Wisconsin Valley Conference

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates

File:Logo-Wisconsin Valley.jpg

The Wisconsin Valley Conference is a high school athletic conference composed of the largest public schools in north central Wisconsin. Founded in 1920, it is one of Wisconsin's oldest athletic conferences, and all members belong to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

1921-1946

Template:OSM Location map The Wisconsin Valley Conference was founded in 1920[1] by seven medium- to large-enrollment high schools in north central Wisconsin: Antigo, Marshfield, Merrill, Rhinelander, Stevens Point, Wausau and Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln. After sponsoring a full football schedule for the first two seasons, basketball played their first full schedule for the 1921-1922 school year.[2] The early years of the Wisconsin Valley Cofnerence saw many smaller schools join for short periods of time, especially for basketball. In 1922, Edgar, Medford and Nekoosa joined and Tomahawk joined the conference for that sport,[3] with Tomahawk also joining the conference's football roster.[4] Edgar left the following year, and in 1924, Shawano and Wautoma joined the WVC.[5] Shawano also became members in football, along with basketball members Medford, for the 1924 season.[6] Nekoosa became the WVC's eleventh football playing member when it joined the group for the 1925 season.[7] In 1926, Shawano and Wautoma left the Wisconsin Valley Conference, and after Medford's exit in 1928,[8] membership stayed stable at nine schools for just over two decades.

1946-1956

Over time, tensions grew between the larger and smaller schools in the conference, with the smaller schools seeking other options outside the WVC. Tomahawk was the first of these schools to take action: first becoming charter members of the football-only Lumberjack Conference in 1946,[9] then joining as full members in 1954 after the league began to sponsor other sports the year prior.[10] Nekoosa followed Tomahawk out of the WVC, joining the Lumberjack for football in 1948,[11] then becoming full members of the newly reformed South Central Conference in 1952.[12] After the loss of Tomahawk as full members in 1954, the Wisconsin Valley Conference faced an even greater challenge the next year. Citing competitive imbalance in football,[13] the four smallest schools in the conference (Antigo, Marshfield, Merrill and Rhinelander) left the Wisconsin Valley to start a new conference called the Northern Wisconsin Conference.[14] These four schools continued to schedule WVC members Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids as non-conference opponents,[15] but not Wausau, who had been the dominant force in football for decades. Wausau claimed one last Wisconsin Valley Conference title for football[16] before they joined the new Big Rivers Conference[17] and the four schools who left the WVC rejoined in 1956.[18]

1956-2008

The revamped Wisconsin Valley Conference began play in 1956 with six schools (Antigo, Marshfield, Merrill, Rhinelander, Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln). A seventh school was added to the Wisconsin Valley in 1957 when former Lumberjack Conference members D.C. Everest High School in Schofield joined the conference.[19] In 1970, Shawano became the eighth school to join the conference after leaving the disbanded Mid-Eastern Conference.[20] Wausau East was invited to rejoin the Wisconsin Valley Conference from the Big Rivers in 1973, along with newcomer Wausau West to bring conference membership to ten schools.[21] Shawano left the Wisconsin Valley Conference to join the Bay Conference in 1979,[22] and the membership group would remain at nine schools for nearly thirty years.

2008-present

In 2008, two of the smaller schools in the conference left to become member of the new Great Northern Conference: Antigo and Merrill.[23] Rhinelander left to compete as an independent in football for the 2009 season before leaving to join the Great Northern Conference as full members in 2010. Merrill, who left the WVC two years earlier to become GNC members, rejoined the WVC for all sports but football as Rhinelander's replacement.[24][25] After two seasons of difficulties scheduling non-conference opponents, the six football-playing members of the Wisconsin Valley Conference joined forces with the ten-member Fox Valley Association to form the Valley Football Association, which began play in 2011.[26][27] This arrangement lasted until the WIAA's 2024-2025 competition cycle, when the WVC was reinstated for football and entered into a scheduling partnership with the similarly sized Big Rivers Conference. Five full members of the conference (D.C. Everest, Marshfield, Stevens Point, Wausau West and Wisconsin Rapids) were joined by Big Rivers members Eau Claire Memorial and Eau Claire North in a seven-member roster.[28] This arrangement is set to remain in place through at least the 2026-2027 football competition cycle.[29] In 2025, Merrill is set to return to the Great Northern Conference after fifteen years of Wisconsin Valley membership,[30] leaving the conference with six full member schools.

