Lumberjack Conference

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The Lumberjack Conference is a former high school athletic conference with its membership concentrated in north central Wisconsin. Originating as a football-only conference in 1946, the Lumberjack Conference competed as an all-sport conference from 1953 to 2008. All member schools belonged to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Contents

History

Football-Only Origins (1946-1953)

The Lumberjack Conference was organized in 1946 as a football-only conference by a group of small- to medium-sized schools in north central Wisconsin. [1] Original members were Medford, Mosinee, Stanley, Tomahawk and the "B" team from Wausau High School. In 1948, Wausau "B" left the conference and were replaced by Nekoosa High School, formerly of the Wisconsin Valley Conference. [2] Stanley left the league in 1950 and were replaced by Park Falls and Phillips. [3] By 1951, conference officials began discussing sponsorship of sports other than football, contingent upon Nekoosa and Tomahawk leaving the larger Wisconsin Valley Conference. [4] Park Falls left the Lumberjack Conference in 1952 to become an all-sport member of the Michigan-Wisconsin Conference (which they already belonged to for basketball). [5] Nekoosa followed them out to join the South Central Conference, and the Lumberjack was down to four members for the 1952 football season. [6] In 1953, the newly opened D.C. Everest High School in Schofield was accepted into the Lumberjack Conference as its fifth football member. [7]

Transition to All-Sport Conference (1953-1976)

A few months after D.C. Everest was welcomed into the Lumberjack Conference, the loop elected to sponsor additional sports, starting with basketball in the 1953-54 school year. [8] Four of the football members (D.C. Everest, Medford, Mosinee and Phillips) would compete in the inaugural season. The fifth football member, Tomahawk, joined the Lumberjack the next year as a full member after leaving the Wisconsin Valley Conference. [9] Park Falls joined the conference in 1955 after their exit from the Michigan-Wisconsin Conference. [10] D.C. Everest left the Lumberjack Conference in 1957 when they were invited to join the Wisconsin Valley Conference. [11] They were replaced by Lakeland Union High School in Minocqua (formerly of the Northern Lakes Conference) in 1958, [12] and the conference remained a six-member circuit for fifteen years. Ashland and Hurley joined the Lumberjack in 1973, leading to the dissolution of the Michigan-Wisconsin Conference. [13]

Temporary Expansion and Later Years (1976-2008)

In 1976, the Lumberjack Conference added four schools: Auburndale, Colby,Nekoosa and Northland Pines in Eagle River. Auburndale and Nekoosa were former members of the Marawood Conference, Colby came from the Cloverbelt Conference, and Northland Pines was late of the Northern Lakes Conference. To accommodate the expansion of the Lumberjack to twelve member schools, the conference subdivided into North and South Divisions: [14] [15]

North DivisionSouth Division
AshlandAuburndale
HurleyColby
Lakeland UnionMedford
Northland PinesMosinee
Park FallsNekoosa
PhillipsTomahawk

This alignment would be short-lived, as four schools left the Lumberjack to join the Cloverbelt Conference in 1978: Auburndale, Colby, Mosinee and Nekoosa. Mosinee had long wanted out of the Lumberjack because of the long travel distances they experienced as members of the conference and were closer to their new rivals in the Cloverbelt. [16] The conference went back down to a single division and continued as an eight-member conference until Hurley left in 1980. [17] [18] The remaining seven members continued until Ashland left the Lumberjack Conference in 2006 to join the Lake Superior Conference, a Minnesota-based conference that included nearby Superior High School as members. [19] The Lumberjack played on with six members until 2008, when the conference was dissolved. Four of its member schools (Lakeland Union, Medford, Northland Pines and Tomahawk) went on to help form the Great Northern Conference, [20] and the other two schools (Park Falls and Phillips) joined the Marawood Conference. Park Falls High School would close in 2009 after consolidation with Glidden to form Chequamegon High School. [21]

