The East Central Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin. Originally founded in 1970, it was disbanded in 2001 and remained defunct until its reconstitution in 2015. It lasted for ten seasons before a second dissolution in 2025, and all members in both incarnations belonged to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
1970–2001
The East Central Conference was founded in 1970 by eight medium-sized high schools in east central Wisconsin. Six of the eight schools were displaced by the dissolution of their previous conferences: three from the Little Nine Conference (Hortonville, Omro and Winneconne), two from the Little Ten Conference (Berlin and Ripon) and New London of the Mid-Eastern Conference. Former Central Wisconsin Conference members Waupaca and Weyauwega rounded out the original eight. In 1973, Weyauwega left the East Central Conference to rejoin the CWC, and Little Chute joined from the CWC as their replacement the following year. In 1979, New London exited for membership in the Bay Conference with Wautoma moving over from the CWC to maintain an eight-member conference. Aside from Waupun replacing Wautoma as a football-only member in 1995, the all-sport membership roster would remain intact for the next twenty years. In 1999, Hortonville, Little Chute and Waupaca became charter members of the Valley 8 Conference. Laconia and Markesan joined the ECC from the neighboring Flyway Conference to take the vacated members' place. For football, the two new members stayed in the Flyway Conference, with Mayville and St. Mary's Springs in Fond du Lac joining as football-only members. Two years later, the seven schools of the East Central Conference merged with the nine members of the Flyway Conference to form the East Central Flyway Conference.
2015–2025
During the realignment of several conferences within northeastern Wisconsin, eight schools (Berlin, Campbellsport, Kettle Moraine Lutheran, Kewaskum, Plymouth, Ripon, Waupun and Winneconne) joined together to form a new East Central Conference in 2015. Three of the members of the new ECC were also members of the original conference (Berlin, Ripon and Winneconne). In 2021, after a previous unsuccessful attempt two years prior, Campbellsport left the East Central Conference to join the Wisconsin Flyway Conference, leaving the ECC with seven members. That same year, Berlin and Ripon requested a move to the nearby South Central Conference due to declining enrollment and competitive disparity. Winneconne also requested a shift to the Bay Conference due to its growth and West De Pere's desire to move to the larger Fox River Classic Conference. Both requests were denied by the WIAA Task Force due to a lack of solution to move the other four schools. In December 2023, the other four schools requested an exit from the East Central Conference. Kettle Moraine Lutheran wanted to join other private schools in the Midwest Classic Conference, Kewaskum and Plymouth sought membership in the North Shore Conference and Waupun requested a shift to the Capitol Conference. After some deliberation, the decision was made to disband the East Central Conference and disperse its member schools to other conference. Berlin and Ripon joined the South Central Conference, Waupun became members of the Capitol Conference, Winneconne was accepted into the Bay Conference and the remaining three schools (Kettle Moraine Lutheran, Kewaskum and Plymouth) combined with four other schools (Port Washington, Sheboygan South, West Bend East and West Bend West) to form the Glacier Trails Conference.
Football-only alignment (2020-2025) In February 2019, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association, the WIAA released a sweeping football-only realignment for Wisconsin to commence with the 2020 football season and run on a two-year cycle. The East Central Conference retained six members for football (Berlin, Kettle Moraine Lutheran, Kewaskum, Plymouth, Ripon and Waupun) and welcomed two football-only members: Port Washington of the North Shore Conference, and Sheboygan Falls of the Eastern Wisconsin Conference. This alignment remained in place for the 2022-2023 realignment cycle. For the 2024-2025 cycle, the East Central Conference was whittled down to six members, with returnees Kettle Moraine Lutheran, Kewaskum, Plymouth and Port Washington being joined by Beaver Dam and Watertown of the Badger Conference. The East Central Conference was realigned out of existence for the 2026-2027 realignment cycle.
