Marawood Conference

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The Marawood Conference is a high school athletic conference with its membership concentrated in north central Wisconsin. It was founded in 1949 and all member schools are affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Contents

History

1949-1972

Marawood Conference
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30km
19miles
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Location of Original Marawood Conference Members

The Marawood Conference was founded in 1949 by seven small high schools in north central Wisconsin: Athens, Auburndale, Edgar, Marathon, Pittsville, Rudolph, and Stratford. [1] These schools were all former members of the Marathon County League (1928-1949) and Wood County League (1925-1942), and the name of the conference reflects the location of its original member schools. Membership remained consistent through the first thirteen years of the conference's history, with the first changes coming in 1962. Rudolph High School closed and was consolidated into Wisconsin Rapids, [2] and two schools (Granton and Spencer) joined after the dissolution of the 3-C Conference. [3] The conference sponsored their first football league for the 1964 season, and five schools (Auburndale, Edgar, Pittsville, Spencer and Stratford) were part of the inaugural roster. [4] [5] Abbotsford moved over from the Cloverbelt Conference in 1966, [6] increasing the roster to nine schools. That number jumped to eleven in 1970 when two schools who were displaced by their conferences disbanding entered: Nekoosa from the Vacationland Conference and Rib Lake from the Flambeau League. [7]

1972-2008

Granton left to join the Central State Conference in 1972, [8] bringing membership back down to ten schools. They would rejoin in 1976, [9] replacing the departing Auburndale and Nekoosa, who both moved on to the Lumberjack Conference. Two years later, Prentice would join from the Lakeland Conference, [10] and the conference's stable would stay intact for just over two decades until three new schools were added in 2000: Assumption in Wisconsin Rapids, Columbus Catholic in Marshfield, and Newman Catholic in Wausau. [11] These schools were recent additions to the WIAA after the merger with WISAA, and all were previously members of the Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference. Auburndale would also reenter the Marawood Conference that year, [12] and a fifteenth member school would join in 2005 (Northland Lutheran in Kronenwetter). [13] The Marawood Conference would split into North and South Divisions to accommodate the recent expansion:

North DivisionSouth Division
AbbotsfordAssumption
AthensAuburndale
EdgarColumbus Catholic
MarathonGranton
Newman CatholicNorthland Lutheran
PrenticePittsville
Rib LakeSpencer
Stratford

2008-present

In 2008, Park Falls and Phillips joined the Marawood Conference after the Lumberjack Conference ceased operations. [14] They joined the North Division, with Edgar, Marathon and Newman Catholic moving to the South Division. These three schools replaced Columbus Catholic, Granton and Spencer, all of whom joined the Cloverbelt Conference. [15] In 2009, Park Falls was merged with Glidden of the Indianhead Conference to form Chequamegon, [16] who inherited Park Falls' Marawood Conference membership. Divisional alignment remained intact for the next five years before Edgar was moved back to the North Division. [17] This lasted for three years before moving back to the South Division to replace two schools that left to join the Central Wisconsin Conference: Northland Lutheran and Pittsville. [18] Currently, the Marawood Conference has twelve members in the following alignment:

North DivisionSouth Division
AbbotsfordAssumption
AthensAuburndale
ChequamegonEdgar
PhillipsMarathon
PrenticeNewman Catholic
Rib LakeStratford

Football (2008-present)

In 2008, the Marawood Conference lost five football-playing members: Spencer/Columbus to the Cloverbelt Conference and four schools (Abbotsford, Assumption, Athens and Newman Catholic) to the new Cloverwood Conference, a partnership between the four Marawood and six schools affiliated with the Cloverbelt. [19] This arrangement lasted through the 2019 season, around the same time a comprehensive realignment plan was released by the WIAA and Wisconsin Football Coaches Association to begin with the 2020 season and run on a two-year realignment cycle. [20] Five full Marawood members (Abbotsford, Athens, Auburndale, Edgar and Marathon) were joined by three Cloverbelt schools (Colby, Owen-Withee and Thorp) to form the 2020-2021 roster. [21] Before the 2021 season could begin, three schools (Athens, Owen-Withee and Thorp) decided to transition to eight-player football and left the conference, with their games counting as losses by forfeit in the standings. For the 2022-2023 competition cycle, Pittsville joined the remaining five schools from the 2021 season and the Marawood formed a scheduling alliance with the Central Wisconsin Conference's small-school division. [22] In 2024, the Marawood Conference lost two members (Colby and Marathon) to the Central Wisconsin Conference's large-school division, replacing them with three schools from the CWC's small-school division (Iola-Scandinavia, Pacelli and Rosholt) and full members Assumption. [23] This alignment is set to remain in place until the 2026-2027 realignment cycle, when Assumption and Rosholt switch to eight-player football, [24] and the Loyal/Greenwood football cooperative set to join as their replacements. [25]

