South Central Conference (Wisconsin)

The South Central Conference is a high school athletic conference in Wisconsin. Originally founded in 1926, it disbanded in 1941 only to reconstitute eleven years later. All member schools of the South Central Conference are affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

1926–1941

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Location of Final South Central Conference Members (1941)

The South Central Conference was formed in 1926 by seven medium-sized high schools in south central Wisconsin: Baraboo, Portage, Reedsburg, Richland Center, Sparta, Tomah and Viroqua. ^[1] Logan High School in La Crosse joined two years later, ^[2] and Wisconsin Dells joined in 1939. ^[3] The South Central Conference disbanded after the 1941 football season ^[4] and most of its members went on to form two new conferences. Baraboo, Portage, Reedsburg, Richland Center and Wisconsin Dells went on to form half of the new Southern Ten Conference (along with former Southern Six members Edgerton, Fort Atkinson, Monroe, Stoughton and Wisconsin High). ^{[5] [6]} Sparta, Tomah and Viroqua joined with Mauston and Westby to form the new West Central Conference. ^[7] Sparta, Tomah and Viroqua were also concurrently members of the Gateway Conference along with La Crosse Logan during this time period. ^[8]

1952–1966

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Location of South Central Conference Members (1963-1966)

In 1952, most of the schools that were part of the original incarnation of the South Central Conference joined together and reformed the conference. ^[9] Baraboo, Portage, Reedsburg, Richland Center and Wisconsin Dells all rejoined from the Southern Ten Conference (with the other five schools forming the nucleus of the new Badger Conference). ^{[10] [11]} Sparta, Tomah and Viroqua rejoined from the West Central Conference, along with newcomers Mauston and Nekoosa. ^[12] In 1963, the conference added two schools to bring membership to twelve: Black River Falls from the Mississippi Valley Conference and Sauk Prairie from the Tri-County League. ^[13] The conference also subdivided into Northern and Southern sections, an alignment that would last for three seasons:

Northern Section	Southern Section
Black River Falls	Baraboo
Mauston	Portage
Nekoosa	Reedsburg
Sparta	Richland Center
Tomah	Sauk Prairie
Viroqua	Wisconsin Dells

1966–2001

Membership of the South Central Conference underwent a few changes after the initial reformation and expansion period. Nekoosa left the conference in 1966 to join the short-lived Vacationland Conference, ^[14] Viroqua joined the Southwest Wisconsin Activities League in 1969 ^[15] and Richland Center joined the SWAL two years later. ^[16] They were replaced by Adams-Friendship, who were left without a conference after the Vacationland disbanded in 1970. ^{[17] [18]} After entering the league together fourteen years earlier, Black River Falls and Sauk Prairie exited the South Central in 1977 to join the Coulee Conference and Badger Conference, respectively. ^[19] Nekoosa rejoined the South Central Conference in 1982, after a four-year stint in the Cloverbelt Conference. ^[20] Seven years later, Sparta and Tomah left to join with the larger La Crosse-area schools to form the new Mississippi Valley Conference. ^{[21] [22]} Membership through the 1990s remained consistent at seven schools, but more significant changes were coming at the turn of the century.

2001–present

As the South Central Conference approached the fiftieth anniversary of its reformation, three of its original member schools (Baraboo, Portage and Reedsburg) left to join the Badger Conference as part of a five-school expansion. ^[23] These three schools had the largest enrollment levels in the South Central Conference and wanted to join a conference more in line with their size. ^[24] They were replaced by Lodi and Poynette from the Capitol Conference and Westfield from the disbanded Dual County Conference. ^[25] Lodi and Poynette quickly became disappointed with the longer travel distances between conference opponents ^[26] and returned to the Capitol Conference five years after their exit. ^[27] They were replaced by Wautoma, formerly of the East Central Flyway Conference, bringing conference membership to six schools. ^[28] The South Central Conference expanded to eight schools in 2025 when Berlin and Ripon joined from the East Central Conference after it was realigned out of existence by the WIAA. ^[29]

Football-only alignment

In February 2019, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association, the WIAA released a sweeping football-only realignment for Wisconsin to commence with the 2020 football season and run on a two-year cycle. ^[30] Previously, the South Central Conference featured two football-only members for the 2019 football season: Black River Falls (a former member from 1963-1977) and Gale-Ettrick-Trempeleau. Both schools were primary members of the Coulee Conference and brough the roster of football members to eight schools. ^[31] For the 2020-2021 cycle, Black River Falls and G-E-T were moved back to the Coulee Conference, and Nekoosa was moved to the large-schools division of the Central Wisconsin Conference. The outgoing members were replaced with the Montello/Princeton/Green Lake football cooperative of the Trailways Conference and Poynette of the Capitol Conference. ^[32] This alignment stayed in place for three seasons before the Montello/Princeton/Green Lake football cooperative was dissolved, with Montello and Green Lake/Princeton both moving to eight-man football. ^[33] For the 2024 season, the South Central Conference welcomed Berlin, Ripon and Waupun (all primary members of the East Central Conference) as new members with the return of Nekoosa after four seasons in the Central Wisconsin Conference. For Berlin and Ripon, this move came a year in advance of both schools joining the South Central Conference as full members. This offset the loss of Poynette to the Eastern Suburban Conference and Westfield to the Trailways Conference as a football-only member. ^[34]

