Eastern Wisconsin Conference

The Eastern Wisconsin Conference is a high school athletic conference with its membership based in east central Wisconsin. It existed in two incarnations: the original conference from 1923 to 1970 and the current one since 1979. The conference and its member schools belong to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

1923-1930

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Location of Original Eastern Wisconsin Conference Members (1923)

The Eastern Wisconsin Conference, originally known as the Big Eight High School Athletic Conference, was founded in 1923 by eight small high schools in the area between Lake Michigan and Lake Winnebago in east central Wisconsin (Brillion, Chilton, Elkhart Lake, Hilbert, Kiel, New Holstein, Plymouth and Sheboygan Falls). ^[1] Original member schools were located in three counties: Calumet, Manitowoc and Sheboygan. After the conference's first season of competition, three schools (Brillion, Elkhart Lake and Hilbert) were dropped from the membership roster. ^[2] Elkhart Lake rejoined the conference in 1925 to bring membership back up to six schools. ^[3] A seventh member school was added when Valders joined the Big Eight in 1928, ^[4] and Kohler brought the ledger back to eight members when they entered the league in 1929. ^[5]

1930-1948

In 1930, three football-playing members of the Big Eight (Chilton, Plymouth and Sheboygan Falls) began to discuss the formation of a football conference. ^[6] The Eastern Wisconsin Conference adopted its official moniker in 1935, ^[7] and started eleven-man football competition the next year with Chilton, Kiel, Plymouth and Sheboygan Falls. A division for six-man football was formed in 1938, ^[8] and its original members were New Holstein, Sheboygan Falls and Valders. Kohler joined in 1941 when they started their six-man football program, ^[9] which is the same year that the eleven-man division stopped keeping records. In 1948, the decision was made by six of the eight conference members to transition to eleven-man football with six members (Chilton, Kiel, New Holstein, Plymouth, Sheboygan Falls and Valders) participating. Elkhart Lake and Kohler elected to continue as six-man programs and did not remain as football members. ^[10]

1948-1970

After the initial membership shuffle, the Eastern Wisconsin Conference maintained a steady membership roster for over two decades for most of their sports. Original conference member Brillion rejoined the EWC in 1951 after moving over from the Little Nine Conference. ^[11] The Eastern Wisconsin Conference increased to ten members in 1960, adding Oostburg to its membership roster. In 1965, Brillion rejoined the Little Nine Conference, ^[12] with their place being taken by former Kettle Moraine Conference members Cedar Grove. ^[13] In football, Kohler and Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah joined the EWC after moving to eleven-man football in 1960 ^[14] and 1964, ^[15] respectively. Five schools left the conference in 1969; four became charter members of the Central Lakeshore Conference (Cedar Grove, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, Kohler and Oostburg) ^[16] and Chilton competed as an independent after completion of the 1969 football season. ^[17] The EWC disbanded at the end of the 1969-1970 school year, with members dispersed to two new conferences. Five schools joined the Packerland Conference (Chilton, Kiel, New Holstein, Plymouth and Sheboygan Falls) ^[17] and Valders accepted membership in the Olympian Conference. ^[18]

1979-present

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Location of Original Eastern Wisconsin Conference Members (1979)

The Eastern Wisconsin Conference was reformed in 1979 by six of the previous members (Chilton, Kiel, New Holstein, Plymouth, Sheboygan Falls and Valders) along with newcomers Two Rivers. ^[19] The six previous members all left the conferences that were previously joined in 1970, and Two Rivers came over from the Fox Valley Association. Valders only stayed in the new EWC for one season, rejoining the Olympian Conference in 1980. ^[20] Kewaskum joined the Eastern Wisconsin Conference as their replacement after being left without conference affiliation following the dissolution of the Scenic Moraine Conference. ^{[21] [22]} This alignment stayed intact for nearly two decades, until in 1999, Chilton left to become members of the Olympian Conference. ^[23] Campbellsport moved over from the Flyway Conference and Roncalli joined from the Fox Valley Christian Conference as their replacements. ^[24] Roncalli's entry into the league coincided with the merger between the WIAA and the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association, ^[25] and they became the first private school affiliated with the EWC. Roncalli's affiliation would last until 2007, when they accepted membership in the Olympian Conference ^[26] and Waupun joined from the East Central Flyway Conference to keep the roster at eight schools. ^[27] The most recent change to conference membership came in 2015, when the Eastern Wisconsin Conference lost four members (Campbellsport, Kewaskum, Plymouth and Waupun) to the revival of the East Central Conference. ^[28] They were replaced by four schools displaced by the ceasing of the Olympian Conference. Chilton, Roncalli and Valders made their return to the EWC, along with Brillion, who were members of the original conference from 1951 to 1965.

