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Badger Conference

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Badger Conference is located in Wisconsin
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference
Badger Conference member school locations in Wisconsin

The Badger Conference is a high school athletic conference with its membership concentrated in south central Wisconsin. Established in 1952, the Badger Conference is a member of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

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Formation and Early Years (1952-1977)

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The Badger Conference was formed in 1952[1], and most of its members came from two conferences that disbanded the year prior: Edgerton, Fort Atkinson, Monroe, Stoughton and Wisconsin High from the Southern Ten Conference, and Evansville, Jefferson, Lake Mills and Milton from the Rock Valley League. Middleton, formerly of the Madison Suburban Conference, rounded out the original membership roster at ten schools. Three years after joining the conference, three schools left for the Madison Suburban Conference: Evansville, Lake Mills and Milton[2]. They were replaced by the recently opened Monona Grove High School, who joined the conference in 1956[3]. Sun Prairie moved over from the Madison Suburban Conference in 1963[4], and University of Wisconsin High was closed the next year, with its students being moved to Madison Central High School[5]. The Badger Conference's membership roster would stay consistent until major realignment in the late 1970s.

Realignment (1977-2001)

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In 1977, the Badger Conference underwent a significant realignment. Three schools left the conference: Edgerton and Jefferson for the Rock Valley Conference and Sun Prairie for the Big Eight Conference[6]. They were replaced that same year by Oregon from the Central Suburban Conference and Sauk Prairie from the South Central Conference[7]. Ten years later, DeForest and Waunakee joined from the Capitol Conference[8]. Middleton left to join the Big Eight in 1994, and their place was taken by Verona from the Capitol Conference[9][10]. Fort Atkinson left for the Southern Lakes Conference in 1997[11], and Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart in Madison joined in 1999 after competing independently as a WISAA member for most of their athletic history[12][13].

Expansion and Divisional Split (2001-present)

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In 2001, the Badger Conference expanded from nine to fourteen schools, adding three schools formerly in the South Central Conference (Baraboo, Portage and Reedsburg) and two who joined from the Capitol Conference (McFarland and Mount Horeb)[14]. In order to accommodate this, the conference split its members into North and South Divisions[15]:

North Division South Division
Baraboo Edgewood
DeForest McFarland
Mount Horeb Monona Grove
Portage Monroe
Reedsburg Oregon
Sauk Prairie Stoughton
Waunakee Verona

In 2008, McFarland and Verona left the Badger Conference to join the Rock Valley and Big Eight Conferences, respectively[16]. Their place in the South Division was taken by Fort Atkinson and Milton, who rejoined the Badger Conference from the Southern Lakes Conference[17]. Beaver Dam and Watertown joined from the dissolved Wisconsin Little Ten Conference in 2017[18] and were placed in separate divisions (Beaver Dam in the North, Watertown in the South). In 2021, the Badger Conference realigned its divisions by East and West for most sports[19]:

East Division West Division
Beaver Dam Baraboo
DeForest Edgewood
Fort Atkinson Monroe
Milton Mount Horeb
Monona Grove Oregon
Stoughton Portage
Watertown Reedsburg
Waunakee Sauk Prairie

This alignment only remained in place for two years, as it was replaced by Large School and Small School divisions in 2023. During this same year, McFarland and Monroe swapped conference affiliations: McFarland rejoined the Badger Conference and Monroe went to the Rock Valley Conference[20].

List of Member Schools

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Current Members

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School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined
Large School Division
Beaver Dam Beaver Dam, WI Public 1124 Golden Beavers     2017
DeForest DeForest, WI Public 1093 Norskies     1987
Fort Atkinson[a] Fort Atkinson, WI Public 964 Blackhawks     1952, 2008
Milton Milton, WI Public 1059 Red Hawks     2008
Monona Grove Monona, WI Public 1127 Silver Eagles     1956
Oregon Oregon, WI Public 1248 Panthers     1977
Watertown Watertown, WI Public 1170 Goslings     2017
Waunakee Waunakee, WI Public 1309 Warriors     1987
Small School Division
Baraboo Baraboo, WI Public 919 Thunderbirds     2001
Edgewood Madison, WI Private, Catholic (Dominican) 569 Crusaders     1999
McFarland[b] McFarland, WI Public 774 Spartans     2001, 2023
Mount Horeb Mount Horeb, WI Public 792 Vikings     2001
Portage Portage, WI Public 705 Warriors     2001
Reedsburg Reedsburg, WI Public 897 Beavers     2001
Sauk Prairie Prairie du Sac, WI Public 858 Eagles     1977
Stoughton Stoughton, WI Public 868 Vikings     1952

Notes

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  1. ^ Left the Badger Conference in 1997, returned in 2008
  2. ^ Left the Badger Conference in 2008, returned in 2023

Football-Only Members

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School Location Affiliation Enrollment Nickname Colors Joined Primary Conference
Lakeside Lutheran Lake Mills, WI Private (WELS) 506 Warriors     2024 Capitol
Sun Prairie East Sun Prairie, WI Public 1,329 Cardinals     2022 Big Eight
Sun Prairie West Sun Prairie, WI Public 1,347 Wolves       2022 Big Eight