List of conference members (1952–present)

Current members

School	Location	Affiliaton	Enrollment [35]	Mascot	Colors	Joined
Adams-Friendship	Adams, WI	Public	432	Green Devils		1971
Berlin	Berlin, WI	Public	474	Indians		2025
Mauston	Mauston, WI	Public	474	Golden Eagles		1952
Nekoosa	Nekoosa, WI	Public	295	Papermakers		1952, 1982
Ripon	Ripon, WI	Public	484	Tigers		2025
Wautoma	Wautoma, WI	Public	381	Hornets		2006
Westfield	Westfield, WI	Public	295	Pioneers		2001
Wisconsin Dells	Wisconsin Dells, WI	Public	596	Chiefs		1952

Current football-only members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment [35]	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Primary Conference
Waupun	Waupun, WI	Public	573	Warriors		2024	South Central

Former members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment [35]	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Left	Conference Joined	Current Conference
Baraboo	Baraboo, WI	Public	919	Thunderbirds		1952	2001	Badger
Portage	Portage, WI	Public	705	Warriors		1952	2001	Badger
Reedsburg	Reedsburg, WI	Public	897	Beavers		1952	2001	Badger
Richland Center	Richland Center, WI	Public	418	Hornets		1952	1971	SWAL	Southwest Wisconsin
Sparta	Sparta, WI	Public	909	Spartans		1952	1989	Mississippi Valley
Tomah	Tomah, WI	Public	919	Timberwovles		1952	1989	Mississippi Valley
Viroqua	Viroqua, WI	Public	339	Blackhawks		1952	1969	SWAL	Coulee
Black River Falls	Black River Falls, WI	Public	481	Tigers		1963	1977	Coulee
Sauk Prairie	Prairie du Sac, WI	Public	858	Eagles		1963	1977	Badger
Lodi	Lodi, WI	Public	451	Blue Devils		2001	2006	Capitol
Poynette	Poynette, WI	Public	310	Pumas		2001	2006	Capitol

Former football-only members

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Seasons	Primary Conference
Black River Falls	Black River Falls, WI	Public	481	Tigers		2019	Coulee
Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau	Galesville, WI	Public	400	Red Hawks		2019	Coulee
Montello / Princeton/ Green Lake	Montello, WI	Public	461	Phoenix		2020-2022	Cooperative program dissolved, Montello and GLP both transitioned to eight-player football
Poynette	Poynette, WI	Public	310	Pumas		2020-2023	CYTBN (2025)
Berlin	Berlin, WI	Public	474	Indians		2024	East Central
Ripon	Ripon, WI	Public	484	Tigers		2024	East Central

Conference membership history (1926–1941)

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment [35]	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Left	Conference Joined	Current Conference
Baraboo	Baraboo, WI	Public	919	Thunderbirds		1926	1941	Southern Ten	Badger
Portage	Portage, WI	Public	705	Warriors		1926	1941	Southern Ten	Badger
Reedsburg	Reedsburg, WI	Public	897	Beavers		1926	1941	Southern Ten	Badger
Richland Center	Richland Center, WI	Public	418	Hornets		1926	1941	Southern Ten	Southwest Wisconsin
Sparta	Sparta, WI	Public	909	Spartans		1926	1941	West Central	Mississippi Valley
Tomah	Tomah, WI	Public	919	Indians		1926	1941	West Central	Mississippi Valley
Viroqua	Viroqua, WI	Public	339	Blackhawks		1926	1941	West Central	Coulee
La Crosse Logan	La Crosse, WI	Public	738	Rangers		1928	1941	Independent	Mississippi Valley
Wisconsin Dells	Wisconsin Dells, WI	Public	596	Chiefs		1939	1941	Southern Ten	South Central

Membership timeline

Full members (1926–1941)

Full members (1952–present)

 Northern Section Southern Section

Football members (since 2019)

Membership map

South Central Conference

30km
19miles

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

   

Location of South Central Conference full members:

1

Adams-Friendship

2

Berlin

3

Mauston

4

Nekoosa

5

Ripon

6

Wautoma

7

Westfield

8

Wisconsin Dells

List of state champions

Fall sports

Boys Cross Country ^[36]