Football-only alignment

In February 2019, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association, the WIAA released a sweeping football-only realignment for Wisconsin to commence with the 2020 football season and run on a two-year cycle. ^[29] Seven members of the Eatsern Wisconsin Conference were carried over into the football conference (Brillion, Chilton, Kiel, New Holstein, Roncalli, Two Rivers and Valders) and the Kohler/Sheboygan Lutheran/Sheboygan Christian (KLC) football cooperative was brought over from the Big East Conference. ^[30] This alignment remained in place for the 2022-2023 realignment cycle. ^[31] For the 2024-2025 cycle, Two Rivers was realigned to the North Eastern Conference for football, and St. Mary Catholic in Neenah took their place after moving from the Trailways Conference. ^[32] The Eastern Wisconsin Conference will continue with this alignment through at least the 2027 football season. ^[33]

List of conference members (1979-present)

Current members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Joined
Brillion	Brillion, WI	Public	342	Lions		2015 [28]
Chilton	Chilton, WI	Public	401	Tigers		1979, [19] 2015 [28]
Kiel	Kiel, WI	Public	453	Raiders		1979 [19]
New Holstein	New Holstein, WI	Public	319	Huskies		1979 [19]
Roncalli	Manitowoc, WI	Private (Catholic)	223	Jets		1999, [24] 2015 [28]
Sheboygan Falls	Sheboygan Falls, WI	Public	513	Falcons		1979 [19]
Two Rivers	Two Rivers, WI	Public	480	Purple Raiders		1979 [19]
Valders	Valders, WI	Public	298	Vikings		1979, [19] 2015 [28]

Current football-only members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Seasons	Primary Conference
KLC Football	Kohler, WI	Public/Private	565	None		2020-present	Big East
St. Mary Catholic	Neenah, WI	Private (Catholic)	273	Zephyrs		2024-present	Big East

Former members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Left	Conference Joined	Current Conference
Plymouth	Plymouth, WI	Public	746	Panthers		1979 [19]	2015 [28]	East Central	Glacier Trails (2025)
Kewaskum	Kewaskum, WI	Public	572	Indians		1980 [21] [22]	2015 [28]	East Central	Glacier Trails (2025)
Campbellsport	Campbellsport, WI	Public	470	Cougars		1999 [24]	2015 [28]	East Central	Wisconsin Flyway
Waupun	Waupun, WI	Public	573	Warriors		2007 [27]	2015 [28]	East Central	Capitol (2025)

Conference membership history (1923-1970)

Full members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Left	Conference Joined	Current Conference
Brillion	Brillion, WI	Public	342	Lions		1923, [1] 1951 [11]	1924, [2] 1965 [12]	Independent, Little Nine	Eastern Wisconsin
Chilton	Chilton, WI	Public	401	Tigers		1923 [1]	1969 [17]	Independent	Eastern Wisconsin
Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah	Elkhart Lake, WI	Public	148	Resorters		1923, [1] 1925 [3]	1924, [2] 1969 [16]	Independent, Central Lakeshore	Big East
Hilbert	Hilbert, WI	Public	141	Wolves		1923 [1]	1924 [2]	Independent	Big East
Kiel	Kiel, WI	Public	453	Raiders		1923 [1]	1970 [17]	Packerland	Eastern Wisconsin
New Holstein	New Holstein, WI	Public	319	Huskies		1923 [1]	1970 [17]	Packerland	Eastern Wisconsin
Plymouth	Plymouth, WI	Public	746	Panthers		1923 [1]	1970 [17]	Packerland	Glacier Trails (2025)
Sheboygan Falls	Sheboygan Falls, WI	Public	513	Falcons		1923 [1]	1970 [17]	Packerland	Eastern Wisconsin
Valders	Valders, WI	Public	298	Vikings		1928 [4]	1970 [18]	Olympian	Eastern Wisconsin
Kohler	Kohler, WI	Public	223	Blue Bombers		1929 [5]	1969 [16]	Central Lakeshore	Big East
Oostburg	Oostburg, WI	Public	331	Dutchmen		1960 [34]	1969 [16]	Central Lakeshore	Big East
Cedar Grove	Cedar Grove, WI	Public	291	Rockets		1965	1969 [16]	Central Lakeshore	Big East

Football-only members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Seasons	Primary Conference
Chilton	Chilton, WI	Public	401	Tigers		1969 [17]	Independent

