Michigan-Wisconsin Conference
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
[edit | edit source]1937–1960
[edit | edit source]Lua error in Module:OSM_Location_map at line 456: bad argument #1 to 'abs' (number expected, got nil). 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
[edit | edit source]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
[edit | edit source]Final members
[edit | edit source]| School | Location | Affiliation | Enrollment | Mascot | Colors | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashland | Ashland, WI | Public | 635[17] | Oredockers | 1937[1] | 1973[13] | Lumberjack | Heart O'North | |
| Bessemer | Bessemer, MI | Public | 109[18] | Speedboys | 1937[1] | 1973[14] | Western UP (MHSAA) | Independent | |
| Hurley | Hurley, WI | Public | 192[17] | Midgets | 1937[1] | 1973[13] | Lumberjack | Northern Lights | |
| Ironwood | Ironwood, MI | Public | 219[18] | Red Devils | 1937[1] | 1973[16] | Great Northern UP (MHSAA) | Independent | |
| Northwestern | Maple, WI | Public | 400[17] | Tigers | 1960[8] | 1973[15] | Independent | Heart O'North | |
| Wakefield | Wakefield, MI | Public | 88[18] | Cardinals | 1937[1] | 1973[14] | Western UP (MHSAA) | Independent |
Previous members
[edit | edit source]| School | Location | Affiliation | Enrollment | Mascot | Colors | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cathedral | Superior, WI | Private (Catholic) | N/A | Panthers | 1965[11] | 1969[12] | Closed | ||
| Park Falls | Park Falls, WI | Public | N/A | Cardinals | 1950[2] | 1955[7] | Lumberjack | Closed in 2009 (merged into Chequamegon) | |
| Superior East | Superior, WI | Public | N/A | Orientals | 1961[9] | 1965[10] | Closed (merged into Superior) | ||
Football-only members
[edit | edit source]| School | Location | Affiliation | Enrollment | Mascot | Colors | Seasons | Primary Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calumet | Calumet, MI | Public | 365[18] | Copper Kings | 1952-1953[4][5][6] | Copper Country |
Membership timeline
[edit | edit source]Full members
[edit | edit source]<timeline> DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1937 till:1973 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5
Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7)
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:m
bar:1 color:tan1 from:1937 till:1973 text:Ashland (1937-1973) bar:2 color:tan1 from:1937 till:1973 text:Bessemer (1937-1973) bar:3 color:tan1 from:1937 till:1973 text:Hurley (1937-1973) bar:4 color:tan1 from:1937 till:1973 text:Ironwood (1937-1973) bar:5 color:tan1 from:1937 till:1973 text:Wakefield (1937-1973) bar:6 color:tan1 from:1950 till:1955 text:Park Falls (1950-1955) bar:7 color:tan1 from:1960 till:1973 text:Northwestern (1960-1973) bar:8 color:tan1 from:1961 till:1965 text:Superior East (1961-1965) bar:9. color:tan1 from:1965 till:1969 text:Superior Cathedral (1965-1969)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1937
</timeline>
Football members
[edit | edit source]<timeline> DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1937 till:1973 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5
Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb(0.99,0.7,0.7)
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:m
bar:1 color:lavender from:1937 till:1973 text:Ashland (1937-1972) bar:2 color:lavender from:1937 till:1973 text:Bessemer (1937-1972) bar:3 color:lavender from:1937 till:1973 text:Hurley (1937-1972) bar:4 color:lavender from:1937 till:1973 text:Ironwood (1937-1972) bar:5 color:lavender from:1937 till:1944 text:Wakefield (1937-1943) bar:5 color:lavender from:1957 till:1973 text:(1957-1972) bar:6 color:lavender from:1952 till:1954 text:Calumet (1952-1953) bar:7 color:lavender from:1952 till:1955 text:Park Falls (1952-1954) bar:8 color:lavender from:1961 till:1965 text:Superior East (1961-1964) bar:9 color:lavender from:1965 till:1969 text:Superior Cathedral (1965-1968) bar:10 color:lavender from:1967 till:1973 text:Northwestern (1967-1972)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1937
</timeline>
List of state champions
[edit | edit source]| School | Year | Organization | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bessemer | 1947[19] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Hurley | 1949[20] | WIAA | Open Classification |
| School | Year | Organization | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurley | 1964[21] | WIAA | Open Classification |
| School | Year | Organization | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wakefield | 1945[22] | MHSAA | Open (Upper Peninsula) |
| Ironwood | 1946[22] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1946[22] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Ironwood | 1947[22] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1947[22] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1948[22] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1949[22] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1950[22] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1951[22] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1953[22] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1957[22] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1963[22] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1964[22] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1965[22] | MHSAA | Class C-D (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1969[22] | MHSAA | Open (Upper Peninsula) |
| School | Year | Organization | Classification |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ironwood | 1940[23] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Ironwood | 1946[23] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Ironwood | 1948[23] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Ironwood | 1950[23] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Bessemer | 1951[23] | MHSAA | Class C (Upper Peninsula) |
| Ironwood | 1951[23] | MHSAA | Class B (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1952[23] | MHSAA | Class C (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1959[23] | MHSAA | Class C (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1960[23] | MHSAA | Class C (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1961[23] | MHSAA | Class C (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1962[23] | MHSAA | Class C (Upper Peninsula) |
| Wakefield | 1964[23] | MHSAA | Class C (Upper Peninsula) |
Football
[edit | edit source]| 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 |
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b c d e f Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c d Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).