Conference Membership History

SchoolLocationAffiliation Enrollment MascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent Conference
D.C. Everest Schofield, WI Public1,824Evergreens  1953 [8] 1957 [11] Wisconsin Valley
Medford Medford, WI Public738Raiders  1953 [8] 2008 [20] Great Northern
Mosinee Mosinee, WI Public621Indians  1953 [8] 1978 [16] Cloverbelt Great Northern
Phillips Phillips, WI Public217Loggers  1953 [8] 2008 [20] Marawood
Tomahawk Tomahawk, WI Public371Hatchets  1954 [22] 2008 [20] Great Northern
Park Falls Park Falls, WI PublicN/ACardinals  1955 [10] 2008 [20] Marawood Closed in 2009 (consolidated into Chequamegon)
Lakeland Union Minocqua, WI Public717Thunderbirds  1958 [12] 2008 [20] Great Northern
Ashland Ashland, WI Public635Oredockers  1973 [13] 2006 [19] Lake Superior (MSHSL) Heart O' North
Hurley Hurley, WI Public192Midgets  1973 [13] 1980 [17] Independent Northern Lights
Auburndale Auburndale, WI Public229Apaches  1976 [14] [15] 1978 [16] Cloverbelt Marawood
Colby Colby, WI Public309Hornets  1976 [14] [15] 1978 [16] Cloverbelt
Nekoosa Nekoosa, WI Public292Papermakers  1976 [14] [15] 1978 [16] Cloverbelt South Central
Northland Pines Eagle River, WI Public451Eagles  1976 [14] [15] 2008 [20] Great Northern

List of State Champions

Fall Sports

Boys Cross Country
SchoolYearDivision
Tomahawk1977Class B
Phillips1990Division 2
Phillips1992Division 2
Girls Cross Country
SchoolYearDivision
Tomahawk1976Single Division
Tomahawk1978Class B
Tomahawk1979Class B
Phillips1985Class B
Phillips1986Class B
Park Falls1988Class B
Park Falls1991Division 2
Tomahawk2004Division 2
Football
SchoolYearDivision
Lakeland Union1983Division 3
Ashland1984Division 2
Ashland1993Division 3

Winter Sports

Boys Basketball
SchoolYearDivision
Park Falls1999Division 3
Girls Basketball
SchoolYearDivision
Lakeland Union1992Division 2
Park Falls1995Division 3
Curling
SchoolYearDivision
Medford1968Single Division
Medford1970Single Division
Boys Ice Hockey
SchoolYearDivision
Northland Pines1984Single Division
Northland Pines1986Single Division
Northland Pines1989Single Division

Spring Sports

None

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References

  1. ↑ "New Grid Loop Being Organized". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. 9 November 1945. p. 5. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  2. ↑ "Await Conference Meeting to Decide Lumberjack Title". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. 4 November 1948. p. 13. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  3. ↑ "Lumberjack Conference Elects New Officers". 25 March 1950.
  4. ↑ "Nekoosa High to Quit Valley". Rhinelander Daily News. 14 February 1951. p. 6. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  5. ↑ "Officials of Lumberjack Conference to Meet". Marshfield News-Herald. 7 November 1951. p. 14. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  6. ↑ "Nekoosa Gridders to Compete in New Loop". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. 11 December 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  7. ↑ "Football at Everest High School in '53". Wausau Daily Herald. 29 November 1952. p. 14. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Lumberjack League Adds Basketball Slate". Wausau Daily Herald. 15 April 1953. p. 18. Retrieved 23 December 2024.
  9. ↑ Associated Press (1 July 1954). "4 Schools Form New Prep League". The Capital Times. p. 26. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  10. 1 2 "Park Falls Coming Back To Conference". Wausau Dailu Herald. 12 November 1954. p. 14. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
  11. 1 2 "D.C. Everest Admitted Into Valley Circuit". Stevens Point Journal. 13 November 1956. p. 1. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  12. 1 2 "Lakeland Board Reaffirms Shift to New Conference". Rhinelander Daily News. 24 October 1957. p. 3. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  13. 1 2 3 "Lumberjack Conference Accepts Hurley's Bid". Ironwood Daily Globe. 9 May 1972. p. 5. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "Papers, Apaches Shifted to Lumberjack". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. 27 June 1975. p. 6. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Orcutt, Rob (1 July 1975). "Medium, small school officials display mixed emotions in wake of realignment". Wausau Daily Herald. p. 15.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 McNichols, Mike (24 September 1977). "Mosinee, Colby, two other LJ schools move into Cloverbelt". Wausau Daily Herald. p. 11. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  17. 1 2 "Lumberjack Stats". Marshfield News Herald. 31 January 1980. p. 15. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  18. ↑ "Lumberjack Cage Stats". Marshfield News-Herald. 22 January 1981. p. 12. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  19. 1 2 Weegman, Rick (8 September 2006). "Ashland feels right at home in Minnesota-based conference". Duluth News Tribune. p. 14. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lueck, Collin (11 June 2008). "Merrill High School ready for move to brand new conference". Merrill Foto News. p. 31. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  21. ↑ "School District Consolidation History (graphic insert)". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. 26 July 2009. pp. 6A. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
  22. ↑
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