The Milwaukee City Conference (also known as "City Conference") is a high school athletic conference in Wisconsin. All full-time member institutions are located in the city of Milwaukee and are members of the Milwaukee Public Schools system.
History
1893-1930 The Milwaukee City Conference was founded in 1893, when Milwaukee opened a second public high school (South Division) and regular athletic competition was established between East Division and South Division High Schools. The first event between these two schools was a track meet in spring of 1894. A third member was added in the fall of 1894 when West Division High School opened, and two years later football became a conference sport when East Division and South Division met on the gridiron for the first time. In 1906, Boys Technical and Trade High School (now Bradley Tech) and North Division High School both opened, after which they became conference members. By 1920, the conference had added three more schools in Washington (1911), Bay View (1914) and Lincoln (1920). During this time period, the City Conference established themselves as a dominant force in track and field, taking the team title in twenty-five WIAA competitions between 1895 and 1929.
1930-1966 The City Conference added a ninth member in 1930, one year after the village of North Milwaukee was annexed into the City of Milwaukee. The village had its own high school prior to annexation, and after North Milwaukee High School was absorbed into MPS it became Custer High School in order to avoid confusion with North Division. One year later, interscholastic basketball was reinstated as a City Conference sport after it was discontinued during the early 1900s due to lack of adequate facilities. Three new high schools were built in consecutive years in the 1930s as Works Progress Administration projects: Juneau (1932), Pulaski (1933) and Rufus King (1934). All became members of the City Conference after opening and varsity competition coincided with each school's first senior class. Membership remained stable at twelve schools until the 1960s. John Marshall High School was opened as a combination junior/senior high school on the city's north side in 1961 (varsity competition began in 1963), and two high schools were added in 1966 as a direct result of Milwaukee’s annexation of unincorporated areas in the years prior: James Madison High School in the former town of Granville and Alexander Hamilton High School in the former town of Greenfield. Granville already had its own high school at this time, and when their district lost territory due to annexation, it was renamed Brown Deer High School after the village where it was located.
1966-1993 A few years after the opening of Hamilton and Madison, the City Conference's football roster subdivided along geographic lines for the 1971 season. Northern schools competed in the Gold Division and southern schools were placed in the Blue Division: Blue DivisionGold DivisionBay ViewCusterBoys TechMadisonHamiltonMarshallJuneauNorth DivisionLincolnRiversidePulaskiRufus KingSouth DivisionWashingtonWest Division In 1979, Lincoln High School closed and Harold S. Vincent High School opened on the city's far northwest side as a replacement. In the years prior, realignment of the high school athletic conferences in southeastern Wisconsin was discussed extensively, driven mostly by the WIAA's desire to get the high schools in Racine and Kenosha into a larger conference after they were forced out of the Big Eight Conference in 1970. The five-member South Shore Conference was created as a result, and competition lasted for ten years before its dissolution. Two members of the South Shore (Kenosha Tremper and Racine Park) joined the City Conference, and four of the City Conference's smaller members joined the Suburban Conference (Juneau, Riverside, Rufus King and West Division). Due to the expansion of the conference's geographic footprint, the conference was briefly known as the Milwaukee Area Conference (MAC). The two-division football alignment was scrapped for the 1980 season, only to return for 1981 and continue until the next realignment. The newly renamed conference made a slight adjustment in 1983 when Kenosha Bradford joined from the Braveland Conference to replace Racine Park after their exit to the Suburban Conference. The high schools in Kenosha left the MAC in 1985, taking four schools on the south side of Milwaukee with them (Bay View, Hamilton, Pulaski and South Division) and rejoining with the Racine high schools to form the Big Nine Conference. During that same year, the four high schools who left for the Suburban Conference rejoined after it was realigned out of existence, and the MAC changed its name back to the Milwaukee City Conference. West Division also dropped their athletic program that year when they became the Milwaukee High School of the Arts. The four south side Milwaukee high schools that were placed in the Big Nine did not want this realignment and threatened to sue the WIAA to rejoin the City Conference. Their efforts were successful in 1993, as all four schools made their return to the conference.
1993-present With the City Conference made whole again after the 1993 realignment, new schools continued to join the conference after they opened. The conference was also partitioned into two divisions for football, named after former coaches Lisle Blackbourn (Washington) and James Richardson (Tech): Blackbourn DivisionRichardson DivisionCusterBay ViewJuneauHamiltonMarshallMadisonNorth DivisionPulaskiRiversideSouth DivisionRufus KingTechVincentWashington Milwaukee School of Languages and Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning joined in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Malcolm X Academy joined the City Conference in 2003 and left when it closed four years later. Solomon Juneau High School closed in 2006, reopening in 2012 as MacDowell Montessori School (the athletics program still competes under the Juneau banner). Northwest Secondary School and Reagan College Prep High School in the former Town of Lake took the place of Malcolm X Academy when it opened in 2007. Three more school openings rounded out the membership of the City Conference: Carmen in 2014 (replacing Northwest after their closing in 2013), Golda Meir in 2016 and Audubon Tech in 2022.
Football (2020-present) In February 2019, the WIAA and the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association unveiled a sweeping football-only realignment for Wisconsin to begin with the 2020 football season and run on a two-year cycle. The City Conference maintained their alignment from the year before and it remained in place through the 2022-2023 realignment cycle. In 2024, Reagan Prep and Washington swapped divisions, with Reagan joining the Richardson Division and Washington taking their place in the Blackbourn Division. For the 2026-2027 competition cycle, the City Conference will be adding two new members and losing one. Full members Milwaukee School of Languages will join the Richardson Division as a stand-alone program after involvement with Marshall's football co-operative. They will be replacing Rufus King, which is aligned with the Southeast Conference as a football-only member for at least the next two years. Finally, Fuller Collegiate Academy will be joining as an affiliate member (primarily in the Lake City Conference) in the Blackbourn Division.
