Northwest Football League (Wisconsin)

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The Northwest Football League is a former high school football conference with its membership base in northwestern Wisconsin. It was only in existence for the 1994 and 1995 seasons, and its members were affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Contents

History

The Northwest Football League was founded in 1994 when two high school athletic conferences in northwestern Wisconsin (the Heart O'North and Middle Border) merged for football into an eighteen-member, three-division superconference. [1] They were joined by two members of the Dunn-St. Croix Conference that were previously affiliated with the MBC (Mondovi and Prescott). [2] This was the WIAA's first attempt to create a football-only conference; they had existed in the past but were created before the WIAA's organizational structure brought conference realignment under its scope:

Red ConferenceWhite ConferenceBlue Conference
AmeryBarronBaldwin-Woodville
Durand-ArkansawBloomerChetek
EllsworthLadysmithCumberland
HaywardNorthwesternMondovi
New RichmondOsceolaPrescott
SpoonerUnitySt. Croix Falls

This arrangement lasted for two seasons until the Northwest Football League was dissolved after the 1995 season. The main factor leading to the conference's ending was that members were grouped together primarily by enrollment with little regard to proximity to each other, which created long travel distances and interrupted long-standing rivalries. [3] The Heart O'North Conference and Middle Border Conference resumed sponsoring their own football conferences for the 1996 season.

Conference membership history

SchoolLocationAffiliation Enrollment MascotColorsConferencePrimary Conference
Amery Amery, WI Public467Warriors  Red Middle Border
Baldwin-Woodville Baldwin, WI Public506Blackhawks  Blue Middle Border
Barron Barron, WI Public331Golden Bears  White Heart O'North
Bloomer Bloomer, WI Public429Blackhawks  White Heart O'North
Chetek Chetek, WI PublicN/ABulldogs  Blue Heart O'North
Cumberland Cumberland, WI Public300Beavers  Blue Heart O'North
Durand-Arkansaw Durand, WI Public307Panthers  Red Middle Border
Ellsworth Ellsworth, WI Public518Panthers  Red Middle Border
Hayward Hayward, WI Public604Hurricanes  Red Heart O'North
Ladysmith Ladysmith, WI Public246Lumberjacks  White Heart O'North
Mondovi Mondovi, WI Public250Buffaloes  Blue Dunn-St. Croix
New Richmond New Richmond, WI Public1,112Tigers  Red Middle Border
Northwestern Maple, WI Public400Tigers  White Heart O'North
Osceola Osceola, WI Public552Chieftains  White Middle Border
Prescott Prescott, WI Public431Cardinals  Blue Dunn-St. Croix
Spooner Spooner, WI Public365Rails  Red Heart O'North
St. Croix Falls St. Croix Falls, WI Public345Saints  Blue Middle Border
Unity Balsam Lake, WI Public295Eagles  White Middle Border

Membership timeline

Northwest Football League (Wisconsin)

 Red Conference White Conference Blue Conference

List of conference champions

SchoolQuantityYears
Baldwin-Woodville21994, 1995
New Richmond21994, 1995
Northwestern21994, 1995
Amery0
Barron0
Bloomer0
Chetek0
Cumberland0
Durand-Arkansaw0
Ellsworth0
Hayward0
Ladysmith0
Mondovi0
Osceola0
Prescott0
Spooner0
St. Croix Falls0
Unity0

References

  1. "Scoreboard (see Football, Prep, Northwest Football League)". Eau Claire Leader Telegram. 8 September 1994. pp. 2D. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  2. Holmes, Kirk (8 August 1994). "Prep football: Change in the air". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. pp. D. Retrieved 14 July 2025.
  3. Holmes, Kirk (11 December 1995). "Nobody's mourning early demise of NFL". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. pp. D. Retrieved 14 July 2025.