Conference membership history
1970-2001
Final members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent ConferenceBerlinBerlin, WIPublicIndians 19702001East Central FlywaySouth CentralLaconiaRosendale, WIPublicSpartans 19992001East Central FlywayWisconsin FlywayMarkesanMarkesan, WIPublicHornets 19992001East Central FlywayTrailwaysOmroOmro, WIPublicFoxes 19702001East Central FlywayWisconsin FlywayRiponRipon, WIPublicTigers 19702001East Central FlywaySouth CentralWautomaWautoma, WIPublicHornets 19792001East Central FlywaySouth CentralWinneconneWinneconne, WIPublicWolves 19702001East Central FlywayBay
Previous members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent ConferenceHortonvilleHortonville, WIPublicPolar Bears 19701999Valley 8Fox Valley AssociationLittle ChuteLittle Chute, WIPublicMustangs 19741999Valley 8North EasternNew LondonNew London, WIPublicBulldogs 19701979BayWaupacaWaupaca, WIPublicComets 19701999Valley 8North EasternWeyauwegaWeyauwega, WIPublicIndians 19701973Central Wisconsin
Football-only members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsSeasonsPrimary ConferenceWaupunWaupun, WIPublicWarriors 1995-2000Wisconsin Little TenMayvilleMayville, WIPublicCardinals 1999-2000FlywaySt. Mary's SpringsFond du Lac, WIPrivate (Catholic)Ledgers 1999-2000Flyway
2015-2025
Final members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent ConferenceBerlinBerlin, WIPublicIndians 20152025South Central Kettle Moraine LutheranJackson, WIPrivate (Lutheran, WELS)Chargers 20152025Glacier TrailsKewaskumKewaskum, WIPublicIndians 20152025Glacier TrailsPlymouthPlymouth, WIPublicPanthers 20152025Glacier TrailsRiponRipon, WIPublicTigers 20152025South CentralWaupunWaupun, WIPublicWarriors 20152025CapitolWinneconneWinneconne, WIPublicWolves 20152025Bay
Previous members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent ConferenceCampbellsportCampbellsport, WIPublicCougars 20152021Wisconsin Flyway
Football-only members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsSeasonsPrimary ConferencePort WashingtonPort Washington, WIPublicPirates 2020-2023North ShoreSheboygan FallsSheboygan Falls, WIPublicFalcons 2020-2023Eastern WisconsinBeaver DamBeaver Dam, WIPublicGolden Beavers 2024-2025BadgerWatertownWatertownPublicGoslings 2024-2025Badger
Membership timeline 1970-2001
Full members
Football members
2015-2025
Full members
Football members
List of state champions
Fall sports +Boys Cross CountrySchoolYearDivisionBerlin1978Class B +Girls Cross CountrySchoolYearDivisionWinneconne2020Division 2 +Girls VolleyballSchoolYearDivisionRipon1998Division 2
Winter sports +Boys BasketballSchoolYearDivisionWautoma1980Class BOmro1997Division 3Waupun2016Division 3 +Girls BasketballSchoolYearDivisionWaupun2022Division 3Kewaskum2023Division 3 +Boys Swimming & DivingSchoolYearDivisionBerlin2001Division 2
Spring sports +BaseballSchoolYearDivisionHortonville1987Class BRipon1988Class BWinneconne1992Division 2Hortonville1997Division 2Hortonville1998Division 2Waupun2018Division 2 +Girls SoccerSchoolYearDivisionPlymouth2023Division 3Plymouth2024Division 3 +SoftballSchoolYearDivisionHortonville1996Division 2Waupun2024Division 2 +Boys Track & FieldSchoolYearDivisionBerlin1986Class BWautoma1990Class B
List of conference champions
Boys Basketball SchoolQuantityYearsLittle Chute61977, 1986, 1987, 1994, 1996, 1997Omro61993, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001Ripon61971, 1972, 1984, 1993, 1999, 2017Winneconne61975, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1987, 1997Waupaca51973, 1974, 1988, 1989, 1999Waupun52016, 2018, 2019, 2024, 2025Hortonville41983, 1984, 1985, 1992Berlin31977, 1990, 1991Kettle Moraine Lutheran32018, 2022, 2023Plymouth32020, 2021, 2024Wautoma31980, 1981, 1983New London21976, 1979Laconia12000Campbellsport0Kewaskum0Markesan0Weyauwega0
Girls Basketball SchoolQuantityYearsHortonville71984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1997Little Chute71980, 1982, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994Kettle Moraine Lutheran52016, 2018, 2019, 2024, 2025Waupun52020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024Waupaca41995, 1996, 1998, 1999Winneconne41977, 1983, 1984, 2001Omro31976, 1977, 1978Berlin11988Kewaskum12023Markesan12000New London11975Plymouth12017Ripon11979Wautoma11981Campbellsport0Laconia0Weyauwega0
Football SchoolQuantityYearsLittle Chute91974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986Waupaca91987, 1988, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998Berlin71970, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 2016Plymouth52016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2025Ripon51972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1984Kewaskum42015, 2016, 2017, 2022Winneconne41985, 1995, 2000, 2018Port Washington22023, 2024St. Mary's Springs21999, 2000Beaver Dam12024Hortonville11984Mayville12000New London11978Omro11971Wautoma11982Campbellsport0Kettle Moraine Lutheran0Sheboygan Falls0Watertown0Waupun0Weyauwega0
References
External links
East Central Conference (official website)