List of member schools

Current members

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined
D.C. Everest Weston, WI Public 1,824 Evergreens Template:Color box Template:Color box 1957
Marshfield Marshfield, WI Public 1,250 Tigers Template:Color box Template:Color box 1921,Template:Efn 1956
Merrill Merrill, WI Public 801 Bluejays Template:Color box Template:Color box 1921,Template:Efn 1956,Template:Efn 2010Template:Efn
Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI Public 2,105 Panthers Template:Color box Template:Color box 1921
Wausau East Wausau, WI Public 948 Lumberjacks Template:Color box Template:Color box 1921, 1973
Wausau West Wausau, WI Public 1,535 Warriors Template:Color box Template:Color box 1973
Wisconsin Rapids Wisconsin Rapids, WI Public 1,467 Red Raiders Template:Color box Template:Color box 1921

Notes

Template:Notelist

Football-only members

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Primary Conference
Eau Claire Memorial Eau Claire, WI Public 1,589 Old Abes Template:Color box Template:Color box 2024 Big Rivers
Eau Claire North Eau Claire, WI Public 1,720 Huskies Template:Color box Template:Color box 2024 Big Rivers

Former members

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Left Conference Joined Current Conference
Antigo Antigo, WI Public 687 Red Robins Template:Color box Template:Color box 1921, 1956 1955, 2008 Northern Wisconsin, Great Northern Great Northern
Rhinelander Rhinelander, WI Public 747 Hodags Template:Color box Template:Color box 1921, 1956 1955, 2010 Northern Wisconsin, Great Northern Great Northern
Edgar Edgar, WI Public 201 Wildcats Template:Color box Template:Color box 1922 1923 Independent Marawood
Medford Medford, WI Public 738 Raiders Template:Color box Template:Color box 1922 1928 3-C Great Northern
Nekoosa Nekoosa, WI Public 295 Papermakers Template:Color box Template:Color box 1922 1952 South Central
Tomahawk Tomahawk, WI Public 371 Hatchets Template:Color box Template:Color box 1922 1954 Lumberjack Great Northern
Shawano Shawano, WI Public 797 Hawks Template:Color box Template:Color box 1924, 1970 1926, 1979 Independent, Bay Bay
Wautoma Wautoma, WI Public 381 Hornets Template:Color box Template:Color box 1924 1926 7-C South Central

Membership timeline

Full members

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PlotData= 

 width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:m

 bar:1  color:tan1 from:1921 till:1955 text:Antigo (1921-1955)
 bar:1  color:tan1 from:1956 till:2008 text:(1956-2008)
 bar:2  color:tan1 from:1921 till:1955 text:Marshfield (1921-1955)
 bar:2  color:tan1 from:1956 till:2030 text:(1956-present)
 bar:3  color:tan1 from:1921 till:1955 text:Merrill (1921-1955)
 bar:3  color:tan1 from:1956 till:2008 text:(1956-2008)
 bar:3  color:tan1 from:2010 till:2025 text:(2010-2025)
 bar:4  color:tan1 from:1921 till:1955 text:Rhinelander (1921-1955)
 bar:4  color:tan1 from:1956 till:2010 text:(1956-2010)
 bar:5  color:tan1 from:1921 till:2030 text:Stevens Point (1921-present)
 bar:6  color:tan1 from:1921 till:1956 text:Wausau (1921-1956)
 bar:6  color:tan1 from:1973 till:2030 text:Wausau East (1973-present)
 bar:7  color:tan1 from:1921 till:2030 text:Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln (1921-present)
 bar:8  color:tan1 from:1922 till:1923 text:Edgar (1922-1923)
 bar:9  color:tan1 from:1922 till:1928 text:Medford (1922-1928)
 bar:10  color:tan1 from:1922 till:1950 text:Nekoosa (1922-1950)
 bar:11  color:tan1 from:1922 till:1955 text:Tomahawk (1922-1955)
 bar:12  color:tan1 from:1924 till:1926 text:Shawano (1924-1926)
 bar:12  color:tan1 from:1970 till:1979 text:(1970-1979)
 bar:13  color:tan1 from:1924 till:1926 text:Wautoma (1924-1926)
 bar:14  color:tan1 from:1957 till:2030 text:D.C. Everest (1957-present)
 bar:15  color:tan1 from:1973 till:2030 text:Wausau West (1973-present)

