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Little Ten Conference (Wisconsin)

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Moserjames79 (talk | contribs) at 19:11, 21 November 2024 (→Conference Membership History: Changed Arrowhead's exit date to 1965). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Little Ten Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin, formed in 1925 and reorganizing into the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference in 1970.

History

Formation and Sustained Stability (1925-1959)

The Little Ten Conference was founded in 1925 by ten medium- to smaller-sized schools in south central Wisconsin: Beaver Dam, Berlin, Columbus, Hartford Union, Horicon, Mayville, Portage, Ripon, Watertown and Waupun.[1] The conference went through a few membership changes during its first few seasons, starting with the loss of Portage to the South Central Conference in 1926[2][3] and Watertown to the Southern Six in 1928.[4][5] The conference added West Bend in 1929[6][7] and Oconomowoc in 1930 to bring conference membership back up to ten.[8] Membership would remain consistent until 1959, when Arrowhead joined from the Southeastern Wisconsin Conference and Watertown rejoined from the Braveland Conference.[9]

Division Split and Reformation (1959-1970)

With conference membership increasing to twelve, the Little Ten subdivided into Northern and Southern Divisions for the 1959-60 school year:[10]

Northern Little Ten Southern Little Ten
Berlin Arrowhead
Columbus Beaver Dam
Horicon Hartford Union
Mayville Oconomowoc
Ripon Watertown
Waupun West Bend

In 1965, Arrowhead left to join the Southeastern Badger Conference,[11][12] bringing conference membership to eleven. By the late 1960s, increasing gaps in enrollment between the smaller schools in the Northern Little Ten and the larger schools in the Southern Little Ten were creating problems with competitive balance, and the schools in the Southern Little Ten began looking to secede from the conference.[13][14][15] The conference officially subdivided into two separate conferences in 1966[16] and both conferences completely disbanded in 1970. The five Southern Little Ten members (six with the split of West Bend into East and West)[17] joined with Waupun, who had the highest enrollment in the Northern Little Ten,[18] to form the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference.[19] The five schools in the Northern Little Ten disbanded to find other conferences with schools more similar in enrollment size.[20][21]

Conference Membership History

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Left Conference Joined Current Conference
Beaver Dam Beaver Dam, WI Public 1,124 Golden Beavers     1925 1970 Wisconsin Little Ten Badger
Berlin Berlin, WI Public 474 Indians     1925 1970 East Central
Columbus Columbus, WI Public 390 Cardinals     1925 1970 Central Suburban Capitol
Hartford Union Hartford, WI Public 1,281 Orioles     1925 1970 Wisconsin Little Ten North Shore
Horicon Horicon, WI Public 275 Marshmen     1925 1970 Flyway Trailways
Mayville Mayville, WI Public 275 Cardinals     1925 1970 Scenic Moraine Wisconsin Flyway
Portage Portage, WI Public 705 Warriors     1925 1926 Southern Six Badger
Ripon Ripon, WI Public 484 Tigers     1925 1970 East Central
Watertown Watertown, WI Public 1,170 Goslings     1925,

1959

1928,

1970

Southern Six, Wisconsin Little Ten Badger
Waupun Waupun, WI Public 573 Warriors     1925 1970 Wisconsin Little Ten East Central
West Bend[a] West Bend, WI Public 2,025 Badgers     1929 1970 Wisconsin Little Ten North Shore
Oconomowoc Oconomowoc, WI Public 1,657 Raccoons     1930 1970 Wisconsin Little Ten Classic Eight
Arrowhead Hartland, WI Public 2,076 Warhawks     1959 1965 Southeastern Badger Classic Eight

Notes

  1. ^ Split into West Bend East and West Bend West High Schools prior to the 1970-71 school year.

List of State Champions

Fall Sports

None

Winter Sports

Boys Basketball
School Year Division
Watertown 1928 Single Division
Mayville 1935 Class B
Beaver Dam 1937 Class B

Spring Sports

Baseball
School Year Division
West Bend 1951 Single Division
Oconomowoc 1959 Single Division
Boys Track & Field
School Year Division
Berlin 1931 Class B
West Bend 1934 Class B
Horicon 1937 Class C
Horicon 1938 Class C
Horicon 1939 Class C
Horicon 1954 Class C
Horicon 1959 Class C
Berlin 1961 Class B
Arrowhead 1965 Class B
Ripon 1968 Class B

References

  1. ^ "Little Ten Session: Schedules Arranged for 1926". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. 7 December 1925. p. 6. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  2. ^ ""Little Ten" Conference Announces Grid Schedule". Wisconsin State Journal. 24 September 1926. p. 20. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  3. ^ "Portage Wins as Usual: South Central Conference Championship to Local High School". Portage Daily Register. 22 November 1926. p. 1. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  4. ^ "11 Tilts Booked in New Circuit". The Stoughton Courier. 17 September 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Watertown Leads New Gridiron League". Wisconsin State Journal. 24 October 1928. p. 16. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Application of West Bend for Membership May Place 10 Teams in Conference Again". Waupun Leader. 22 November 1928. p. 4. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  7. ^ "West Bend Taken Into Little Ten". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. 27 March 1929. p. 1. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Newest Conference School to Play in Loop After January". Waupun Leader-News. 22 May 1930. p. 9. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Little Ten Opens Way to Expansion to 12". The Horicon Reporter. 8 May 1958. p. 1. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  10. ^ "Two Divisions". The Capital Times. 22 May 1958. p. 38. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  11. ^ Engelbert, John (2 October 1964). "Taking Sides". Waukesha County Freeman. p. 8. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Hawks Keep Promise, Produce Surprises". Waukesha County Freeman. 23 November 1964. p. 14. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  13. ^ "Schools Discuss Revamping". The Shebyogan Press. 20 October 1964. p. 17. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  14. ^ Engelhart, John (17 May 1966). "Taking Sides". Waukesha County Freeman. p. 15. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Southern Little Ten Invites 4 Schools to Meet". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. 22 November 1968. p. 4. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  16. ^ "Little Ten Season Over". The Horicon Reporter. 9 June 1966. p. 35. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  17. ^ "West Bend To Have Two Athletic Teams - Little Ten Increases to Six". The Oconomowoc Enterprise. 1 May 1969. p. 26. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  18. ^ Cotton, Ken (20 May 1969). "Ken Cotton's Cotton Pickings - Ripon Area Rundown". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 31. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  19. ^ Associated Press (12 March 1970). "Waupun". The Horicon Reporter. p. 32. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  20. ^ Cotton, Ken (7 April 1969). "Ken Cotton's Cotton Pickin's - Ripon Area Rundown". Oshkosh Northwestern. p. 19. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  21. ^ "Two drop out of Little 10". Portage Daily Register. 23 June 1969. p. 8. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
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