History
The East Central Flyway Conference was created in 2001 from a merger of two previously established conferences for small schools in east central Wisconsin. Eight members (Berlin, Laconia, Lourdes Academy in Oshkosh, Markesan, Omro, Ripon, Wautoma and Winneconne) were formerly in the East Central Conference and nine schools came from the Flyway Conference (Central Wisconsin Christian in Waupun, Horicon, Lomira, Mayville, North Fond du Lac, Oakfield, St. Lawrence Seminary in Mount Calvary, and St. Mary’s Springs and Winnebago Lutheran, both out of Fond du Lac). [1] The conference was separated into two divisions with the ECC schools forming the Lakes Division and the Flyway members comprising the Rivers Division: [2]
| Lakes Division | Rivers Division |
|---|---|
| Berlin | Central Wisconsin Christian |
| Laconia | Horicon |
| Lourdes Academy | Lomira |
| Markesan | Mayville |
| Omro | North Fond du Lac |
| Ripon | Oakfield |
| Wautoma | St. Lawrence Seminary |
| Winneconne | St. Mary’s Springs |
| Winnebago Lutheran |
The first membership changes occurred in 2004, when Central Wisconsin Christian and St. Lawrence Seminary left the East Central Flyway. Central Wisconsin Christian joined the Trailways Conference while St. Lawrence became an independent. [3] Waupun, formerly of the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference, joined the Lakes Division with Laconia moving over to the Rivers Division: [4]
| Lakes Division | Rivers Division |
|---|---|
| Berlin | Horicon |
| Lourdes Academy | Laconia |
| Markesan | Lomira |
| Omro | Mayville |
| Ripon | North Fond du Lac |
| Waupun | Oakfield |
| Wautoma | St. Mary’s Springs |
| Winneconne | Winnebago Lutheran |
The most significant change came two years later when ten schools left the conference. Six schools from the Rivers Division (Horicon, Laconia, Lomira, Mayville, North Fond du Lac and St. Mary’s Springs) joined with Kettle Moraine Lutheran in Jackson in forming the Wisconsin Flyway Conference, three schools (Lourdes Academy, Markesan and Oakfield) became members of the Trailways Conference, and Wautoma joined the South Central Conference. [5] The remaining six schools continued competition for one more season before disbanding in 2007. Four schools (Berlin, Omro, Ripon and Winneconne) became charter members of the Eastern Valley Conference, Waupun was accepted into the Eastern Wisconsin Conference and Winnebago Lutheran joined the Wisconsin Flyway Conference. [6]
Football
For football, the East Central Flyway Conference was partitioned into the Lakes and Rivers divisions just like it was for other sports, with a few differences in alignment. Mayville and St. Mary's Springs swapped divisions with Laconia, Lourdes Academy and Markesan, and Waupun was a football-only member of the conference until 2004, when they left the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference to become an all-sport member of the ECFC. Central Wisconsin Christian and St. Lawrence Seminary did not sponsor football and, therefore, did not participate: [7]
| Lakes Division | Rivers Division |
|---|---|
| Berlin | Horicon |
| Mayville | Laconia |
| Omro | Lomira |
| Ripon | Lourdes Academy |
| St. Mary's Springs | Markesan |
| Waupun | North Fond du Lac |
| Wautoma | Oakfield |
| Winneconne | Winnebago Lutheran |
For the 2003 football season, the conference lost Lourdes Academy to the Midwest Classic Conference and Oakfield to the large-school division of the Trailways Conference. [8] St. Mary's Springs moved over to the Rivers Division to keep an even seven members per division until the formation of the Wisconsin Flyway Conference broke up ECFC membership in 2006.
