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
The Wisconsin Valley Conference was founded in 1920 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. The early years of the Wisconsin Valley Conference 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, with Tomahawk also joining the conference's football roster. Edgar left the following year, and in 1924, Shawano and Wautoma joined the WVC. Shawano also became members in football, along with basketball members Medford, for the 1924 season. Nekoosa became the WVC's eleventh football playing member when it joined the group for the 1925 season. In 1926, Shawano and Wautoma left the Wisconsin Valley Conference, and after Medford's exit in 1928, 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, then joining as full members in 1954 after the league began to sponsor other sports the year prior. Nekoosa followed Tomahawk out of the WVC, joining the Lumberjack for football in 1948, then becoming full members of the newly reformed South Central Conference in 1952. 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, 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. These four schools continued to schedule WVC members Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids as non-conference opponents, but not Wausau, who had been the dominant force in football for decades. Wausau claimed one last Wisconsin Valley Conference title for football before they joined the new Big Rivers Conference and the four schools who left the WVC rejoined in 1956.
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. In 1970, Shawano became the eighth school to join the conference after leaving the disbanded Mid-Eastern Conference. 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. Shawano left the Wisconsin Valley Conference to join the Bay Conference in 1979, 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. 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. 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. 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. This arrangement is set to remain in place through at least the 2026-2027 football competition cycle. In 2025, Merrill returned to the Great Northern Conference after fifteen years of Wisconsin Valley membership, leaving the conference with six full member schools.
List of member schools
Current full members SchoolLocationAffiliationEnrollmentMascotColorsJoinedD.C. EverestWeston, WIPublic1,739Evergreens 1957MarshfieldMarshfield, WIPublic1,180Tigers 1921, 1956Stevens PointStevens Point, WIPublic2,142Panthers 1921Wausau EastWausau, WIPublic945Lumberjacks 1921, 1973Wausau WestWausau, WIPublic1,519Warriors 1973Wisconsin RapidsWisconsin Rapids, WIPublic1,348Red Raiders 1921
Notes
Current associate members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsPrimary ConferenceSport(s)Black River FallsBlack River Falls, WIPublicTigers CouleeGirls HockeyEau Claire MemorialEau Claire, WIPublicOld Abes Big RiversFootballEau Claire NorthEau Claire, WIPublicHuskies Big RiversFootballMedfordMedford, WIPublicRaiders Great NorthernGirls HockeyNorthland PinesEagle River, WIPublicEagles Great NorthernGirls HockeyRhinelanderRhinelander, WIPublic Hodags Great NorthernGirls Golf
Notes
Current co-operative members TeamColorsHost SchoolCo-operative MembersSport(s)Central Wisconsin Storm D.C. EverestMerrill, Mosinee, Stratford, Wausau East, Wausau WestGirls HockeyWisconsin Valley Union Eagles Stevens PointAmherst, Assumption, Auburndale, Columbus Catholic, Marshfield, Pacelli, Spencer, Waupaca, Wisconsin RapidsGirls Hockey
Former full members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent ConferenceAntigoAntigo, WIPublicRed Robins 1921, 19561955, 2008Northern Wisconsin, Great NorthernGreat NorthernEdgarEdgar, WIPublicWildcats 19221923IndependentMarawoodMedfordMedford, WIPublicRaiders 192219283-CGreat NorthernMerrillMerrill, WIPublicBlue Jays 1921, 1956, 20101955, 2008, 2025Northern Wisconsin, Great NorthernGreat NorthernNekoosaNekoosa, WIPublicPapermakers 19221952South CentralShawanoShawano, WIPublicHawks 1924, 19701926, 1979Independent, BayBayRhinelanderRhinelander, WIPublicHodags 1921, 19561955, 2010Northern Wisconsin, Great NorthernGreat NorthernTomahawkTomahawk, WIPublicHatchets 19221954LumberjackGreat NorthernWautomaWautoma, WIPublicHornets 192419267-CSouth Central
Membership timeline
Full members
Football members
