Marinette & Oconto Conference

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The Marinette & Oconto Conference is a high school athletic conference in northeastern Wisconsin. Founded in 1927, the conference and its members are affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Contents

History

Founding and Membership Shifts (1927-1951)

The Marinette & Oconto Conference was formed in 1927 by seven small high schools in Marinette and Oconto Counties in northeastern Wisconsin: Coleman, Crivitz, Lena, Marinette Normal, Our Lady of Lourdes, Peshtigo and Wausaukee. [1] In 1929, the M&O lost Marinette Normal and Our Lady of Lourdes, with Niagara joining to bring the conference to six members. [2] Peshtigo left the loop in 1931, [3] with Gillett moving over from the Northeastern Wisconsin Conference in 1932 to take their place. [4] The membership roster for the Marinette & Oconto Conference increased to nine in 1933 when Florence, Mountain and Suring entered the league. [5] Peshtigo would return to the M&O in 1934, [6] and Florence and Niagara left a year later, bringing the conference to eight schools. [7] In 1938, Mountain and Wausaukee exited the conference, [8] and along with Amberg and Pembine they formed the new Nicolet Conference. [9] [10] Bonduel spent a short stint in the conference during World War II, joining in 1941 [11] and leaving two years later. [12] After numerous changes in the conference's first two decades, the circuit entered a period of stability that would last until the 1950s.

Granite Valley Merger and Split (1951-1999)

In 1951, the four-member Granite Valley Conference merged with the six members of the Marinette & Oconto Conference: Amberg, Crivitz, Pembine and Wausaukee. Crivitz was previously a member of both conferences, and Wausaukee reentered the M&O after a thirteen-year absence. [13] With the addition of Goodman, the Marinette & Oconto Conference became a ten-member group, but this arrangement would end up being short-lived. In 1954, Amberg, Goodman, Pembine and Wausaukee split off to reform the Granite Valley Conference, leaving the conference with six member schools. [14] Wausaukee rejoined the Marinette & Oconto Conference for a third time in 1961 after displacement by the Granite Valley's dissolution in 1960. [15] In 1968, Niagara left the Menominee Range Conference in the upper peninsula of Michigan to rejoin as the M&O's eighth member. [16] The Marinette & Oconto Conference entered a three-decade period of stability after Niagara's return.

Present Day (1999-present)

In 1999, Marinette Central Catholic (formerly Our Lady of Lourdes) came back to the Marinette & Oconto Conference [17] [18] after the dissolution of the Fox Valley Christian Conference, a result of the merger between the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association and the WIAA that was finalized in 2000. [19] The school became St. Thomas Aquinas Academy in 2005 after changing its enrollment model from high school to K-12. [20] The Oneida Nation High School joined the M&O in 2015, its first conference membership in their twenty-year history. [21] With Peshtigo's exit in 2017 to join the Packerland Conference, [22] the Marinette & Oconto Conference became the nine-member league that currently exists.

List of Conference Members

Current Members

SchoolLocationAffiliation Enrollment MascotColorsJoined
Coleman Coleman, WI Public229Cougars  1927 [1]
Crivitz Crivitz, WI Public215Wolverines  1927 [1]
Gillett Gillett, WI Public158Tigers  1932 [4]
Lena Lena, WI Public133Wildcats  1927 [1]
Niagara Niagara, WI Public136Badgers  1929, [2] 1968 [16]
Oneida Nation Onʌyoteˀa·ká, WI Federal (Tribal)127Thunderhawks  2015 [21]
St. Thomas Aquinas Marinette, WI Private (Catholic)38Cavaliers  1927, [1] 1999 [17] [18]
Suring Suring, WI Public117Eagles  1933 [5]
Wausaukee Wausaukee, WI Public126Rangers  1927, [1] 1951, [13] 1961 [15]

Former Members

SchoolLocationAffiliationEnrollmentMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent Conference
Marinette Normal Marinette, WI PublicN/AUnknownUnknown1927 [1] 1929 [2] Closed in 1965
Peshtigo Peshtigo, WI Public339Bulldogs  1927, [1] 1934 [6] 1931, [3] 2017 [22] Packerland
Florence Florence, WI Public118Bobcats  1933 [5] 1935 [7] Little Seven (MHSAA) Northern Lakes
Mountain Mountain, WI PublicN/AMountaineers  1933 [5] 1938 [8] Nicolet Closed in 1948 (consolidated into Suring)
Bonduel Bonduel, WI Public262Bears  1941 [11] 1943 [12] Independent Central Wisconsin
Amberg Amberg, WI PublicN/ARavens  1951 [13] 1954 [14] Granite Valley Closed in 1960 (consolidated into Wausaukee)
Goodman Goodman, WI Public30Falcons  1951 [13] 1954 [14] Granite Valley Northern Lakes (co-op with Pembine)
Pembine Pembine, WI Public68Panthers  1951 [13] 1954 [14] Granite Valley Northern Lakes (co-op with Goodman)

Membership Timeline

Marinette & Oconto Conference

List of State Champions

Fall Sports

Football
SchoolYearDivision
Peshtigo1983Division 5
Girls Volleyball
SchoolYearDivision
Niagara1991Division 4

Winter Sports

Boys Basketball
SchoolYearDivision
Niagara1979Class C
Wausaukee1993Division 4
Girls Basketball
SchoolYearDivision
Lena1980Class C
Boys Wrestling
SchoolYearDivision
Coleman1960Single Division
Coleman1962Single Division
Coleman1963Single Division
Coleman1964Single Division
Coleman1966Single Division
Coleman2000Division 3
Coleman2010Division 3
Coleman2011Division 3
Coleman2012Division 3
Coleman2014Division 3
Coleman2020Division 3

Spring Sports

Baseball
SchoolYearDivision
Coleman2012Division 4
Softball
SchoolYearDivision
Wausaukee1996Division 3
Peshtigo2010Division 3
Boys Track & Field
SchoolYearDivision
Peshtigo1957Class C
Lena1960Class C
Peshtigo1966Class C
Peshtigo1971Class C
Coleman2016Division 3
Coleman2017Division 3

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References

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