Membership timeline

1923-1970

Full members

Football members

 11-Man Division 6-Man Division

1979-present

Full members

Football members (since 2020)

Membership map

Eastern Wisconsin Conference

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8.1miles

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

   

Location of Eastern Wisconsin Conference full members:

1

Brillion

2

Chilton

3

Kiel

4

New Holstein

5

Roncalli

6

Sheboygan Falls

7

Two Rivers

8

Valders

List of state champions

Fall sports

Boys Cross Country

School	Year	Division
Two Rivers	1999	Division 2
Valders	2017	Division 2
Valders	2018	Division 2
Valders	2019	Division 2
Valders	2021	Division 2

Girls Cross Country

School	Year	Division
Chilton	1996	Division 2

Football

School	Year	Division
Two Rivers	1980	Division 3
Two Rivers	1981	Division 3
Two Rivers	1982	Division 3
Sheboygan Falls	2000	Division 3

Boys Soccer

School	Year	Division
Plymouth	2002	Division 2
Roncalli/Two Rivers	2020	Division 2

Girls Volleyball

School	Year	Division
Sheboygan Falls	1983	Class B
Waupun	2008	Division 2

Winter sports

Boys Basketball

School	Year	Division
Chilton	1986	Class B
Roncalli	2018	Division 4
Roncalli	2022	Division 4
Brillion	2023	Division 3

Girls Basketball

School	Year	Division
Chilton	1992	Division 3

Boys Wrestling

School	Year	Division
Valders	1957	Single Division

Spring sports

Boys Golf

School	Year	Division
Roncalli	2009	Division 3

Girls Soccer

School	Year	Division
New Holstein	2010	Division 3
Kiel	2023	Division 4

Boys Tennis

School	Year	Division
Roncalli	2000 [35]	WISAA

Boys Track & Field

School	Year	Division
Kohler	1946	Class C
Kohler	1947	Class C
Kohler	1948	Class C
Kohler	1950	Class C
Kohler	1951	Class C
Kohler	1953	Class C
New Holstein	1955	Class C
New Holstein	1956	Class C
Kohler	1958	Class C
Kohler	1965	Class C
Kohler	1967	Class C
Plymouth	1967	Class B
Kohler	1968	Class C

Girls Track & Field

School	Year	Division
Two Rivers	1994	Division 2
Two Rivers	2000	Division 2
Two Rivers	2003	Division 2

Summer sports

Baseball

School	Year	Division
New Holstein	1965	Single Division
Plymouth	1982	Single Division

List of conference champions

Boys Basketball

School	Quantity	Years
Plymouth	20	1938, 1940, 1948, 1949, 1958, 1961, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014
New Holstein	17	1927, 1928, 1929, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1965, 1966, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 2003, 2017, 2018
Two Rivers	13	1981, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2011
Valders	13	1930, 1931, 1934, 1937, 1941, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1963, 1964, 2016, 2018
Kiel	10	1926, 1931, 1933, 1936, 1960, 1968, 1987, 1992, 2002, 2024
Sheboygan Falls	10	1927, 1932, 1935, 1948, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1984, 2004, 2020
Roncalli	9	1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2025
Kohler	7	1942, 1943, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1958, 1969
Waupun	3	2009, 2010, 2015
Brillion	2	1962, 2023
Chilton	2	1939, 1959
Elkhart Lake	1	1934
Cedar Grove	0
Campbellsport	0
Hilbert	0
Kewaskum	0
Oostburg	0

Girls Basketball

School	Quantity	Years
Two Rivers	16	1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2014
Plymouth	9	1980, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1998, 2011
Sheboygan Falls	6	1983, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2024, 2025
Roncalli	4	2002, 2004, 2007, 2016
Valders	4	2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Brillion	3	2021, 2022, 2023
Campbellsport	3	2006, 2007, 2009
Chilton	3	1991, 1992, 1993
Waupun	3	2012, 2014, 2015
New Holstein	2	1989, 1990
Kiel	1	2015
Kewaskum	0

Football

School	Quantity	Years
Plymouth	22	1948, 1950, 1951, 1956, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
Sheboygan Falls	17	1952, 1953, 1961, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2015, 2016, 2017
New Holstein	11	1938, 1940, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1965, 1997, 1998
Two Rivers	10	1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 2022, 2023
Kohler	8	1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1967
Chilton	7	1936, 1937, 1939, 1941, 1951, 1966, 1969
Kiel	7	1938, 1940, 1984, 1989, 2018, 2019, 2024
Kewaskum	5	2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Valders	5	1942, 1943, 1944, 1949, 1968
Campbellsport	3	1999, 2001, 2002
Brillion	2	2020, 2021
Cedar Grove	0
Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah	0
KLC	0
Oostburg	0
Roncalli	0
St. Mary Catholic	0
Waupun	0
Champions from 1939 6-Man Division unknown

