Southern Five Conference
Former Wisconsin high school athletic conference
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The Southern Five Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin. Its membership was concentrated in southeastern Wisconsin and was in existence from 1928 to 1946. All members were affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
The Southern Five Conference, alternatively known as the Little Five Conference[1] and the Southern State Conference[2] during its history, was formed in 1928 by a group of five medium-sized high schools in Racine and Walworth Counties: Burlington, Delavan (now Delavan-Darien), Elkhorn, Lake Geneva and Whitewater Normal.[3] The addition of Walworth to the conference, first as a football-only member in 1932 and for all sports in 1935 brought the membership roster to its high of six schools.[4] They would only last two more seasons as conference members,[5] and the ledger experienced a net decrease to five schools with Whitewater Normal and Whitewater of the Rock River Valley League swapping affiliations.[6] Competition lasted for eighteen years before the members of the Southern Five joined with three IHSA-affiliated high schools in neighboring McHenry County, Illinois (Harvard, Marengo and McHenry) to form the Southern Wisconsin-Northern Illinois Conference, more commonly known as the SWANI Conference, in 1946.[7]
Conference membership history
Final members
| School | Location | Affiliation | Nickname | Colors | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington | Burlington, WI | Public | Demons | 1928[3] | 1946[7] | SWANI | Southern Lakes | |
| Delavan | Delavan, WI | Public | Comets | 1928[3] | 1946[7] | SWANI | Rock Valley | |
| Elkhorn | Elkhorn, WI | Public | Elks | 1928[3] | 1946[7] | SWANI | Southern Lakes | |
| Lake Geneva | Lake Geneva, WI | Public | Resorters | 1928[3] | 1946[7] | SWANI | Closed in 1958 (consolidated into Badger) | |
| Whitewater | Whitewater, WI | Public | Quakers | 1937[5] | 1946[7] | SWANI | Rock Valley |
Previous members
| School | Location | Affiliation | Nickname | Colors | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walworth | Walworth, WI | Public | Warriors | 1935[4] | 1937[5] | Independent | Closed in 1958 (consolidated into Big Foot) | |
| Whitewater Normal | Whitewater, WI | Public (Lab school) | Quakers, Preps | 1928[3] | 1937[5] | Rock River Valley | Closed in 1959 |
Football-only members
| School | Location | Affiliation | Mascot | Colors | Seasons | Primary Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walworth | Walworth, WI | Public | Warriors | 1932-1934[4][5] | Southeastern Wisconsin |
Membership timeline
List of conference champions
Boys Basketball
| School | Quantity | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Delavan | 8 | 1930, 1932, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1941, 1942 |
| Burlington | 7 | 1931, 1932, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1944 |
| Elkhorn | 3 | 1929, 1945, 1946 |
| Lake Geneva | 2 | 1935, 1943 |
| Whitewater | 1 | 1940 |
| Walworth | 0 | |
| Whitewater Normal | 0 |
Football
| School | Quantity | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Geneva | 6 | 1933, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1941, 1945 |
| Burlington | 4 | 1932, 1935, 1943, 1944 |
| Delavan | 3 | 1929, 1939, 1942 |
| Elkhorn | 3 | 1928, 1930, 1931 |
| Walworth | 1 | 1934 |
| Whitewater | 1 | 1940 |
| Whitewater Normal | 0 |