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Scenic Central Conference

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The Scenic Central Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin, founded in 1958 as an all-sport circuit and ending operations in 1979. Members were concentrated in the southern part of the state's Driftless Area and affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

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Founding and Early Years (1958-1971)

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The Scenic Central Conference was originally formed in 1948 as a football-only conference among four small schools in western Wisconsin: Hillsboro, New Lisbon, Westby and Wonewoc.[1] Ten years later, the Scenic Central became an all-sports conference when two previously established conferences merged: the Juneau County League (Elroy, Hillsboro, New Lisbon, Westby and Wonewoc) and the Monroe-Vernon Conference (Cashton, Kendall, Norwalk, Ontario and Wilton).[2][3] Both conferences had experienced loss of members due to consolidation and defection to other conferences, and merged to preserve the athletic future of their member schools. After formation of the conference, consolidation continued to have its effect on schools in the Driftless Area, with Elroy and Kendall merging to create Royall in 1959[4] and Norwalk and Ontario merging to form Brookwood in 1960.[5] The conference also lost Wilton in 1963 to consolidation into the Royall School District,[6] they were replaced by Weston (formerly of the I-W League) to keep membership at eight schools.[7] A ninth school was added when Kickapoo joined the Scenic Central Conference in 1965.[8] A year later, New Lisbon and Royall left the Scenic Central to help form the short-lived Vacationland Conference.[9] De Soto and North Crawford joined from the Kickapoo Valley League to take their place.[10] Two years later, La Farge High School followed their Kickapoo Valley brethren into the Scenic Central Conference,[11] and New Lisbon and Royall rejoined the Scenic Central after the Vacationland Conference disbanded in 1970.[12]

Rapid Growth and Membership Split (1971-1979)

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1971 saw the Scenic Central Conference add three new members: Ithaca, Seneca and Wauzeka. All three schools came from the Kickapoo Valley League, which had disbanded after the previous school year. To accommodate the rapid growth of the Scenic Central into a fifteen-member loop, members were subdivided into Northern and Southern Divisions:[13]

Northern Division Southern Division
Brookwood Ithaca
Cashton La Farge
De Soto Seneca
Hillsboro Wauzeka
Kickapoo Weston
New Lisbon Wonewoc-Center
North Crawford
Royall
Westby

The conference would continue with this alignment for six seasons before Royall and Westby left to join the Coulee Conference in 1977.[14] They exchanged conference affiliation with Bangor, who joined the Scenic Central for the last two years of its existence. Weston and Wonewoc-Center also exchanged divisions with De Soto, Kickapoo and North Crawford:[15]

Northern Division Southern Division
Bangor De Soto
Brookwood Ithaca
Cashton Kickapoo
Hillsboro La Farge
New Lisbon North Crawford
Weston Seneca
Wonewoc-Center Wauzeka

The Scenic Central split into two conferences after the 1978-79 school year, with the seven schools in the Southern Division plus Weston forming the Ridge & Valley Conference[16] and six remaining schools in the Northern Division joining with Necedah and former Scenic Central member Royall to create the Scenic Bluffs Conference.[17]

