Draft:Braveland Conference

• Comment: Mostly uncited, and does not yet show enough references to sources such that it demonstrates WP:Notability. The lack of citations gives me cause for WP:OR concerns. Bobby Cohn (talk) 19:57, 22 October 2024 (UTC)

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The Braveland Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin, formed in 1953 and ending competition in 1993.

History

Formation (1953–1955)

The Braveland Conference was formed in 1953 by four high schools in the outer suburbs of Milwaukee: Cedarburg, Menomonee Falls, Port Washington and Watertown. Cedarburg and Menomonee Falls had previously been members of the 4-C Conference, and Port Washington and Watertown competed as independents before joining.

Rapid Growth (1955–1963)

Due to the rapid growth around the Milwaukee area, new school districts began to pop up in and around Milwaukee County. In 1955, Salem Central (now Westosha Central) joined the conference, followed by Brookfield (now Brookfield Central) and Nicolet in 1956. Salem Central ended up leaving the conference in 1958 and were replaced by Granville (now Brown Deer). Muskego and Oak Creek joined the conference in 1959, just as Watertown left to rejoin the Little Ten Conference. In 1961, the conference added four schools: Greendale (formerly in the Suburban Conference), Greenfield, Homestead and Whitnall. During that same year, the conference split into two six-team divisions:

Northern Braveland	Southern Braveland
Cedarburg	Brookfield
Granville	Greendale
Homestead	Greenfield
Menomonee Falls	Muskego
Nicolet	Oak Creek
Port Washington	Whitnall

In 1962, two high schools were added to the Southern Braveland: Brookfield East and New Berlin (now New Berlin West). Brookfield Central shifted to the Northern Braveland, giving each division seven teams:

Northern Braveland	Southern Braveland
Brookfield Central	Brookfield East
Cedarburg	Greendale
Granville	Greenfield
Homestead	Muskego
Menomonee Falls	New Berlin
Nicolet	Oak Creek
Port Washington	Whitnall

Conference Split and Sustained Membership (1963–1980)

Having ballooned to fourteen members by 1963 six conference members left the Braveland to form the Parkland Conference: Greendale, Greenfield, Muskego, New Berlin, Oak Creek and Whitnall (along with former independents Franklin and St. Francis). This solidified the Braveland Conference from a geographical standpoint as a conference for northern suburban schools in the Milwaukee area. Hamilton High School in Sussex joined that same year, bringing conference membership to nine schools. In 1966, Granville High School changed its name to Brown Deer High School due to annexation of the former town of Granville into the city of Milwaukee a few years earlier. Conference membership increased to ten members in 1969 with the split of Menomonee Falls High School into Menomonee Falls East and Menomonee Falls North.

WIAA-Mandated Realignment (1980–1985)

Discussions between the Milwaukee area conferences on realignment first started in the 1960s, but it wasn't until the early 1980s that the WIAA stepped in and hastened the process. Four new schools joined the Braveland in 1980: Arrowhead, Germantown and Grafton from the Scenic Moraine Conference and Kenosha Bradford from the South Shore Conference. Kenosha Bradford would leave the conference three years later, and in 1984, the two Menomonee Falls high schools merged to form a new Menomonee Falls High School on East's campus.

Final Realignment and Collapse (1985–1993)

In 1985, another round of conference realignment had occurred in the Milwaukee area, and seven schools left the Braveland Conference. Brown Deer joined the Parkland Conference, and six schools (Cedarburg, Germantown, Grafton, Homestead, Nicolet and Port Washington) left to form the North Shore Conference (along with former Suburban Conference members Shorewood, Wauwatosa East, Wauwatosa West and Whitefish Bay). Replacing the seven schools exiting the conference were Mukwonago from the Parkland Conference and Waukesha North and Waukesha South from the Suburban Conference. For the final eight years of the conference's existence, all of its member schools were located in Waukesha County.

Conference Membership History

School	Location	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Left	Conference Joined	Current Conference
Cedarburg	Cedarburg, WI	Bulldogs		1953	1985	North Shore
Menomonee Falls North	Menomonee Falls, WI	Indians		1953	1984	Merged with Menomonee Falls East
Port Washington	Port Washington, WI	Pirates		1953	1985	North Shore
Watertown	Watertown, WI	Goslings		1953	1959	Little Ten	Badger
Salem Central	Paddock Lake, WI	Falcons		1955	1958	Southeastern Wisconsin	Southern Lakes
Brookfield Central	Brookfield, WI	Lancers		1956	1993	Woodland	Greater Metro
Nicolet	Glendale, WI	Knights		1956	1985	North Shore
Brown Deer	Brown Deer, WI	Falcons		1958	1985	Parkland	Woodland
Muskego	Muskego, WI	Warriors		1959	1963	Parkland	Classic Eight
Oak Creek	Oak Creek, WI	Knights		1959	1963	Parkland	Southeast
Greendale	Greendale, WI	Panthers		1961	1963	Parkland	Woodland
Greenfield	Greenfield, WI	Hustlin' Hawks		1961	1963	Parkland	Woodland
Homestead	Mequon, WI	Highlanders		1961	1985	North Shore
Whitnall	Greenfield, WI	Falcons		1961	1963	Parkland	Woodland
Brookfield East	Brookfield, WI	Spartans		1962	1993	Woodland	Greater Metro
New Berlin	St. Francis, WI	Mariners		1962	1963	Parkland	Woodland
Sussex Hamilton	Sussex, WI	Chargers		1963	1993	Parkland	Greater Metro
Menomonee Falls East	Menomonee Falls, WI	Titans		1969	1984	Merged with Menomonee Falls North
Arrowhead	Hartland, WI	Warhawks		1980	1993	Southeast	Classic Eight
Germantown	Germantown, WI	Warhawks		1980	1985	North Shore
Grafton	Grafton, WI	Black Hawks		1980	1985	North Shore
Kenosha Bradford	Kenosha, WI	Red Devils		1980	1983	Milwaukee Area	Southeast
Menomonee Falls	Menomonee Falls, WI	Phoenix		1984	1993	North Shore	Greater Metro
Mukwonago	Mukwonago, WI	Indians		1985	1993	Southeast	Classic Eight
Waukesha North	Waukesha, WI	Stars		1985	1993	Southeast	Classic Eight
Waukesha South	Waukesha, WI	Blackshirts		1985	1993	Southeast	Classic Eight