References

1. "Marquette Academy to Open H.S. Basketball Season Here (see "Big Eight" results)". Sheboygan Press. December 13, 1923. p. 6. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
2. "Three Schools Are Dropped From Big Eight Conference". Green Bay Press-Gazette. October 13, 1924. p. 7. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
3. Pangissin 26. Sheboygan Falls, WI. 1926. p. 22.
4. "Big Eight Games Called Off; New Holstein Leads". Sheboygan Press. January 28, 1929. p. 13. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
5. "Comprehensive Program for High Schools is Announced". Sheboygan Press. October 16, 1929. p. 9. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
6. Walfoort, Cleon (September 19, 1930). "Plymouth, Chilton, Falls May Form School Loop". Sheboygan Press. p. 14. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
7. "Conference Selects Dates For Contests". Sheboygan Press. February 8, 1935. p. 6. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
8. "Six-Man Football Will Be Played At New Holstein High". Sheboygan Press. April 16, 1938. p. 13. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
9. "Kohler In First Grid Win In History Of The School". Sheboygan Press. September 20, 1941. p. 12. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
10. "News From Nearby Towns (see Drop Six-Man Football)". Cedarburg News. November 12, 1947. p. 9. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
11. "Brillion High School Officially Accepted by Eastern Wis. Circuit". Appleton Post-Crescent. February 2, 1951. p. 15. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
12. "Brillion Will Leave EWC". Appleton Post-Crescent. December 4, 1964. p. 20. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
13. "New Holstein Huskies Get First of Two Tough Tests". Manitowoc Herald-Times-Reporter. January 13, 1966. p. 17. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
14. Pelkin, Dwight (October 22, 1959). "It's This Way". Sheboygan Press. p. 34. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
15. "Brillion Hosts Chilton Friday". Green Bay Press-Gazette. September 9, 1964. p. 30. Retrieved June 9, 2025.
16. "E-W Offshoot League Becomes Central Lakeshore". The Sheboygan Press. November 29, 1968. p. 26. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
17. Associated Press (March 4, 1970). "Chilton joins 'Packerland' Conference". Appleton Post-Crescent. pp. D1. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
18. "Olympian Loop Gets Approval". Manitowoc Herald-Times-Reporter. December 5, 1969. p. 22. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
19. Bartel, Roger (October 12, 1978). "Lutheran looks for new conference". Manitowoc Herald-Times-Reporter. p. 19. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
20. Rockley, Jan (June 21, 1979). "Valders rejoins Olympian group". Manitowoc Herald-Times-Reporter. p. 18. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
21. "1981 Chieftain". 1981 Kewaskum High School Yearbook, page 60-61 ("KHS Sports At A Glance, Kewaskum vs. New Conference). 1981.
22. "Huskies offer Raiders a run". Manitowoc Herald-Times-Reporter. September 3, 1980. p. 9. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
23. Lichterman, Dean (April 17, 1998). "Area school officials generally pleased with latest proposals". Manitowoc Herald-Times-Reporter. p. 8. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
24. "Dawn of the three 'new' leagues". Fond du Lac Reporter. November 28, 1999. pp. D1. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
25. Anderson, Eric (April 24, 1997). "WIAA easily approves merger with WISAA". Racine Journal Times. p. 27. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
26. VanderPas, Dan (January 13, 2006). "Approval expected for plan". Appleton Post-Crescent. p. 19. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
27. "WIAA approves realignment plan". Oshkosh Northwestern. pp. D2. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
28. Clark, Steve (August 16, 2015). "Conference Realignment Jumbles Area Prep Football Schedule". Sheboygan Press. pp. A11. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
29. "Revised Football-Only Conference Plan Released". Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 9, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
30. "WFCA/WIAA Football-Only Realignment Proposal" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 6, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
31. "Proposed Football Only Conference Alignment - 11-Player" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 11, 2021. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
32. "2024-25 Conference Realignment Plan – 11-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. December 14, 2023. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
33. "2026 - 27 Conference Realignment – 11-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. December 10, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
34. Pelkin, Dwight (December 9, 1959). "It's This Way". The Sheboygan Press. p. 35. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
35. "Xavier's Moraes, FVL teams finish in fourth". Appleton Post-Crescent. June 4, 2000. p. 28. Retrieved March 19, 2025.

External links

• Eastern Wisconsin Conference (official website)