The Parkland Conference is a former high school athletic conference with its membership concentrated in southeastern Wisconsin. It was in existence from 1963 to 2006 and all member schools were affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
1963–1980
The Parkland Conference was formed in 1963 as a result of population growth and new school districts being formed in the Milwaukee area during the previous decade. Most of the high schools in these new districts joined the Braveland Conference, which was founded in 1953 and grew to seventeen members after only a decade of competition. The eight schools located south of Interstate 94 (Franklin, Greendale, Greenfield, Muskego, New Berlin, Oak Creek, St. Francis and Whitnall) split from the Braveland and became the original members of the Parkland Conference. A ninth member was added in 1970 when New Berlin Eisenhower opened as the New Berlin district's second high school. The Parkland Conference competed as a nine-member loop for the next decade before major changes would occur.
1980–1985 In 1980, the high school athletic conferences in southeastern Wisconsin went through a comprehensive realignment after years of discussion and failing to reach agreements. Two conferences were disbanded (the Scenic Moraine and South Shore), and four of the schools that were displaced (Kettle Moraine, Pewaukee, Racine Case and Slinger) became Parkland Conference members. Mukwonago also moved over from the Southern Lakes Conference that year, and the conference split into Eastern and Western divisions: Eastern DivisionWestern DivisionGreendaleFranklinGreenfieldKettle MoraineMukwonagoNew Berlin EisenhowerMuskegoPewaukeeNew BerlinSlingerOak CreekSt. FrancisRacine CaseWhitnall Racine Case left the Parkland Conference for membership in the Suburban Conference in 1983, and the league would compete with thirteen members in two divisions for two more seasons.
1985–1997
A second extensive realignment occurred in 1985 after failing to fix some of the issues with travel and competitive balance that the 1980 realignment was supposed to remedy. This time, the Suburban Conference met its demise with one of the displaced schools, West Milwaukee, joining the Parkland Conference. Brown Deer also moved over from the Braveland Conference as part of the realignment, swapping affiliations with Mukwonago in the process. Most significantly, the Parkland Conference lost five members to the new Suburban Park Conference: Greendale, Greenfield, Kettle Moraine, Muskego and Oak Creek. These were some of the largest schools in the conference, and the new-look Parkland emerged with a larger geographic footprint and a smaller average enrollment than some of the other new conferences created. The Parkland Conference continued with this roster until 1992, when West Milwaukee High School closed its doors. Shorewood joined from the North Shore Conference to take their place. Another change occurred in 1993, when Franklin left to join the new Woodland Conference with Hamilton High School in Sussex replacing them after being displaced from the shuttered Braveland Conference.
1997–2006
In 1997, the Parkland Conference lost four member schools: three joined the Woodland Conference (New Berlin Eisenhower, New Berlin West and Whitnall) and Hamilton became a charter member of the Greater Metro Conference. Taking their place were four private schools who were in the process of joining the WIAA as part of the merger with their previous organization, the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association. Dominican in Whitefish Bay and Martin Luther in Greendale joined in 1997, while Kettle Moraine Lutheran in Jackson and Luther Prep in Watertown entered the year after. Aside from Martin Luther returning to the Midwest Classic Conference in 2003, the Parkland Conference continued with this membership roster until it was disbanded in 2006. Four schools joined the Woodland Conference (Brown Deer, Pewaukee, Shorewood and St. Francis), Dominican entered the Midwest Classic Conference, Kettle Moraine Lutheran became a charter member of the Wisconsin Flyway Conference, Luther Prep joined the Capitol Conference and Slinger shifted to the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference.