School	Year	Division
Sauk Prairie	1968	Small Schools
Sauk Prairie	1969	Small Schools

Football ^[37]

School	Year	Division
Wautoma	2008	Division 4

Boys Volleyball ^[38]

School	Year	Division
Portage	1956	Single Division

Girls Volleyball ^[39]

School	Year	Division
Portage	1981	Class B
Wisconsin Dells	1984	Class B
Portage	1987	Class A

Winter sports

Boys Basketball ^[40]

School	Year	Division
Portage	1982	Class B
Wisconsin Dells	1987	Class B

Girls Basketball ^[41]

School	Year	Division
Portage	1982	Class B

Curling ^[42]

School	Year	Division
Portage	1960	Single Division
Portage	1973	Single Division

Boys Wrestling ^[43]

School	Year	Division
Reedsburg	1981	Class B
Reedsburg	1981	Class B
Lodi	2004	Division 2

Spring sports

Baseball ^[44]

School	Year	Division
Nekoosa	1984	Class B
Nekoosa	1985	Class B
Wisconsin Dells	1986	Class B

Boys Golf ^[45]

School	Year	Division
Baraboo	1941	Single Division

Softball ^[46]

School	Year	Division
Wisconsin Dells	1995	Division 2
Poynette	2005	Division 3

Boys Track & Field ^[47]

School	Year	Division
Sauk Prairie	1969	Class B
Baraboo	1971	Class A
Wisconsin Dells	1977	Class B
Wisconsin Dells	1983	Class B
Wautoma	2009	Division 2

Girls Track & Field ^[48]

School	Year	Division
Reedsburg	1971	Single Division
Nekoosa	1990	Class B
Nekoosa	1992	Division 2
Nekoosa	1993	Division 2
Nekoosa	1995	Division 2
Nekoosa	1998	Division 2

List of conference champions

Boys Basketball

School	Quantity	Years
Wisconsin Dells	27	1956, 1968, 1969, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Baraboo	16	1928, 1931, 1932, 1937, 1938, 1956, 1958, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1972, 1984, 1994, 1997
Adams-Friendship	12	1979, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2017
Tomah	10	1929, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1974, 1975
Portage	8	1927, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1996, 1997, 1998
Reedsburg	7	1939, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1991, 1993, 2001
Sparta	7	1961, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1983
Mauston	6	1964, 1969, 1971, 1986, 2015, 2016
La Crosse Logan	3	1933, 1939, 1941
Viroqua	2	1936, 1940
Black River Falls	1	1970
Nekoosa	1	2014
Richland Center	1	1930
Wautoma	1	2024
Westfield	1	2025
Berlin	0
Lodi	0
Poynette	0
Ripon	0
Sauk Prairie	0

Girls Basketball

School	Quantity	Years
Portage	14	1976, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1994, 1995, 1996
Wisconsin Dells	12	1979, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2025
Westfield	6	2010, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Adams-Friendship	5	2002, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Baraboo	5	1993, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2001
Mauston	4	1989, 1990, 1997, 1998
Nekoosa	3	2003, 2004, 2010
Reedsburg	3	1987, 1991, 1992
Lodi	1	2006
Tomah	1	1978
Wautoma	1	2007
Berlin	0
Black River Falls	0
Poynette	0
Ripon	0
Sauk Prairie	0
Sparta	0

Football

School	Quantity	Years
Nekoosa	16	1956, 1957, 1982, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1998, 1999, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Reedsburg	14	1932, 1955, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1995
Portage	13	1926, 1927, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1938, 1953, 1957, 1966, 1997, 1999
Wisconsin Dells	13	1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1979, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 2007, 2021, 2022
Baraboo	8	1937, 1940, 1961, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1989, 1996
Tomah	8	1930, 1934, 1953, 1954, 1958, 1969, 1977, 1980
Richland Center	7	1928, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1939, 1941, 1952
Wautoma	7	2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2017
Sparta	6	1926, 1927, 1941, 1967, 1968, 1982
Mauston	5	1992, 1994, 2000, 2018, 2020
Poynette	4	2001, 2003, 2004, 2005
Adams-Friendship	3	2006, 2016, 2023
La Crosse Logan	3	1931, 1932, 1933
Black River Falls	2	1964, 1973
Sauk Prairie	2	1968, 1975
Berlin	1	2024
Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau	1	2019
Lodi	1	2002
Montello/ Princeton/ Green Lake	0
Ripon	0
Viroqua	0
Waupun	0
Westfield	0