List of member schools

Current members

SchoolLocationAffiliation Enrollment MascotColorsJoinedDivision
Abbotsford Abbotsford, WI Public241Falcons  1966 [6] North
Assumption Wisconsin Rapids, WI Private (Catholic)139Royals  2000 [11] South
Athens Athens, WI Public127Bluejays  1949 [1] North
Auburndale Auburndale, WI Public229Eagles  1949, [1] 2000 [12] South
Chequamegon Park Falls, WI Public241Screaming Eagles  2009 [16] North
Edgar Edgar, WI Public201Wildcats  1949 [1] South
Marathon Marathon City, WI Public260Red Raiders  1949 [1] South
Newman Catholic Wausau, WI Private (Catholic)128Cardinals  2000 [11] South
Phillips Phillips, WI Public217Loggers  2008 [14] North
Prentice Prentice, WI Public122Buccaneers  1978 [10] North
Rib Lake Rib Lake, WI Public132Redmen  1970 [7] North
Stratford Stratford, WI Public272Tigers  1949 [1] South

Current football-only members

SchoolLocationAffiliation Enrollment MascotColorsJoinedPrimary Conference
Iola-Scandinavia Iola, WI Public197Thunderbirds  2024 Central Wisconsin
Pacelli Stevens Point, WI Private (Catholic)169Cardinals  2024 Central Wisconsin
Rosholt Rosholt, WI Public176Hornets   2024 Central Wisconsin

Future football-only members

SchoolLocationAffiliation Enrollment MascotColorsJoiningPrimary Conference
Loyal/
Greenwood 		Loyal, WI Public275Wolves  2026 Cloverbelt

Former members

SchoolLocationAffiliation Enrollment MascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent Conference
Pittsville Pittsville, WI Public168Panthers  1949 [1] 2017 [18] Central Wisconsin
Rudolph Rudolph, WI PublicN/AReindeer  1949 [1] 1962 [2] Closed (consolidated into Wisconsin Rapids)
Granton Granton, WI Public62Bulldogs  1962, [3] 1976 [9] 1972, [8] 2008 [15] Central State, Cloverbelt Cloverbelt
Spencer Spencer, WI Public220Rockets  1962 [3] 2008 [15] Cloverbelt
Nekoosa Nekoosa, WI Public295Papermakers  1970 [7] 1976 [9] Lumberjack South Central
Columbus Catholic Marshfield, WI Private (Catholic)146Dons  2000 [11] 2008 [15] Cloverbelt
Northland Lutheran Kronenwetter, WI Private (Lutheran, WELS)82Wildcats  2005 [13] 2017 [18] Central Wisconsin
Park Falls Park Falls, WI PublicN/ACardinals  2008 [14] 2009 [16] Closed (merged into Chequamegon)

Former football-only members

SchoolLocationAffiliationEnrollmentMascotColorsSeasonsPrimary Conference
Rib Lake/
Prentice 		Rib Lake, WI Public254Hawks  1988, 1991-2019Marawood
Spencer/
Columbus Catholic 		Spencer, WI Public/Private (Catholic)366Rockets  2002-2007Marawood
McDonell Central Catholic Chippewa Falls, WI Private (Catholic)206Macks  2008-2010 Cloverbelt
Butternut Butternut, WI Public57Midgets  2008 Indianhead
Tomahawk Tomahawk, WI Public371Hatchets  2011-2019 Great Northern
Colby Colby, WI Public309Hornets  2020-2023 Cloverbelt
Owen-Withee Owen, WI Public126Blackhawks  2020 Cloverbelt
Thorp Thorp, WI Public170Cardinals  2020 Cloverbelt

Membership timeline

Full members

Marawood Conference

 North Division South Division

Football members

Marawood Conference

Membership map

Marawood Conference
Marawood Conference
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Location of Marawood Conference full members:
1
Abbotsford
2
Assumption
3
Athens
4
Auburndale
5
Chequamegon
6
Edgar
7
Marathon
8
Newman Catholic
9
Phillips
10
Prentice
11
Rib Lake
12
Stratford

