Michigan-Wisconsin Conference
Former high school athletic conference in Michigan and Wisconsin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Michigan-Wisconsin Conference is a former high school athletic conference with members in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Operational from 1937 to 1973, its public school members were part of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association and the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
History
1937–1960
The Michigan-Wisconsin Conference was formed in 1937 by five high schools near the border between the two states. Three members were located in Michigan's upper peninsula (Bessemer, Ironwood and Wakefield) and two were based in Wisconsin (Ashland and Hurley).[1] All of the original member schools in the Michigan-Wisconsin Conference were located along the U.S. Route 2 corridor near the south shore of Lake Superior. Two new schools were added in 1950 when Calumet of Michigan and Park Falls of Wisconsin became members of the conference.[2] Both schools already had commitments in other conferences to fulfill, and Park Falls didn't join for all of their sponsored sports until 1952.[3] Calument joined as a football-only member alongside Park Falls,[4] but they elected to remain members of Michigan's Copper Country Conference for all other sports.[5][6] Park Falls only stayed for five years as a full member before they left in 1955 to join the Lumberjack Conference.[7]
1960–1973
In 1960, the newly formed Northwestern High School in Maple brought membership in the Michigan-Wisconsin Conference back up to six schools.[8] Superior East became the conference's seventh school in 1961,[9] but closed in 1965 after merging with Superior Central to form the new Superior High School.[10] They were immediately replaced by Cathedral High School,[11] the only private school ever to play in the conference and a member of the Wisconsin Catholic Interscholastic Athletic Association. Just like their predecessor, they spent four years as conference members before closing their doors in 1969.[12] The Michigan-Wisconsin Conference lasted for four more years before disbanding in 1973. Ashland and Hurley joined Wisconsin's Lumberjack Conference,[13] and two Michigan schools (Bessemer and Wakefield) became charter members of the Western Upper Peninsula Athletic Conference.[14] Northwestern spent a year as an independent before they became members of the Heart O'North Conference in Wisconsin,[15] and Ironwood entered the Great Northern UP Conference in Michigan.[16]
Conference membership history
Final members
| School | Location | Affiliation | Mascot | Colors | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland | Ashland, WI | Public | Oredockers | 1937[1] | 1973[13] | Lumberjack | Heart O'North | |
| Bessemer | Bessemer, MI | Public | Speedboys | 1937[1] | 1973[14] | Western UP (MHSAA) | Independent | |
| Hurley | Hurley, WI | Public | Midgets | 1937[1] | 1973[13] | Lumberjack | Northern Lights | |
| Ironwood | Ironwood, MI | Public | Red Devils | 1937[1] | 1973[16] | Great Northern UP (MHSAA) | Independent | |
| Northwestern | Maple, WI | Public | Tigers | 1960[8] | 1973[15] | Independent | Heart O'North | |
| Wakefield | Wakefield, MI | Public | Cardinals | 1937[1] | 1973[14] | Western UP (MHSAA) | Independent |
Previous members
| School | Location | Affiliation | Mascot | Colors | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathedral | Superior, WI | Private (Catholic) | Panthers | 1965[11] | 1969[12] | Closed | ||
| Park Falls | Park Falls, WI | Public | Cardinals | 1950[2] | 1955[7] | Lumberjack | Closed in 2009 (merged into Chequamegon) | |
| Superior East | Superior, WI | Public | Orientals | 1961[9] | 1965[10] | Closed (merged into Superior) | ||
Football-only members
| School | Location | Affiliation | Mascot | Colors | Seasons | Primary Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calumet | Calumet, MI | Public | Copper Kings | 1952-1953[4][5][6] | Copper Country |
Membership timeline
Full members
Football members
List of state champions
| School | Year | Organization | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurley | 1964[19] | WIAA | Open Classification |
| School | Year | Organization | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield | 1945[20] | MHSAA | Open (Upper Peninsula) |
| Ironwood | 1946[20] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1946[20] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Ironwood | 1947[20] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1947[20] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1948[20] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1949[20] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1950[20] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1951[20] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1953[20] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1957[20] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1963[20] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1964[20] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1965[20] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1969[20] | MHSAA | Open (Upper Peninsula) |
| School | Year | Organization | Classification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ironwood | 1940[21] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Ironwood | 1946[21] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Ironwood | 1948[21] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Ironwood | 1950[21] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Bessemer | 1951[21] | MHSAA | Class C (Upper Peninsula) |
| Ironwood | 1951[21] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1952[21] | MHSAA | Class C (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1959[21] | MHSAA | Class C (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1960[21] | MHSAA | Class C (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1961[21] | MHSAA | Class C (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1962[21] | MHSAA | Class C (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1964[21] | MHSAA | Class C (Upper Peninsula) |
List of conference champions
Boys Basketball
| School | Quantity | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Ironwood | 13 | 1939, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1946, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1971 |
| Hurley | 12 | 1943, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1973 |
| Bessemer | 7 | 1938, 1942, 1948, 1956, 1970, 1972, 1973 |
| Wakefield | 6 | 1958, 1959, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1970 |
| Ashland | 4 | 1945, 1946, 1950, 1968 |
| Superior Cathedral | 2 | 1966, 1969 |
| Superior East | 1 | 1965 |
| Northwestern | 0 | |
| Park Falls | 0 |
Football
| School | Quantity | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Ironwood | 18 | 1937, 1938, 1939, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971 |
| Bessemer | 10 | 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1947, 1956, 1957, 1961, 1967 |
| Hurley | 8 | 1942, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1968, 1970 |
| Wakefield | 5 | 1958, 1959, 1960, 1970, 1972 |
| Ashland | 4 | 1946, 1949, 1955, 1966 |
| Superior Cathedral | 1 | 1967 |
| Superior East | 1 | 1964 |
| Calumet | 0 | |
| Northwestern | 0 | |
| Park Falls | 0 |