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</timeline>

Football members

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        id:line     value:black
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 width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:m

 bar:1  color:lavender from:1920 till:1955 text:Antigo (1921-1954)
 bar:1  color:lavender from:1956 till:2008 text:(1956-2007)
 bar:2  color:lavender from:1920 till:1955 text:Marshfield (1921-1954)
 bar:2  color:lavender from:1956 till:2011 text:(1956-2010)
 bar:2  color:lavender from:2024 till:2030 text:(2024-present)
 bar:3  color:lavender from:1920 till:1955 text:Merrill (1921-1954)
 bar:3  color:lavender from:1956 till:2008 text:(1956-2007)
 bar:4  color:lavender from:1920 till:1955 text:Rhinelander (1921-1954)
 bar:4  color:lavender from:1956 till:2009 text:(1956-2008)
 bar:5  color:lavender from:1920 till:2011 text:Stevens Point (1921-2010)
 bar:5  color:lavender from:2024 till:2030 text:(2024-present)
 bar:6  color:lavender from:1920 till:1956 text:Wausau (1921-1955)
 bar:6  color:lavender from:1973 till:2011 text:Wausau East (1973-2010)
 bar:7  color:lavender from:1920 till:2011 text:Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln (1921-2010)
 bar:7  color:lavender from:2024 till:2030 text:(2024-present)
 bar:8  color:lavender from:1922 till:1946 text:Tomahawk (1922-1945)
 bar:9  color:lavender from:1924 till:1929 text:Medford (1922-1928)
 bar:10  color:lavender from:1924 till:1927 text:Shawano (1924-1926)
 bar:10  color:lavender from:1970 till:1979 text:(1970-1978)
 bar:11  color:lavender from:1925 till:1948 text:Nekoosa (1925-1947)
 bar:14  color:lavender from:1957 till:2011 text:D.C. Everest (1957-2010)
 bar:14  color:lavender from:2024 till:2030 text:(2024-present)
 bar:15  color:lavender from:1973 till:2011 text:Wausau West (1973-2010)
 bar:15  color:lavender from:2024 till:2030 text:(2024-present)
 bar:16  color:lavender from:2024 till:2030 text:Eau Claire Memorial (2024-present)
 bar:17  color:lavender from:2024 till:2030 text:Eau Claire North (2024-present)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:10 start:1920

</timeline>

Membership map

Template:OSM Location map

List of state champions

Fall sports

Boys Cross Country
School Year Division
Antigo 1965 Large Schools
Rhinelander 1966 Medium Schools
Stevens Point 1980 Class A
Stevens Point 1981 Class A
Stevens Point 1983 Class A
Stevens Point 1985 Class A
Rhinelander 1987 Class A
Stevens Point 1994 Division 1
Stevens Point 1997 Division 1
Stevens Point 1998 Division 1
Stevens Point 2003 Division 1
Stevens Point 2008 Division 1
Stevens Point 2013 Division 1
Stevens Point 2021-22 Alternate Season
Stevens Point 2022 Division 1
Stevens Point 2023 Division 1
Girls Cross Country
School Year Division
Stevens Point 1987 Class A
Stevens Point 2002 Division 1
Stevens Point 2003 Division 1
Wausau East 2009 Division 1
Wausau East 2010 Division 1
Football
School Year Division
Antigo 1976 Division 1
Antigo 1978 Division 1
D.C. Everest 1981 Division 1
Antigo 1982 Division 1
D.C. Everest 1983 Division 1
D.C. Everest 1989 Division 1
Marshfield 1997 Division 1
D.C. Everest 1998 Division 1
Marshfield 2001 Division 1
Marshfield 2002 Division 1
Girls Golf
School Year Division
Wisconsin Rapids 2000 Single Division
Boys Volleyball
School Year Division
Antigo 1967 Single Division
Antigo 1968 Single Division
Girls Volleyball
School Year Division
Shawano 1973 Single Division
Merrill 1981 Class A