List of state champions

Fall sports

Boys Cross Country
SchoolYearDivision
Rib Lake1999Division 3
Girls Cross Country
SchoolYearDivision
Edgar1983Class C
Prentice1985Class C
Prentice1986Class C
Prentice1987Class C
Edgar1988Class C
Edgar2008Division 3
Edgar2009Division 3
Football
SchoolYearDivision
Edgar1979Division 4
Stratford1986Division 5
Edgar1992Division 5
Edgar1999Division 5
Edgar2001Division 5
Stratford2003Division 6
Stratford2004Division 6
Stratford2005Division 6
Stratford2006Division 6
Stratford2007Division 6
Stratford2008Division 6
Edgar2009Division 6
Edgar2010Division 6
Edgar2016Division 7
Edgar2023Division 7
Girls Volleyball
SchoolYearDivision
Abbotsford1981Class C
Abbotsford1982Class C
Abbotsford1983Class C
Abbotsford1997Division 4
Abbotsford1998Division 4
Abbotsford1999Division 4
Abbotsford2001Division 4
Newman Catholic2013Division 4
Newman Catholic2014Division 4
Newman Catholic2015Division 4
Newman Catholic2016Division 4

Winter sports

Boys Basketball
SchoolYearDivision
Marathon1975Class C
Marathon1976Class C
Marathon1977Class C
Edgar1997Division 4
Marathon2011Division 4
Newman Catholic2023Division 5
Girls Basketball
SchoolYearDivision
Prentice1981Class C
Prentice1989Class C
Prentice1992Division 4
Marathon1998Division 3
Newman Catholic2002Division 3
Newman Catholic2010Division 4
Newman Catholic2011Division 5
Assumption2015Division 5
Assumption2016Division 5
Assumption2021Division 5
Boys Wrestling
SchoolYearDivision
Athens1984Class C
Athens1987Class C
Athens1991Division 3
Athens1993Division 3
Athens1994Division 3
Athens1995Division 3
Stratford2017Division 3
Stratford2018Division 3

Spring sports

Baseball
SchoolYearDivision
Auburndale1960Single Division
Athens1982Class C
Marathon1992Division 3
Spencer1994Division 4
Abbotsford2006Division 4
Marathon2008Division 3
Marathon2010Division 3
Athens2017Division 4
Athens2018Division 4
Stratford2019Division 3
Girls Soccer
SchoolYearDivision
Assumption2014Division 4
Softball
SchoolYearDivision
Assumption2001Division 3
Assumption2005Division 4
Assumption2022Division 5
Boys Track & Field
SchoolYearDivision
Marathon1990Class C
Athens2005Division 3
Newman Catholic2006Division 3
Newman Catholic2007Division 3
Stratford2008Division 3
Edgar2012Division 3
Marathon2015Division 3
Marathon2016Division 3
Girls Track & Field
SchoolYearDivision
Marathon1981Class C
Marathon1982Class C
Marathon1983Class C
Marathon1985Class C
Marathon1986Class C
Newman Catholic2009Division 3
Edgar2010Division 3
Edgar2011Division 3
Edgar2012Division 3
Edgar2013Division 3

Summer sports

Baseball
SchoolYearDivision
Auburndale1970Single Division

List of conference champions

Boys Basketball

Source: [26]

SchoolQuantityYears
Marathon301951, 1952, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1995, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022, 2023, 2024
Stratford161952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2006, 2019, 2020, 2025
Edgar131958, 1959, 1960, 1972, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1988, 2016, 2017, 2021
Auburndale111957, 1962, 1963, 1971, 2003, 2004, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018
Pittsville101961, 1965, 1966, 1990, 1993, 1994, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007
Prentice91989, 1990, 1999, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Abbotsford81969, 1970, 1978, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2014
Rib Lake71987, 2001, 2009, 2018, 2020, 2024, 2025
Assumption42007, 2008, 2009, 2017
Athens41950, 2021, 2022, 2023
Spencer31963, 1964, 2007
Phillips22015, 2019
Columbus Catholic12008
Nekoosa11973
Rudolph11950
Chequamegon0
Granton0
Newman Catholic0
Northland Lutheran0
Park Falls0

Girls Basketball

Source: [27]