Conference Membership History

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School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Left Conference Joined Current Conference
Cashton Cashton, WI Public 191 Eagles     1958[2][3] 1979[17] Scenic Bluffs
Elroy Elroy, WI Public N/A Hilltoppers     1958[2][3] 1959[4] Closed (consolidated into Royall)
Hillsboro Hillsboro, WI Public 163 Tigers     1958[2][3] 1979[17] Scenic Bluffs
Kendall Kendall, WI Public N/A Mustangs     1958[2][3] 1959[4] Closed (consolidated into Royall)
New Lisbon New Lisbon, WI Public 156 Rockets     1958,[2][3] 1970[12] 1966,[9] 1979[17] Vacationland, Scenic Bluffs Scenic Bluffs
Norwalk Norwalk, WI Public N/A Hawks     1958[2][3] 1960[5] Closed (consolidated into Brookwood)
Ontario Ontario, WI Public N/A Wildcats     1958[2][3] 1960[5] Closed (consolidated into Brookwood)
Westby Westby, WI Public 305 Norsemen     1958[2][3] 1977[14] Coulee
Wilton Wilton, WI Public N/A Warriors     1958[2][3] 1963[6] Closed (consolidated into Royall)
Wonewoc-Center Wonewoc, WI Public 115 Indians     1958[2][3] 1979[17] Scenic Bluffs
Royall Elroy, WI Public 154 Panthers     1959,[4] 1970[12] 1966,[9] 1977[14] Vacationland, Coulee Scenic Bluffs
Brookwood Ontario, WI Public 175 Falcons     1960[5] 1979[17] Scenic Bluffs
Weston Cazenovia, WI Public 84 Silver Eagles     1963[7] 1979[16] Ridge & Valley
Kickapoo Viola, WI Public 157 Panthers     1965[8] 1979[16] Ridge & Valley
De Soto De Soto, WI Public 127 Pirates     1966[10] 1979[16] Ridge & Valley
North Crawford Soldiers Grove, WI Public 124 Trojans     1966[10] 1979[16] Ridge & Valley
La Farge La Farge, WI Public 66 Wildcats     1968[11] 1979[16] Ridge & Valley
Ithaca Ithaca, WI Public 133 Bulldogs     1971[13] 1979[16] Ridge & Valley
Seneca Seneca, WI Public 102 Indians     1971[13] 1979[16] Ridge & Valley
Wauzeka Wauzeka, WI Public 78 Hornets     1971[13] 1979[16] Ridge & Valley
Bangor Bangor, WI Public 203 Cardinals     1977[15] 1979[17] Scenic Bluffs

List of State Champions

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Fall Sports

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Football
School Year Division
De Soto 1976 Division 4

Winter Sports

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None

Spring Sports

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Boys Track & Field
School Year Division
North Crawford 1976 Class C

References

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  1. ^ "4 Schools Organize New Football Wheel". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. 31 October 1947. p. 2. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Area Basketball Clubs See Action". La Crosse Tribune. 17 November 1958. p. 15. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Prep Cage Standings". Wisconsin State Journal. 16 February 1958. p. 35. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Kendall-Elroy Now Named Royall High". La Crosse Tribune. 22 September 1959. p. 12.
  5. ^ a b c d "Norwalk-Ontario District Approves School Site". La Crosse Tribune. 12 April 1960. p. 14.
  6. ^ a b "E-K-W District to Close Rural Schools". La Crosse Tribune. 31 January 1963. p. 1.
  7. ^ a b "Wonewoc Edges Weston 51-42". Reedsburg Times-Press. 5 December 1963. p. 9. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Prep Cage Standings". The Capital Times. 24 December 1965. p. 20. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  9. ^ a b c "Nekoosa Opens Early Football Drills Thursday". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. 16 August 1966. p. 10. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  10. ^ a b c "Prep Cage Standings". Wisconsin State Journal. 25 December 1966. p. 48. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  11. ^ a b "La Farge Wins Scenic Opener Over Kickapoo". La Crosse Tribune. 7 September 1968. p. 5. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  12. ^ a b c Hillstrom, Eric (26 March 2024). "City, Area Prep Hi-Notes". The Capital Times. p. 32. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d "Scenic Central Conference Adds Three Schools, Splits". La Crosse Tribune. 6 May 1971. p. 21. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  14. ^ a b c Whitehorn, Dave (25 August 1977). "New Look for Area Preps". La Crosse Tribune. p. 12. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Area standings (see Scenic Central)". La Crosse Tribune. 20 December 1977. p. 19. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g h i "De Soto should dominate Ridge-Valley". Wisconsin State Journal. 26 August 1979. pp. 54 (Football '79 insert). Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g "Wonewoc-Center is Scenic Bluffs pick". Wisconsin State Journal. 26 August 1979. pp. 55 (Football '79 insert). Retrieved 14 December 2024.
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