Winter sports

Boys Basketball
School Year Division
Stevens Point 1926 Single Division
Wausau 1929 Single Division
Wausau 1938 Class A
Rhinelander 1939 Class A
Wisconsin Rapids 1951 Single Division
Stevens Point 1954 Single Division
Stevens Point 1994 Division 1
Stevens Point 2015 Division 1
Stevens Point 2016 Division 1
Stevens Point 2017 Division 1
Girls Basketball
School Year Division
Stevens Point 1980 Class A
D.C. Everest 1986 Class A
Gymnastics
School Year Division
Antigo 2008 Division 2
Boys Ice Hockey
School Year Division
Antigo 1993 Single Division
Stevens Point 2002 Single Division
Wausau West 2011 Single Division
Girls Ice Hockey
School Year Division
Wausau Co-op 2008 Single Division
Wausau Co-op 2012 Single Division
Wausau Co-op 2017 Single Division
Wausau Co-op 2022 Single Division
Wausau Co-op 2024 Single Division
Skiing
School Year Division
Rhinelander 1963 Single Division
Rhinelander 1965 Single Division
Rhinelander 1967 Single Division
Boys Wrestling
School Year Division
Stevens Point 1949 Single Division
Merrill 1970 Single Division
Wisconsin Rapids 1974 Single Division
D.C. Everest 1978 Single Division
Wisconsin Rapids 1979 Single Division
Wisconsin Rapids 1981 Class A
D.C. Everest 1982 Class A
Antigo 1983 Class A
Wisconsin Rapids 1985 Class A
D.C. Everest 1986 Class A
Wisconsin Rapids 1989 Class A
Merrill 1992 Division 1
Merrill 1993 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 1995 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 1996 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 1997 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 1998 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 1999 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 2000 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 2001 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 2003 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 2004 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 2005 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 2006 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 2007 Division 1
Wausau West 2008 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 2009 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 2010 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 2011 Division 1
Wisconsin Rapids 2012 Division 1
Wausau West 2013 Division 1

Spring sports

Baseball
School Year Division
Stevens Point 1979 Class A
Stevens Point 1989 Class A
Stevens Point 1994 Division 1
Boys Golf
School Year Division
Merrill 1964 Single Division
Rhinelander 1969 Single Division
Stevens Point 1981 Single Division
Stevens Point 1983 Single Division
Girls Soccer
School Year Division
D.C. Everest 2015 Division 1
Softball
School Year Division
Stevens Point 1986 Class A
Marshfield 1991 Division 1
Marshfield 1997 Division 1
Stevens Point 2001 Division 1
Stevens Point 2002 Division 1
Stevens Point 2003 Division 1
Stevens Point 2004 Division 1
Stevens Point 2008 Division 1
Stevens Point 2009 Division 1
Stevens Point 2011 Division 1
Stevens Point 2016 Division 1
Boys Track & Field
School Year Division
Stevens Point 1955 Class A
D.C. Everest 1994 Division 1
D.C. Everest 1996 Division 1
Stevens Point 2023 Division 1
Girls Track & Field
School Year Division
D.C. Everest 1991 Division 1
Wausau West 1995 Division 1
D.C. Everest 1999 Division 1
D.C. Everest 2021 Division 1

List of conference champions

Boys Basketball

Source

School Quantity Years
Stevens Point 27 1924, 1927, 1931, 1934, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1958, 1965, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021
Rhinelander 21 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1948, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004
Wisconsin Rapids 19 1946, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1967, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1995, 2005, 2011
Wausau/East 18 1929, 1930, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1955, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1990, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007
Antigo 14 1922, 1923, 1935, 1942, 1943, 1956, 1962, 1963, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1997, 1998
D.C. Everest 9 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1978, 1998, 2012, 2020, 2021
Marshfield 7 1992, 2010, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Wausau West 5 1992, 1993, 1996, 2009, 2010
Shawano 3 1925, 1926, 1973
Medford 1 1924
Merrill 1 2019
Nekoosa 1 1929
Tomahawk 1 1928
Edgar 0
Wautoma 0

Girls Basketball

Source

School Quantity Years
D.C. Everest 18 1976, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018
Stevens Point 13 1980, 1985, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025
Marshfield 12 1976, 1977, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2020, 2024
Merrill 10 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2007
Wausau West 4 1981, 2013, 2021, 2022
Wausau East 3 1977, 1978, 1979
Antigo 2 1982, 2007
Rhinelander 0
Shawano 0
Wisconsin Rapids 0

Football

Source

School Quantity Years
D.C. Everest 24 1957, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2024
Antigo 22 1920, 1926, 1928, 1929, 1959, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992
Stevens Point 20 1922, 1925, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1949, 1951, 1954, 1956, 1960, 1977, 1988, 1990, 1993, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010
Wausau/East 20 1922, 1926, 1930, 1933, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955
Wisconsin Rapids 10 1923, 1936, 1946, 1965, 1967, 1980, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994
Marshfield 6 1927, 1930, 1932, 1999, 2001, 2002
Rhinelander 5 1934, 1938, 1964, 1974, 1989
Merrill 4 1921, 1954, 1977, 1979
Shawano 1 1924
Wausau West 1 1993
Eau Claire Memorial 0
Eau Claire North 0
Medford 0
Nekoosa 0
Tomahawk 0

References

Template:Reflist

External links

Template:Wisconsin high school athletic conferences

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