List of member schools
Current members SchoolLocationAffiliationEnrollmentMascotColorsJoinedAudubon TechMilwaukee, WIPublic445Cardinals 2022Bay ViewMilwaukee, WIPublic935Redcats 1914, 1993Bradley TechMilwaukee, WIPublic961Trojans 1906Carmen NorthwestMilwaukee, WICharter379Eagles 2014Carmen SouthgateMilwaukee, WICharter1,483Eagles 2026Golda MeirMilwaukee, WIPublic592Owls 2016HamiltonMilwaukee, WIPublic1,351Wildcats 1966, 1993High School of the ArtsMilwaukee, WIPublic971Crimson Stars 1894, 1985JuneauMilwaukee, WIPublic234Pioneers 1935, 1985, 2012Madison UniversityMilwaukee, WIPublic484Knights 1966MarshallMilwaukee, WIPublic718Eagles 1963North DivisionMilwaukee, WIPublic309Blue Devils 1906Obama SCTEMilwaukee, WIPublic397Cougars 1930PulaskiMilwaukee, WIPublic1,169Rams 1936, 1993Reagan PrepMilwaukee, WIPublic1,370Huskies 2007Riverside UniversityMilwaukee, WIPublic1,567Tigers 1893, 1985Rufus KingMilwaukee, WIPublic1,254Generals 1937, 1985School of LanguagesMilwaukee, WIPublic523Hawks 2000South DivisionMilwaukee, WIPublic1,183Cardinals 1893, 1993VincentMilwaukee, WIPublic831Vikings 1979WashingtonMilwaukee, WIPublic692Purgolders 1911Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong LearningMilwaukee, WIPublic111Wizards 2001
Notes
Associate members SchoolLocationAffiliationEnrollmentMascotColorsSport(s)Fuller Collegiate AcademyMilwaukee, WICharter519Lions Football
Former members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent ConferenceKenosha BradfordKenosha, WIPublicRed Devils 19831985Big NineSoutheastKenosha TremperKenosha, WIPublicTrojans 19801985Big NineSoutheastLincolnMilwaukee, WIPublicComets 19201979ClosedMalcolm X AcademyMilwaukee, WICharterMaroons 20032007ClosedNorthwestMilwaukee, WIPublicEagles 20072013Closed (replaced by Carmen Northwest)Racine ParkRacine, WIPublicPanthers 19801983SuburbanSoutheast
Membership timeline
Full members
Football members
Membership map
Sponsored sports +Audubon Tech●●●●●●Bay View●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●Bradley Tech●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●Carmen Northwest●●●Carmen Southgate●●●●●●●Golda Meir●●●●●●●Hamilton●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●High School of the Arts●●●●●●Juneau●●●●●●●●●Madison University●●●●●●●●●Marshall●●●●●●●●●●North Division●●●●●●●●●Obama SCTE●●●●●●Pulaski●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●Reagan Prep●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●Riverside University●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●Rufus King●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●School of Languages●●●●●●●●●●●●●●South Division●●●●●●●●●●●●●●Vincent●●●●●●●●●●●●●●Washington●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●WCLL●●●●●●
Notes
List of state champions
Fall sports +Boys Cross CountrySchoolYearDivisionEast Division1913Single DivisionEast Division1914Single DivisionRiverside1915Single DivisionRiverside1916Single DivisionRiverside1917Single DivisionRiverside1918Single DivisionRiverside1919Single DivisionRiverside1920Single DivisionSouth Division1921Single DivisionSouth Division1922Single DivisionRiverside1923Single DivisionRiverside1924Single DivisionRiverside1925Single DivisionRiverside1926Single DivisionRiverside1927Single DivisionRiverside1928Single DivisionWashington1930Single DivisionSouth Division1931Single DivisionBay View1932Single DivisionWashington1932Single DivisionRiverside1933Large SchoolsWashington1935Single DivisionRiverside1936Single DivisionRufus King1942Single DivisionBay View1943Single DivisionBay View1944Single DivisionBay View1945Single DivisionWashington1952Large SchoolsLincoln1953Small SchoolsLincoln1954Small SchoolsLincoln1958Small SchoolsNorth Division1958Medium SchoolsBay View1959Large SchoolsBay View1960Large SchoolsNorth Division1960Medium SchoolsLincoln1963Small SchoolsWashington1964Large SchoolsMarshall1970Large Schools +Girls VolleyballSchoolYearDivisionMadison1977Class A
Winter sports +Boys BasketballSchoolYearDivisionLincoln1959Single DivisionLincoln1961Single DivisionLincoln1962Single DivisionLincoln1966Single DivisionLincoln1967Single DivisionHamilton1972Class ATech1979Class ANorth Division1980Class AMadison1981Class A (Vacated)Tech1983Class ARufus King1984Class AWashington1985Class AWashington1987Class AWashington1990Class ARufus King1991Class AWashington1993Division 1Rufus King1995Division 1Vincent1996Division 1Vincent1997Division 1Vincent1998Division 1Vincent2000Division 1Vincent2001Division 1Rufus King2003Division 1Rufus King2004Division 1Juneau2026 Division 4 The City Conference did not allow its teams to compete in the WIAA tournament until the 1951-52 season.