Membership map
Sponsored sports +D.C. Everest●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●Marshfield●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●Stevens Point●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●Wausau East●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●Wausau West●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●Wisconsin Rapids●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
Notes
List of state champions
Fall sports +Boys Cross CountrySchoolYearDivisionAntigo1965Large SchoolsRhinelander1966Medium SchoolsStevens Point1980Class AStevens Point1981Class AStevens Point1983Class AStevens Point1985Class ARhinelander1987Class AStevens Point1994Division 1Stevens Point1997Division 1Stevens Point1998Division 1Stevens Point2003Division 1Stevens Point2008Division 1Stevens Point2013Division 1Stevens Point2021-22Alternate SeasonStevens Point2022Division 1Stevens Point2023Division 1 +Girls Cross CountrySchoolYearDivisionStevens Point1987Class AStevens Point2002Division 1Stevens Point2003Division 1Wausau East2009Division 1Wausau East2010Division 1 +FootballSchoolYearDivisionAntigo1976Division 1Antigo1978Division 1D.C. Everest1981Division 1Antigo1982Division 1D.C. Everest1983Division 1D.C. Everest1989Division 1Marshfield1997Division 1D.C. Everest1998Division 1Marshfield2001Division 1Marshfield2002Division 1 +Girls GolfSchoolYearDivisionWisconsin Rapids2000Single Division +Boys VolleyballSchoolYearDivisionAntigo1967Single DivisionAntigo1968Single Division +Girls VolleyballSchoolYearDivisionShawano1973Single Division Merrill1981Class A
Winter sports +Boys BasketballSchoolYearDivisionStevens Point1926Single DivisionWausau1929Single DivisionWausau1938Class ARhinelander1939Class AWisconsin Rapids1951Single DivisionStevens Point1954Single DivisionStevens Point1994Division 1Stevens Point2015Division 1Stevens Point2016Division 1Stevens Point2017Division 1 +Girls BasketballSchoolYearDivisionStevens Point1980Class AD.C. Everest1986Class A +GymnasticsSchoolYearDivisionAntigo2008Division 2 +Boys HockeySchoolYearDivisionAntigo1993Single DivisionStevens Point2002Single DivisionWausau West2011Single Division +Girls HockeySchoolYearDivisionCentral Wisconsin Storm2008Single DivisionCentral Wisconsin Storm2012Single DivisionCentral Wisconsin Storm2017Single DivisionCentral Wisconsin Storm2022Single DivisionCentral Wisconsin Storm2024Single Division +SkiingSchoolYearDivisionRhinelander1963Single DivisionRhinelander1965Single DivisionRhinelander1967Single Division +Boys WrestlingSchoolYearDivisionStevens Point1949Single Division Merrill1970Single DivisionWisconsin Rapids1974Single DivisionD.C. Everest1978Single DivisionWisconsin Rapids1979Single DivisionWisconsin Rapids1981Class AD.C. Everest1982Class AAntigo1983Class AWisconsin Rapids1985Class AD.C. Everest1986Class AWisconsin Rapids1989Class A Merrill1992Division 1 Merrill1993Division 1Wisconsin Rapids1995Division 1Wisconsin Rapids1996Division 1Wisconsin Rapids1997Division 1Wisconsin Rapids1998Division 1Wisconsin Rapids1999Division 1Wisconsin Rapids2000Division 1Wisconsin Rapids2001Division 1Wisconsin Rapids2003Division 1Wisconsin Rapids2004Division 1Wisconsin Rapids2005Division 1Wisconsin Rapids2006Division 1Wisconsin Rapids2007Division 1Wausau West2008Division 1Wisconsin Rapids2009Division 1Wisconsin Rapids2010Division 1Wisconsin Rapids2011Division 1Wisconsin Rapids2012Division 1Wausau West2013Division 1
Spring sports +BaseballSchoolYearDivisionStevens Point1979Class AStevens Point1989Class AStevens Point1994Division 1 +Boys GolfSchoolYearDivision Merrill1964Single DivisionRhinelander1969Single DivisionStevens Point1981Single DivisionStevens Point1983Single Division +Girls SoccerSchoolYearDivisionD.C. Everest2015Division 1 +SoftballSchoolYearDivisionStevens Point1986Class AMarshfield1991Division 1Marshfield1997Division 1Stevens Point2001Division 1Stevens Point2002Division 1Stevens Point2003Division 1Stevens Point2004Division 1Stevens Point2008Division 1Stevens Point2009Division 1Stevens Point2011Division 1Stevens Point2016Division 1 +Boys Track & FieldSchoolYearDivisionStevens Point1955Class AD.C. Everest1994Division 1D.C. Everest1996Division 1Stevens Point2023Division 1 +Girls Track & FieldSchoolYearDivisionD.C. Everest1991Division 1Wausau West1995Division 1D.C. Everest1999Division 1D.C. Everest2021Division 1
List of conference champions Boys Basketball Source