The State Line League is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin. Formed in 1927 and ending competition in 1997, its membership consisted of small schools located in the southernmost counties of the state along the Wisconsin-Illinois border. All member schools (with the exception of one) were associated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
1927–1944
The State Line League was formed in 1927 by eight small high schools in south central Wisconsin: Argyle, Belleville, Blanchardville, Brodhead, Hollandale, Juda, Monticello and New Glarus. Original member schools were located predominantly in Green and Lafayette Counties, which are located on the border between Wisconsin and Illinois. Albany High School joined the State Line League in the 1928-29 school year, taking the place of Juda, which left the league after its first season. Juda High School would make its return in 1929, bringing membership to nine schools. Two years later, membership would go back down to eight as Brodhead left to join the Rock River Valley League in 1931. Brooklyn High School would take their place the next year, and Orfordville High School would join in 1933. With the increase in membership to ten schools, the State Line League would split into Eastern and Western Divisions: Eastern DivisionWestern DivisionAlbanyArgyleBrooklynBellevilleJudaBlanchardvilleMonticelloHollandaleOrfordvilleNew Glarus
1944–1971 The State Line League ended its two-division format and welcomed Brodhead back into the fold in 1944, bringing membership to eleven schools. Three years later, the State Line League sponsored football for the first time, and six members (Argyle, Belleville, Brodhead, Brooklyn, New Glarus and Orfordville) played in the six-player variant. Juda became the seventh football-playing member in 1949, and Blanchardville joined a year later after moving over from the Madison Suburban Conference and transitioning from eleven-player football. Hollandale left to join the Iowa County League in 1951, decreasing the amount of full members to ten schools. Eight-player football was adopted by the State Line League in 1954, and over the next few years, rural school district consolidations began to affect conference membership. Brooklyn High School was closed in 1962 and consolidated with the larger Oregon High School, and their place was immediately taken by South Wayne (formerly of the Black Hawk League). The next year, the State Line League transitioned to eleven-player football with eight participants. In 1967, South Wayne was merged with former conference rivals Gratiot to form Black Hawk High School, which remained in the State Line League after consolidation. In 1970, Parkview (formerly Orfordville) High School exited the State Line League to join the Central Suburban Conference. The last of the consolidations to affect membership occurred in 1971, when Blanchardville and Hollandale merged to form Pecatonica High School. Two schools joined the State Line League that year in addition to Pecatonica: Barneveld (from the disbanded Kickapoo Valley League) and Holy Name Seminary in Madison.
1971–1997
Membership in the State Line League remained stable for the rest of its existence with the exception of two schools leaving the conference. Brodhead joined the Rock Valley Conference in 1977, and Holy Name Seminary left the conference in 1995 after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison closed its doors that year. The State Line League ended sponsorship of football in 1993 when Black Hawk and Pecatonica/Argyle were approved as new football members in the Black Hawk League for the 1994 season. Coupled with the formation of the Sugar River Raiders football cooperative between three State Line members (Belleville, Monticello and New Glarus), the conference would have had only three members for football had it continued. In 1997, the Six Rivers Conference was formed through the merger of the nine members of the State Line League with the seven members of the neighboring Black Hawk League.
Conference membership history
Final members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent ConferenceAlbanyAlbany, WIPublicComets 19281997Six RiversArgyleArgyle, WIPublicOrioles 19271997Six RiversBarneveldBarneveld, WIPublicGolden Eagles 19711997Six RiversBellevilleBelleville, WIPublicWildcats 19271997Six RiversCapitolBlack HawkSouth Wayne, WIPublicWarriors 19671997Six RiversJudaJuda, WIPublicPanthers 1927, 19291928, 1997Independent, Six RiversSix RiversMonticelloMonticello, WIPublicPonies 19271997Six RiversNew GlarusNew Glarus, WIPublicGlarner Knights 19271997Six RiversCapitolPecatonicaBlanchardville, WIPublicVikings 19711997Six Rivers
Previous members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent ConferenceBlanchardvilleBlanchardville, WIPublicGolden Eagles 19271971Closed (consolidated into Pecatonica)BrodheadBrodhead, WIPublicCardinals 1927, 19441931, 1977Rock River ValleyRock ValleyBrooklynBrooklyn, WIPublicHornets 19321962Closed (consolidated into Oregon)HollandaleHollandale, WIPublicPanthers 19271951Iowa CountyClosed (consolidated into Pecatonica)Holy Name SeminaryMadison, WIPrivate (Catholic)Hilanders 19711995Closed in 1995ParkviewOrfordville, WIPublicVikings 19331970Central SuburbanTrailwaysSouth WayneSouth Wayne, WIPublicVandals 19621967Closed (consolidated into Black Hawk)
Football-only members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsSeasonsPrimary ConferenceBeloit CatholicBeloit, WIPrivate (Catholic)Crusaders 1990-1991, 1993Rock Valley
Membership timeline
Full members
Football members
List of state champions
Fall sports +Boys Cross CountrySchoolYearDivision Albany1971Small Schools Holy Name Seminary1972WISAA Class B Albany1975Class C Holy Name Seminary1979WISAA Class C Holy Name Seminary1980WISAA Class C Albany1987Class C Albany1988Class C Albany1989Class C Albany1990Division 3 +Girls Cross CountrySchoolYearDivision Albany1989Class C Albany1990Division 3 Albany1991Division 3 +FootballSchoolYearDivision Holy Name Seminary1985WISAA Class B
Winter sports +Girls BasketballSchoolYearDivision Monticello1991Division 4 Pecatonica1993Division 4 Pecatonica1994Division 4 Barneveld1995Division 4 Barneveld1998Division 4
Spring sports +Boys Track & FieldSchoolYearDivision Holy Name Seminary1974WISAA Class C Sugar River Raiders1996Division 2
Notes
List of conference champions
Boys Basketball SchoolQuantityYears New Glarus181930, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1952, 1956, 1959, 1960, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1982, 1986, 1991, 1994 Monticello141936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1957, 1958, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1979 Brodhead121947, 1948, 1949, 1953, 1954, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1977 Belleville81929, 1931, 1936, 1938, 1955, 1981, 1983, 1987 Black Hawk61968, 1970, 1971, 1988, 1989, 1990 Albany41935, 1942, 1965, 1978 Argyle41963, 1970, 1972, 1992 Brooklyn41934, 1943, 1944, 1945 Blanchardville31942, 1961, 1971 Juda31933, 1940, 1997 Pecatonica31994, 1995, 1996 Barneveld21980, 1983 Holy Name Seminary21985, 1993 (Orfordville) Parkview21964, 1966 South Wayne11967 Hollandale0
Girls Basketball SchoolQuantityYears Barneveld71980, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997 Belleville61976, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1988, 1989 New Glarus41982, 1983, 1985, 1986 Pecatonica41992, 1993, 1994, 1995 Black Hawk31984, 1986, 1987 Albany0 Argyle0 Juda0 Monticello0Champions from 1977-1978 unknown
Football SchoolQuantityYears Belleville121947, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1971, 1972, 1980, 1982 Blanchardville81950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1967 Pecatonica81973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1983, 1986, 1988 Black Hawk61970, 1972, 1978, 1981, 1984, 1989 New Glarus61952, 1957, 1959, 1966, 1969, 1987 Holy Name Seminary41981, 1985, 1988, 1992New Glarus/Monticello41988, 1990, 1991, 1992 (Orfordville) Parkview41949, 1959, 1960, 1968 Argyle21948, 1975Pecatonica/Argyle21992, 1993 Brodhead11976 Juda11966 Barneveld0Beloit Catholic0 Brooklyn0 South Wayne0
References