Former Members

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Institution Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Left Conference Joined Current Conference
Edgerton Edgerton, WI Public 537 Crimson Tide     1952 1977 Rock Valley
Evansville Evansville, WI Public 507 Blue Devils     1952 1955 Madison Suburban Rock Valley
Jefferson Jefferson, WI Public 604 Eagles     1952 1977 Rock Valley
Lake Mills Lake Mills, WI Public 491 L-Cats     1952 1955 Madison Suburban Capitol
Middleton Middleton, WI Public 2,357 Cardinals     1952 1994 Big Eight
Monroe Monroe, WI Public 742 Cheesemakers     1952 2023 Rock Valley
Wisconsin High Madison, WI University of Wisconsin-Madison N/A Badger Preps     1952 1964 Closed in 1964
Sun Prairie[a] Sun Prairie, WI Public 1,329 Cardinals     1963 1977 Big Eight
Verona Verona, WI Public 1,801 Wildcats     1994 2008 Big Eight

Notes

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  1. ^ Currently known as Sun Prairie East High School

List of State Champions

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Fall Sports

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Boys Cross Country
School Year Division
Monona Grove 1959 Medium Schools
Monroe 1973 Medium Schools
Monroe 1974 Class A
Monroe 1979 Class A
Oregon 1988 Class A
Middleton 1992 Division 1
McFarland 2002 Division 2
Edgewood 2013 Division 2
Girls Cross Country
School Year Division
Mount Horeb/Barneveld 2008 Division 2
Football
School Year Division
Monona Grove 1977 Division 2
Middleton 1983 Division 2
Monona Grove 1984 Division 3
Monroe 1986 Division 2
Middleton 1987 Division 2
Monroe 1990 Division 2
Monroe 1991 Division 2
Monroe 1992 Division 2
Monroe 1994 Division 3
Waunakee 1999 Division 3
Waunakee 2002 Division 3
Reedsburg 2009 Division 3
Waunakee 2009 Division 2
Waunakee 2010 Division 2
Waunakee 2011 Division 2
Monona Grove 2013 Division 3
Waunakee 2017 Division 2
DeForest 2019 Division 3
Waunakee 2021 Division 2
Monroe 2022 Division 3
Girls Golf
School Year Division
Edgewood 2001 Single Division
Edgewood 2002 Single Division
Edgewood 2003 Division 2
Edgewood 2004 Division 2
Edgewood 2005 Division 2
Edgewood 2006 Division 2
Edgewood 2007 Division 2
Edgewood 2008 Division 2
Edgewood 2009 Division 2
Edgewood 2011 Division 2
Edgewood 2012 Division 2
Edgewood 2013 Division 2
Edgewood 2014 Division 2
Edgewood 2018 Division 2
Edgewood 2019 Division 2
Boys Soccer
School Year Division
Sauk Prairie 1996 Division 2
Oregon 1998 Division 2
Mount Horeb 2011 Division 2
Oregon 2013 Division 2
Mount Horeb 2015 Division 3
Mount Horeb 2017 Division 3
Oregon 2018 Division 2
Oregon 2021 Division 2
Oregon 2022 Division 2
Girls Swimming & Diving
School Year Division
Verona 1998 Division 2
Sauk Prairie 2002 Division 2
DeForest 2006 Division 2
DeForest 2007 Division 2
DeForest 2008 Division 2
Milton 2010 Division 2
Milton 2011 Division 2
Edgewood 2015 Division 2
Edgewood 2016 Division 2
Edgewood 2017 Division 2
Edgewood 2018 Division 2
Edgewood 2019 Division 2
Edgewood 2020-21 Alternate Season
Edgewood 2021 Division 2
Edgewood 2022 Division 2
Girls Tennis
School Year Division
Edgewood 2013 Division 2
Edgewood 2015 Division 2
Edgewood 2016 Division 2
Boys Volleyball
School Year Division
Wisconsin High 1954 Single Division
Wisconsin High 1962 Single Division
Wisconsin High 1963 Single Division
Monona Grove 1965 Single Division

Winter Sports

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Boys Basketball
School Year Division
Monroe 1965 Single Division
Edgewood 2002 Division 2
Monroe 2007 Division 2
Mount Horeb 2015 Division 2
Girls Basketball
School Year Division
Monroe 1989 Class A
Waunakee 1993 Division 2
Monroe 2006 Division 2
Monroe 2008 Division 2
Edgewood 2017 Division 3
Beaver Dam 2018 Division 2
Beaver Dam 2019 Division 2
Edgewood 2024 Division 3
Girls Gymnastics
School Year Division
Mount Horeb 2015 Division 2
Mount Horeb 2020 Division 2
Edgewood/Verona 2023 Division 1
Boys Swimming & Diving
School Year Division
Verona 2000 Division 2
McFarland 2007 Division 2
McFarland 2008 Division 2
Monona Grove 2013 Division 2
Edgewood 2014 Division 2
Monona Grove 2015 Division 2
Monona Grove 2016 Division 2
Monona Grove 2017 Division 2
Monona Grove 2018 Division 2
Edgewood 2019 Division 2
Edgewood 2020 Division 2
Edgewood 2022 Division 2
Boys Wrestling
School Year Division
Stoughton 1968 Single Division
Stoughton 1972 Single Division
Monroe 1973 Single Division
Stoughton 1975 Single Division
Stoughton 1976 Single Division
Stoughton 1977 Single Division
Stoughton 1987 Class A
Stoughton 1988 Class A
Stoughton 2018 Division 1
Stoughton 2019 Division 1
Stoughton 2020 Division 1

