977, 1978, 1983, 1990, 2002, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019
Holmen	13	1932, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1944, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1953, 1960, 1964, 1965, 1973
West Salem	13	1934, 1944, 1945, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1980, 2000, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Bangor	8	1930, 1931, 1936, 1941, 1956, 1962, 1966, 1970
Galesville	8	1928, 1934, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949
Arcadia	7	1972, 1981, 1982, 1989, 2007, 2008, 2010
Westby	7	1991, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2010
Black River Falls	6	1980, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2018
La Crescent	6	1983, 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2002
Gale-Ettrick	5	1951, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1963
Luther	3	2013, 2019, 2021
Viroqua	3	1994, 1995, 2009
Melrose-Mindoro	2	1974, 1975
Trempealeau	2	1959, 1967
Cochrane-Fountain City	0
Melrose	0
Mindoro	0
Royall	0

Girls Basketball

School	Quantity	Years
West Salem	27	1979, 1983, 1988, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Arcadia	10	1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2020
Black River Falls	5	1978, 1990, 1991, 1994, 2003
Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau	5	2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Onalaska	5	1979, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989
Luther	2	2006, 2008
Viroqua	2	1993, 1998
Westby	2	2011, 2012
La Crescent	1	1992
Bangor	0
Cochrane-Fountain City	0
Holmen	0
Melrose-Mindoro	0
Royall	0

Football

School	Quantity	Years
Westby	16	1978, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2011, 2018
Arcadia	15	1967, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021-Alt
Black River Falls	14	1979, 1983, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2012
Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau	12	1971, 1972, 1976, 1981, 1982, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2017
Gale-Ettrick	8	1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970
West Salem	7	1991, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2022
Onalaska	4	1959, 1960, 1976, 1980
Aquinas	3	2021, 2023, 2024
Holmen	2	1965, 1979
Cochrane-Fountain City	1	1974
La Crescent	1	1998
Melrose-Mindoro	1	1974
Viroqua	1	1997
Altoona	0
Bangor	0
Luther	0
Melrose	0
Mindoro	0
Royall	0
Trempealeau	0

Vernon County Mega Bowl

Beginning in 2019, the Westby Norsemen and the Viroqua Blackhawks have played for the Vernon County Mega Bowl in their yearly football contest. The Norsemen won the first Mega Bowl game 21-8 in 2019. There was no Mega Bowl Game in 2020. ^[30]

Westby victories

Viroqua victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winning team Losing team 1 October 18, 2019 Viroqua Westby 21 Viroqua 8 2 September 3, 2021 Westby Westby 46 Viroqua 0 3 September 9, 2022 Viroqua Westby 47 Viroqua 15 No. Date Location Winning team Losing team 4 September 8, 2023 Westby Westby 35 Viroqua 7 5 September 20, 2024 Westby Westby 16 Viroqua 14 Series: Westby leads 5–0

References

1. "Basketball League Formed Among Prep Schools In Coulee". La Crosse Tribune. December 7, 1926. p. 9. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
2. "Trempealeau". La Crosse Tribune. October 21, 1936. p. 9. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
3. "Ready For Cage Play in Coulee". La Crosse Tribune. November 12, 1942. p. 11. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
4. "Gale School Gets Repairs". La Crosse Tribune. August 18, 1949. p. 15. Retrieved May 19, 2025.
5. "Melrose-Mindoro Take Site Option". La Crosse Tribune. November 18, 1964. p. 1. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
6. "Bob Anderson Rambles for 211 Holmen Yards". La Crosse Tribune. September 18, 1965. p. 5. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
7. Gunderson, Jim (February 24, 1965). "Arcadia To Join Coulee Conference". La Crosse Tribune. p. 10. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
8. Carl, Pauline (September 9, 1971). "Long Battle Ends, Tremplo Merges With G-E District". La Crosse Tribune. p. 21. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
9. Pickett, Jim (September 3, 1971). "Alma Center Lincoln Eyes End of Long Grid Drought". La Crosse Tribune. p. 18. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
10. Lisser, Bill (August 30, 1977). "Mel-Min, C-FC switch to Dairyland". La Crosse Tribune. p. 37. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
11. Whitehorn, Dave (August 25, 1977). "New Look for Area Preps". La Crosse Tribune. p. 12. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
12. "Keeping Up With The Events - Conference Realignment..." Wisconsin Dells Events. October 21, 1976. p. 17. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
13. Whitehorn, Dave (January 25, 1977). "Royall against joining Coulee". La Crosse Tribune. p. 12. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
14. "Wonewoc-Center is Scenic Bluffs pick". Wisconsin State Journal. August 26, 1979. pp. 55 (Football '79 insert). Retrieved April 24, 2025.
15. Miller, Pete (November 27, 1980). "Area conferences feature strong programs". La Crosse Tribune. p. 43. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
16. Gardner, Charles (August 27, 1987). "Coulee welcomes Viroqua, new coaches". La Crosse Tribune. pp. F-27. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
17. Seering, Jeff (February 18, 1988). "New weights and realignment". Reedsburg Times-Press. p. 28. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
18. "New league given a name". The La Crosse Tribune. November 20, 1988. p. 15. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
19. Kabelowsky, Art (January 13, 1996). "Move could affect Onalaska Luther". La Crosse Tribune. p. 7. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
20. Cohen, Andrew (April 20, 1996). "Area leagues next on WIAA agenda". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 33. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
21. Brown, Jeff (August 28, 2007). "Lancers bring high-octane offense to HVL". Winona Daily News. p. 12. Retrieved April 24, 2025.
22. Gunderson, Jim (September 10, 1959). "Coulee Loop Opens Play". La Crosse Tribune. p. 24. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
23. Levy, Declan (September 6, 2019). "G-E-T dominates Black River Falls on the road". WXOW.com. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
24. "WIAA approves football-only realignment plan for southwest Wisconsin schools". SWNews4u.com. May 2, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
25. AB Staff (April 25, 2018). "Wisconsin Prep Conferences to Realign". Dubuque Telegraph Herald. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
26. "Revised Football-Only Conference Plan Released". Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 9, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
27. "WFCA/WIAA Football-Only Realignment Proposal" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 6, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
28. "Proposed Football Only Conference Alignment - 11-Player" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 11, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
29. "2026 - 27 Conference Realignment – 11-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. December 10, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2025.
30. "Noah Benish on Instagram: ""When they look back in the anals of history, people are gonna be talking about three things: The discovery of fire, invention of the submarine, and the Flint, Michigan Mega Bowl."-Jackie Moon #megabowl"". Instagram. Archived from the original on September 7, 2023.

External links

• Coulee Conference (official website)