References

1. "Four Trophies For Activities". Portage Daily Register. October 16, 1926. p. 1. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
2. Dunn, Bob (May 1, 1928). "Logan Accepts Invitation to Join South Central Loop". La Crosse Tribune. p. 11. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
3. "South Central Schools Give Dells Rights". Portage Daily Register. March 23, 1939. p. 8. Retrieved November 12, 2024.
4. "Baraboo, Sparta Face Title Games". Wisconsin State Journal. November 8, 1941. p. 9. Retrieved July 8, 2025.
5. "Last Southern Six Race Ends Friday". Wisconsin State Journal. February 24, 1941. p. 12. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
6. Lentz, Art (March 9, 1941). "Five-Year Grid Slate Is Set Up By Southern 10". The Capital Times. p. 19. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
7. "Toughest Cage Schedule in History Finds Westby With One Letterman". La Crosse Tribune. November 5, 1941. p. 12. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
8. "Two New Cage Loops Formed For Next Year". La Crosse Tribune. January 26, 1941. p. 9. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
9. "South Central Conference Is Reorganized". Baraboo News Republic. November 21, 1951. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
10. "Delay Choosing Name for New Prep Circuit". Wisconsin State Journal. February 2, 1952. p. 10. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
11. "New Prep Loop Named Badger Conference". Wisconsin State Journal. March 23, 1952. p. 55. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
12. "South Central League Expands". Wisconsin State Journal. November 30, 1951. p. 34. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
13. "Black River Falls Joins South Central Conference". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. July 7, 1962. p. 9. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
14. "New Vacationland Loop To Set Up Constitution". La Crosse Tribune. March 15, 1965. p. 13. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
15. "Viroqua Joins Southwest Loop". The Capital Times. January 23, 1969. p. 29. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
16. "Richland Center Accepted by SWAL". The Capital Times. March 24, 1970. p. 21. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
17. "A-F plans move to South Central". Portage Daily Register. March 24, 1970. p. 10. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
18. "Nekoosa athletes hear Powless". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. May 12, 1970. p. 8. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
19. "Keeping Up With The Events - Conference Realignment..." Wisconsin Dells Events. October 21, 1976. p. 17. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
20. "Nekoosa Joining SCC". Reedsburg Times-Press. September 17, 1981. p. 11. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
21. "WIAA wants Tomah, Sparta out of SCC". Reedsburg Times-Press. March 3, 1988. p. 23. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
22. Hinz, Roy (May 19, 1988). "Vivian sets record with 13 hits in row (see Realignment section)". Wisconsin State Journal. pp. 4C. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
23. Halstead, Ray (December 6, 1999). "Positives, negatives dot realignment". Portage Daily Register. p. 7. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
24. Hernandez, Rob (October 15, 1999). "Plan would add 5 teams to Badger". Wisconsin State Journal. pp. 1B. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
25. "WIAA approves conference realignment plan for 2001". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. January 28, 2000. p. 15. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
26. "Reedsburg now to stay in realigned Badger Conference?". Reedsburg Independent. September 23, 2004. p. 1. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
27. "WIAA OKs realignment". Waukesha Freeman. December 4, 2004. p. 11. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
28. Northwestern staff (January 14, 2006). "WIAA approves realignment plan". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 22. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
29. Bailey, Jonathan (March 21, 2024). "Ripon will switch conferences in fall '25". Ripon Press. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
30. "Revised Football-Only Conference Plan Released". Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 9, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
31. Levy, Declan (September 6, 2019). "G-E-T dominates Black River Falls on the road". WXOW.com. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
32. "WFCA/WIAA Football-Only Realignment Proposal" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 6, 2019. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
33. Bailey, Jonathan (October 20, 2022). "Green Lake and Princeton leaving football co-op with Montello; will switch to eight-player football". Ripon Commonwealth Press. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
34. "2024-25 Conference Realignment Plan – 11-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. December 14, 2023. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
35. "All school enrollment figures for 2023-24 sports year with one- and five-year enrollment comparisons". November 27, 2023.
36. "Boys Cross Country - Records & Results | Boys Cross Country | Sports | Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association".
37. "Football - Records & Results | Football | Sports | Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association".
38. "Boys Volleyball - Record & Results | Boys Volleyball | Sports | Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association".
39. "Girls Volleyball - Records & Results | Girls Volleyball | Sports | Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association".
40. "Boys Basketball - State Records & Results | Boys Basketball | Sports | Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association".
41. "Girls Basketball - Records & Results | Girls Basketball | Sports | Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association".
42. https://www.wiaawi.org/Portals/0/PDF//Results/statechampsbyschool.htm
43. "Wrestling - Records & Results | Wrestling | Sports | Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association".
44. "Spring Baseball - State Records & Results | Baseball | Sports | Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association".
45. "Boys Golf - State Results Archive".
46. "Softball - Records & Results | Softball | Sports | Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association".
47. "Records & Results | Boys Track & Field | Sports | Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association".
48. "Girls Track & Field - Records & Results | Girls Track & Field | Sports | Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association".

External links

• South Central Conference (official site)