Iola-Scandy heading to CWC-Small
Changes are around the corner for Wisconsin’s high school football teams.
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Board of Control passed a statewide football-only conference realignment proposal April 16 in Stevens Point.
The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association came up with the plan, which the board gave first approval to in March.
Under the proposal, which will take effect in 2020, Waupaca will remain in the Bay Conference. The revamped conference will include four other current Bay teams – New London, Shawano, Seymour and Xavier – as well as Fox Valley Lutheran and Winneconne. The four other current Bay teams – Green Bay East, Green Bay West, Menasha and West De Pere – will join the Fox River Classic Conference.
The plan also calls for splitting 16 Central Wisconsin Conference teams into Large and Small conferences.
The CWC-Large will include current CWC teams Weyauwega-Fremont, Manawa, Amherst, Shiocton and Wittenberg-Birnamwood, as well as Spencer/Columbus Catholic, Nekoosa and Stratford.
The CWC-Small will include current CWC teams Iola-Scandinavia, Wild Rose, Almond-Bancroft, Pacelli, Pittsville and Rosholt, as well as Loyal and Assumption.
Clintonville will move from the current North Eastern Conference to the MONLPC-East, which will also include Sturgeon Bay, Peshtigo, Kewaunee, Southern Door, Bonduel, Oconto and Mishicot.
WIAA rules require a 40-day window for schools involved in realignment plans to appeal the first consideration before the Board of Control takes final action. Fifteen schools filed concerns or appeals of the initial vote by the April 10 deadline.
The plan gives uniformity to the number of schools affiliated with a conference and makes certain programs have enough conference games to qualify for the WIAA playoffs.
“As I indicated when the board gave its initial support of the plan, this was an enormous undertaking and a groundbreaking venture for the WIAA,” WIAA Executive Director Dave Anderson said. “This was a good-faith effort and there was openness to alternative ideas, ‘big-picture’ thinking and widespread acceptance of the final decision. It’s also important to convey that any time there is 100-percent agreement of all impacted members, relief can be fast-tracked.”
WIAA Football-Only Conference Realignment
• Bay Conference: Shawano (797), Seymour (700), Waupaca (665), New London (633), Fox Valley Lutheran (618), Xavier (533) and Winneconne (521).
• Central Wisconsin Conference-Large: Spencer/Columbus Catholic (354), Nekoosa (354), Amherst (339), Wittenberg-Birnamwood (328), Stratford (323), Weyauwega-Fremont (266), Manawa (239) and Shiocton (224).
• Central Wisconsin Conference-Small: Pacelli (212), Iola-Scandinavia (208), Pittsville (184), Rosholt (183), Wild Rose (170), Loyal (152), Assumption (131) and Almond-Bancroft (113).
• MONLPC-East: Clintonville (494), Sturgeon Bay (394), Peshtigo (363), Kewaunee (323), Southern Door (313), Bonduel (309), Oconto (274) and Mishicot (234).
NOTE: Enrollment numbers in parentheses.