SchoolQuantityYears
Prentice221980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2019
Assumption112002, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Newman Catholic112002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2019, 2020
Marathon91992, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
Rib Lake91974, 1976, 1977, 1978, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2018
Abbotsford71975, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985, 2013
Phillips62020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Athens51985, 1990, 2014, 2015, 2023
Pittsville52003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
Stratford32000, 2001, 2021
Auburndale22016, 2021
Edgar22008, 2016
Spencer11995
Chequamegon0
Columbus Catholic0
Granton0
Nekoosa0
Northland Lutheran0
Park Falls0

Football

Source: [28]

SchoolQuantityYears
Edgar301966, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024
Stratford221965, 1967, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2016, 2019
Auburndale91965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1974, 1975, 2002, 2022
Marathon81973, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1993, 2013, 2015
Spencer51964, 1965, 1966, 1980, 1982
Colby32020, 2021, 2022
Pittsville21978, 1990
Nekoosa11971
Abbotsford0
Assumption0
Athens0
Butternut0
Chequamegon0
Columbus Catholic0
Iola-Scandinavia0
McDonell Central Catholic0
Newman Catholic0
Owen-Withee0
Pacelli0
Phillips0
Prentice0
Rib Lake0
Rib Lake/
Prentice		0
Rosholt0
Spencer/
Columbus Catholic		0
Thorp0
Tomahawk0

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Rudolph Defeats Athens 29-24". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. November 16, 1949. p. 6. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Rudolph School Merger with Wisconsin Rapids Ordered". Stevens Point Journal. March 2, 1962. p. 11. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Cloverbelt, Marawood Open Conference Seasons Friday". Marshfield News-Herald. November 15, 1962. p. 17. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Rockets Drill For Opener At Neillsville". Marshfield News-Herald. August 29, 1964. p. 6. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  5. ↑ "MCC Standings". Wausau Daily Herald. September 28, 1964. p. 19. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Abbotsford 5 Prepares for First MC Season". Wausau Daily Herald. November 12, 1955. p. 12. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 "Marawood Conference votes to enroll Nekoosa". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. October 22, 1969. p. 14. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  8. 1 2 "CSC Admits Two New for 1971-72". Stevens Point Journal. November 22, 1971. p. 14. Retrieved February 8, 2025.
  9. 1 2 3 "Papers, Apaches shifted to Lumberjack". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. June 27, 1975. p. 6. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  10. 1 2 "Edgar eyes another Marawood crown". Marshfield News-Herald. August 22, 1978. p. 11. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Kohn, Dan (April 8, 1999). "New home for Dons: They'll join Marawood Conference". Marshfield News-Herald. p. 1. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  12. 1 2 Christopher, Joel (May 7, 1999). "Marawood Conference an all-around realignment winner". Wausau Daily Herald. pp. 1C. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  13. 1 2 Lecker, Paul (December 8, 2005). "Marawood Conference coaches mixed about schedule changes". Marshfield News-Herald. p. 7. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 Massoglia, Mark (December 4, 2008). "New-look Pittsville strives for more success". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. p. 11. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Miller, Jake (August 3, 2008). "Finding opponents tough for teams in new-look WVC". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. pp. 4B. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  16. 1 2 3 "School District Consolidation History (table)". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. July 26, 2009. pp. A6. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  17. ↑ "Marawood - North". MaxPreps. February 10, 2025. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  18. 1 2 3 Johnson, Tim (June 23, 2016). "Proposal would expand CWC to 21 schools". Wausau Daily Herald. pp. B1. Retrieved February 10, 2025.
  19. ↑ Ziemer, Joe (January 12, 2007). "WIAA approves latest realignment plan". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. pp. 4D. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Revised Football-Only Conference Plan Released". Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 9, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  21. ↑ "WFCA/WIAA Football-Only Realignment Proposal" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 6, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Proposed Football Only Conference Alignment - 11-Player" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 11, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  23. ↑ "2024-25 Conference Realignment Plan – 11-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. December 14, 2023. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  24. ↑ "2026-27 Conference Realignment - 8-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. December 10, 2024. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  25. ↑ "2026 - 27 Conference Realignment – 11-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. December 10, 2024. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  26. ↑ Lacke, Mark (February 28, 2025). "Marawood Conference Basketball Champions" (PDF). Marawood Conference. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  27. ↑ Lacke, Mark (February 28, 2025). "Marawood Conference Girls Basketball Champions" (PDF). Marawood Conference. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  28. ↑ Lacke, Mark (October 18, 2024). "Marawood Conference Football Champions" (PDF). Marawood Conference. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
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