History
The Little Eight Conference was formed in 1926 by eight small high schools in west central Wisconsin: Altoona, Augusta, Black River Falls, Fairchild, Fall Creek, Humbird, Merrillan and Osseo. [1] Most conference members were located in Eau Claire County (or the neighboring counties of Clark, Jackson and Trempealeau) and all members with one exception were located along U.S. Route 12. A ninth member was added to the Little Eight in 1931 when Elk Mound moved over from the Dunn-St. Croix Conference. [2] The next year, Neillsville joined as members and the conference was realigned into Northern and Southern sections: [3]
| Northern Section | Southern Section |
|---|---|
| Altoona | Black River Falls |
| Augusta | Fairchild |
| Elk Mound | Humbird |
| Fall Creek | Merrillan |
| Osseo | Neillsville |
This alignment lasted for three seasons before four members left the Little Eight Conference in 1935: Augusta, Black River Falls, Neillsville and Osseo. [4] Augusta left for membership in the Mississippi Valley Conference [5] along with Osseo, who relinquished dual membership in the Little Eight to join the MVC on a full-time basis. Black River Falls and Neillsville both became independents before forming the Mississippi Valley Triangular League with Augusta in 1936. [6] The six remaining members carried on for two more seasons before the Little Eight Conference ceased operations in 1937. [7] Elk Mound returned to the Dunn-St. Croix Conference [8] and Merrillan became members of the Trempealeau Valley Conference. [9] The other four schools (Altoona, Fairchild, Fall Creek and Humbird) became independents until joining new conferences after World War II.