Conference membership history
Final members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent ConferenceBrown DeerBrown Deer, WIPublicFalcons 19852006WoodlandDominicanWhitefish Bay, WIPrivate (Catholic, Sinsinawa Dominicans)Knights 19972006Midwest ClassicMetro ClassicKettle Moraine LutheranJackson, WIPrivate (Lutheran, WELS)Chargers 19982006Wisconsin FlywayGlacier TrailsLuther PrepWatertown, WIPrivate (Lutheran, WELS)Phoenix 19982006CapitolMidwest ClassicPewaukeePewaukee, WIPublicPirates 19802006WoodlandShorewoodShorewood, WIPublicGreyhounds 19922006WoodlandSlingerSlinger, WIPublicOwls 19802006Wisconsin Little TenNorth ShoreSt. FrancisSt. Francis, WIPublicMariners 19632006WoodlandMidwest Classic
Previous members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent ConferenceFranklinFranklin, WIPublicSabers 19631993SoutheastGreendaleGreendale, WIPublicPanthers 19631985Suburban ParkWoodlandGreenfieldGreenfield, WIPublicHustlin' Hawks 19631985Suburban ParkWoodlandHamiltonSussex, WIPublicChargers 19931997Greater MetroKettle MoraineWales, WIPublicLasers 19801985Suburban ParkClassic 8Martin LutherGreendale, WIPrivate (Lutheran, LCMS)Spartans 19972003Midwest ClassicMetro ClassicMukwonagoMukwonago, WIPublicIndians 19801985BravelandClassic 8MuskegoMuskego, WIPublicWarriors 19631985Suburban ParkWoodlandNew Berlin EisenhowerNew Berlin, WIPublicLions 19701997WoodlandNew Berlin WestNew Berlin, WIPublicVikings 19631997WoodlandOak CreekOak Creek, WIPublicKnights 19631985Suburban ParkClassic 8Racine CaseRacine, WIPublicEagles 19801983SuburbanSoutheastWest MilwaukeeWest Milwaukee, WIPublicMustangs 19851992Closed in 1992WhitnallGreenfield, WIPublicFalcons 19631997Woodland
Membership timeline
Full members
Football members
List of state champions
Fall sports +Boys Cross CountrySchoolYearDivisionSt. Francis1975Class B +FootballSchoolYearDivisionNew Berlin Eisenhower1995Division 3New Berlin Eisenhower1996Division 3Slinger1998Division 3 +Boys SoccerSchoolYearDivisionBrown Deer1992Division 2Shorewood1997Division 2Slinger2005Division 2 +Girls VolleyballSchoolYearDivisionOak Creek1982Class ANew Berlin West1984Class AKettle Moraine Lutheran2003Division 3Kettle Moraine Lutheran2004Division 3
Winter sports +Boys BasketballSchoolYearDivisionSt. Francis1976Class BWhitnall1988Class BDominican1998Division 1 (WISAA)Dominican2000Division 2 (WISAA) +Girls BasketballSchoolYearDivisionDominican2000Division 2 (WISAA)
Spring sports +Boys GolfSchoolYearDivisionBrown Deer1991Division 2Pewaukee2002Division 2Pewaukee2003Division 2 +SoftballSchoolYearDivisionKettle Moraine Lutheran1999Division 2 (WISAA) +Boys Track & FieldSchoolYearDivisionSt. Francis1976Class BBrown Deer1997Division 2Brown Deer1998Division 2 +Girls Track & FieldSchoolYearDivisionBrown Deer1987Class B
Summer sports +BaseballSchoolYearGreendale1980Greenfield1983Whitnall1991
List of conference champions
Boys Basketball SchoolQuantityYearsWhitnall71966, 1972, 1983, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991Dominican61998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005New Berlin Eisenhower51976, 1977, 1981, 1986, 1993New Berlin West51973, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1984Greendale41969, 1970, 1971, 1976Brown Deer31990, 1992, 1995Kettle Moraine31982, 1983, 1984Muskego31964, 1965, 1985Franklin21975, 1985Greenfield21967, 1968Shorewood21994, 1996Slinger21997, 2003Kettle Moraine Lutheran12006Oak Creek11980Pewaukee12001St. Francis11977Hamilton0Luther Prep0Martin Luther0Mukwonago0Racine Case0West Milwaukee0
Girls Basketball SchoolQuantityYearsSlinger71998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004New Berlin Eisenhower61987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996New Berlin West51983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1997Oak Creek41981, 1982, 1983, 1984Whitnall31982, 1994, 1995Brown Deer21992, 1993Kettle Moraine Lutheran22004, 2005Pewaukee22004, 2006St. Francis21981, 1983Dominican12001Greendale11985Muskego11984Franklin0Greenfield0Hamilton0Kettle Moraine0Luther Prep0Martin Luther0Mukwonago0Racine Case0Shorewood0West Milwaukee0Champions from 1976-1980 unknown
Football SchoolQuantityYearsNew Berlin Eisenhower71973, 1977, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988Muskego61967, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1984Luther Prep41998, 1999, 2000, 2001New Berlin West41964, 1966, 1970, 1991Slinger41983, 1984, 1992, 1997St. Francis41980, 1996, 2002, 2003Brown Deer31991, 2004, 2005Franklin31982, 1989, 1990Greendale31968, 1969, 1981Greenfield31965, 1976, 1978Hamilton31993, 1994, 1995Mukwonago21982, 1983Oak Creek21963, 1972Pewaukee22002, 2005Racine Case11980Dominican0Kettle Moraine0Kettle Moraine Lutheran0Martin Luther0Shorewood0West Milwaukee0Whitnall0
References