Spring Sports

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Baseball
School Year Division
Sun Prairie 1974 Single Division
Sauk Prairie 1996 Division 2
Edgewood 2004 Division 2
Portage 2006 Division 2
Edgewood 2009 Division 2
Portage 2012 Division 2
Waunakee 2018 Division 1
Milton 2022 Division 1
Edgewood 2024 Division 2
Boys Golf
School Year Division
Wisconsin High 1955 Single Division
Monona Grove 1989 Class B
Middleton 1993 Division 1
McFarland 2004 Division 2
Edgewood 2009 Division 2
Edgewood 2010 Division 2
Edgewood 2017 Division 2
Edgewood 2018 Division 2
Edgewood 2019 Division 2
Edgewood 2021 Division 2
Edgewood 2022 Division 2
Edgewood 2023 Division 2
Girls Soccer
School Year Division
Monona Grove 2001 Division 2
Monona Grove 2002 Division 2
Monona Grove 2003 Division 2
Edgewood 2009 Division 2
Edgewood 2009 Division 2
Oregon 2015 Division 2
Oregon 2019 Division 2
Oregon 2022 Division 2
Oregon 2024 Division 2
Softball
School Year Division
Middleton 1989 Class A
Monroe 2003 Division 2
Portage 2005 Division 2
Boys Tennis
School Year Division
Monroe 1996 Division 2
Sauk Prairie 2001 Division 2
Sauk Prairie 2003 Division 2
Edgewood 2016 Division 2
Edgewood 2018 Division 2
Boys Track & Field
School Year Division
Monroe 1966 Class B
Monona Grove 1982 Class A
Monona Grove 1984 Class B
Monona Grove 1985 Class B
Sauk Prairie 1999 Division 2
Verona 1999 Division 1
Monroe 2014 Division 2
Girls Track & Field
School Year Division
Sauk Prairie 1996 Division 2
Edgewood 2002 Division 2
DeForest 2023 Division 1

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Associated Press (23 March 1952). "New Badger Prep League Completed". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. p. 10. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  2. ^ "Wisconsin High Wins Easily, 82-42". The Capital Times. 11 February 1955. p. 13. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  3. ^ Hinrichs, Art (2 March 1955). "Badger Loop Holds Spring Meet". The Capital Times. p. 17. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Sun Prairie Is Invited to Join Badger Circuit". Janesville Weekly Gazette. 11 May 1962. p. 14. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  5. ^ McCormick, George (6 November 1962). "Wisconsin High-Central Merger Advanced a Step". The Capital Times. p. 13. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  6. ^ Hillstrom, Eric (17 August 1977). "Learning to live with realignment". The Capital Times. p. 69. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  7. ^ Lindstrom, Don (13 August 1976). "Badger Conference teams wouldn't have made playoff". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 60. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  8. ^ Lindstrom, Don (1 August 1986). "A bigger Badger Conference kills 2 rivalries". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 18. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  9. ^ Semrau, Dennis (8 December 1993). "Sugar River Raiders still homeless". The Capital Times. p. 21. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  10. ^ Hernandez, Rob (28 August 1994). "Newcomer Verona adjusts to its surroundings". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 46. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  11. ^ Hernandez, Rob (8 May 1996). "Realignment works its way through WIAA". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 21. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Notes". The La Crosse Tribune. 23 April 1998. p. 21. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  13. ^ Hernandez, Rob (5 May 1998). "Middleton duo stick together". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 12. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  14. ^ Semrau, Dennis (7 December 1999). "WIAA realignment plan moves closer to reality". The Capital Times. p. 15. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Prep Scoreboard (see Badger Conference)". Wisconsin State Journal. 25 December 2001. p. 22. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  16. ^ Hernandez, Rob (6 October 2006). "Hauser sticks to her plan". Wisconsin State Journal. pp. D1. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  17. ^ Zizzo, Nick (24 August 2008). "Moving Back In". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 33. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  18. ^ Kabelowsky, Art (20 April 2016). "Beaver Dam and Watertown join Badger Conference". Baraboo News Republic. p. 9. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  19. ^ Masson, Jon (9 September 2021). "Badger coaches unsure about new quad format". Wisconsin State Journal. pp. B6. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  20. ^ "Conference (from A6)". Portage Daily Register. 16 February 2023. pp. A7. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
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