Northwoods Football Conference

The Northwoods Football Conference is a high school football conference located in northeastern Wisconsin. Consisting of eleven-player and eight-player divisions, the conference was formed in 2020 and is affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

The Northwoods Football Conference was formed as an eleven-player football conference for the 2020 season after a sweeping realignment for Wisconsin high school football was unveiled by the WIAA and the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association. ^[1] Four schools were former members of the MONLPC's small schools division (Coleman, Crandon, Crivitz and the Northern Elite cooperative), and one each came from the Central Wisconsin (Menominee Indian), Marawood (Tomahawk) and North Eastern (Oconto Falls) Conferences. The eighth original member, Northland Pines, competed as an independent prior to the creation of the NFC. ^{[2] [3]} Under the WIAA/WFCA plan, football conferences in both eleven-player and eight-player divisions went through realignment every two years. ^[1] For the 2022-2023 realignment cycle, the Northwoods Football Conference lost the Northern Elite football cooperative after the three participating schools (Niagara and Goodman/Pembine) dissolved their partnership and switched to eight-player football. ^[4] They were replaced by Clintonville, formerly a member of the MONLPC East division. ^[5] In 2024, Manawa and Shiocton of the Central Wisconsin Conference joined the Northwoods Football League, replacing outgoing members Tomahawk and Menominee Indian. Tomahawk joined their primary home for competition in the Great Northern Conference, and Menominee Indian joined the Central Wisconsin Conference's eight-player football division after transitioning away from eleven-player football. ^{[6] [7]} Oconto Falls will be leaving the NFC for the 2026-2027 competition cycle to join the Packerland Conference for football, and the conference will be entering into a scheduling crossover partnership with the Central Wisconsin Conference's large school division. ^[8]

8-player football

In 2024, the Northwoods Football Conference began sponsorship of eight-player football with fourteen schools spread out over two divisions. Nine members were displaced from conferences that had ended football sponsorship: seven from the Lakeland Conference (Chequamegon/Butternut/Mercer, Mellen, Northwood/Solon Springs, Phillips, Shell Lake, Washburn and Winter/Birchwood) and two from the CWC (Athens and Bruce). The other five schools (Flambeau, Hurley, Prentice, Rib Lake and South Shore) were all new to eight-player football after having played eleven-player football either as cooperative or stand-alone programs. ^[9] Members were subdivided into two divisions with one mandatory crossover conference game for each member:

Northwoods East	Northwoods West
Athens	Bruce
Chequamegon/Butternut/Mercer	Mellen
Flambeau	Northwood/Solon Springs
Hurley	Shell Lake
Phillips	South Shore
Prentice	Washburn
Rib Lake	Winter/Birchwood

For the 2026-2027 realignment cycle, Chequamegon will be playing as a stand-alone program, with their two former cooperative partners (Butternut and Mercer) joining Mellen in a new cooperative. Athens is also leaving to join the North Central Conference as a football member. The conference will also be adding three cooperative programs (Elcho/White Lake, Three Lakes/Phelps and Wabeno/Laona) from the Northeast Football Conference. ^[10]

List of conference members

11-player football

Current members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Primary Conference
Clintonville	Clintonville, WI	Public	412	Truckers		2022	North Eastern
Coleman	Coleman, WI	Public	229	Cougars		2020	Marinette & Oconto
Crandon	Crandon, WI	Public	239	Cardinals		2020	Northern Lakes
Crivitz	Crivitz, WI	Public	215	Wolverines		2020	Marinette & Oconto
Manawa	Manawa, WI	Public	215	Wolves		2024	Central Wisconsin
Northland Pines	Eagle River, WI	Public	451	Eagles		2020	Great Northern
Oconto Falls	Oconto Falls, WI	Public	521	Panthers		2020	North Eastern
Shicoton	Shiocton, WI	Public	221	Chiefs		2024	Central Wisconsin

Former members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Seasons	Primary Conference
Menominee Indian	Keshena, WI	Federal (Tribal)	349	Eagles		2020-2023	Central Wisconsin
Northern Elite	Niagara, WI	Public	234	Predators		2020-2021	Marinette & Oconto
Tomahawk	Tomahawk, WI	Public	371	Hatchets		2020-2023	Great Northern

8-player football

Current members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Primary Conference
Athens	Athens, WI	Public	127	Bluejays		2024	Marawood
Bruce	Bruce, WI	Public	131	Red Raiders		2024	Lakeland
Chequamegon / Butternut/ Mercer	Park Falls, WI	Public	339	Screaming Eagles		2024	Marawood, Northern Lights
Flambeau	Tony, WI	Public	145	Falcons		2024	Lakeland
Hurley	Hurley, WI	Public	192	Northstars		2024	Northern Lights
Mellen	Mellen, WI	Public	81	Granite Diggers		2024	Northern Lights
Northwood / Solon Springs	Minong, WI	Public	168	Evergreens		2024	Lakeland, Northern Lights
Phillips	Phillips, WI	Public	217	Loggers		2024	Marawood
Prentice	Prentice, WI	Public	122	Buccaneers		2024	Marawood
Rib Lake	Rib Lake, WI	Public	132	Redmen		2024	Marawood
Shell Lake	Shell Lake, WI	Public	204	Lakers		2024	Lakeland
South Shore	Port Wing, WI	Public	63	Cardinals		2024	Northern Lights
Washburn	Washburn, WI	Public	198	Castle Guards		2024	Northern Lights
Winter / Birchwood	Winter, WI	Public	153	WarCats		2024	Lakeland

Future members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Joining	Primary Conference
Chequamegon	Park Falls, WI	Public	241	Screaming Eagles		2026	Marawood
Elcho / White Lake	Elcho, WI	Public	126	Wolverines		2026	Northern Lakes
Mellen/ Butternut/ Mercer	Mellen, WI	Public	159	TBD	TBD	2026	Northern Lights
Three Lakes / Phelps	Three Lakes, WI	Public	183	Bluejays		2026	Northern Lakes
Wabeno / Laona	Wabeno, WI	Public	168	Rebels		2026	Northern Lakes

Membership timeline

11-player

8-player

 Northwoods East Northwoods West

List of conference champions

11-player

School	Quantity	Years
Coleman	3	2021, 2022, 2024
Oconto Falls	2	2020, 2023
Clintonville	0
Crandon	0
Crivitz	0
Manawa	0
Menominee Indian	0
Northern Elite	0
Northland Pines	0
Shiocton	0
Tomahawk	0

8-player

School	Quantity	Years
Northwood/ Solon Springs	1	2024
Phillips	1	2024
Athens	0
Bruce	0
Chequamegon/ Butternut/ Mercer	0
Flambeau	0
Hurley	0
Mellen	0
Prentice	0
Rib Lake	0
Shell Lake	0
South Shore	0
Washburn	0
Winter/ Birchwood	0

References

1. "Revised Football-Only Conference Plan Released". Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
2. Wilson, Travis (18 September 2020). "Northwoods Football Preview". Wisconsin Sports Network. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
3. "WFCA/WIAA Football-Only Realignment Proposal" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
4. McCarthy, Matt "Sweets" (12 October 2021). "Northern Elite era ends with loss to Panthers". Iron Mountian Daily News. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
5. "Proposed Football Only Conference Alignment - 11-Player" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
6. "2024-25 Conference Realignment Plan – 11-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
7. "2024-25 Conference Realignment Plan – 8-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
8. "2026 - 27 Conference Realignment – 11-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
9. "2024-25 Conference Realignment Plan – 8-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
10. "2026 - 27 Conference Realignment – 8-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 25 July 2025.