The Milwaukee Catholic Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin, United States. Consisting entirely of Catholic high schools within the Milwaukee archdiocese, the conference existed from 1930 to 1974 and all of its member schools were part of the Wisconsin Catholic Interscholastic Athletic Association and its successor, the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association.

History

1930–1960

The Milwaukee Catholic Conference was formed in 1930 by six parochial high schools in the Greater Milwaukee area. Three members were located in Milwaukee (Marquette University, Messmer, St. John's Cathedral) along with Pio Nono in St. Francis, St. Bonaventure in Sturtevant and St. Catherine's in Racine. St. Mary's High School in Burlington joined the conference in 1932, but their stay would be brief as they left two years later to compete as an independent. Membership in the Milwaukee Catholic Conference was brought back up to seven schools in 1935 when St. Stanislaus (later Notre Dame) joined the loop. St. Bonaventure left the conference in 1937 before rejoining in 1940. Along with newcomers St. Benedict the Moor, membership in the Milwaukee Catholic Conference increased to eight schools. In 1941, Pio Nono High School became St. Francis Minor Seminary and inherited their place in the conference. The recently opened Pius XI High School joined the Milwaukee Catholic Conference in 1942, taking the place of St. Bonaventure, who left the conference for a second time due to wartime-related transportation issues. They returned to the conference after the completion of World War II, along with Don Bosco High School in 1947. St. Benedict and St. Francis Minor Seminary left the conference in 1948, leaving eight schools in the circuit. Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha opened in 1952 and joined the Milwaukee Catholic Conference that same year. Membership increased to eleven when two newly opened schools, Dominican High School in Whitefish Bay and St. Joseph High School in Kenosha joined in 1958, and twelve in 1959 when St. Benedict the Moor rejoined.

1960–1974

In 1960, the Milwaukee Catholic Conference split into two divisions of six schools each, the White Division for larger schools and the Gold Division for smaller schools: Gold DivisionWhite DivisionCatholic MemorialDon BoscoDominicanMarquette UniversityNotre DameMessmerSt. BenedictPius XISt. BonaventureSt. Catherine'sSt. John's CathedralSt. Joseph This alignment would stay in place for two years, when the conference went back to a single division. This was due in part to the addition of a thirteenth member (the newly opened Francis Jordan High School) and the growth of Catholic Memorial and Dominican beyond the small school enrollment threshold. This number turned out to be a high water mark as Catholic high schools in the Milwaukee archdiocese began to close or consolidate in the mid-1960s. The first casualty was St. Benedict the Moor High School, which closed in 1964 to make room for the construction of Interstate Highway 43 through the north side of downtown Milwaukee. Pio Nono was reopened as a high school in 1965 and made its return to the conference in 1968, offsetting the loss of Francis Jordan High School, which closed in 1969 due to lack of adequate facilities. In 1972, Don Bosco and Pio Nono would merge to form St. Thomas More High School on the south side of Milwaukee. Membership would decrease to its final figure of nine schools when Notre Dame and St. Bonaventure, the two smallest schools in the conference, left to become charter members of the Classic Conference in 1973. The end of the Milwaukee Catholic Conference would come in 1974, when Milwaukee Lutheran High School left the Midwest Prep Conference and became the first non-Catholic high school admitted into the group. The league's name was changed to the Metro Conference and continued competition until the dissolution of the WISAA in 1997.

Conference membership history

Final members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent ConferenceCatholic MemorialWaukesha, WIPrivate (Catholic)Crusaders 19521974MetroClassic 8DominicanWhitefish Bay, WIPrivate (Catholic, Sinsinawa Dominicans)Knights 19581974MetroMetro ClassicMarquette UniversityMilwaukee, WIPrivate (Catholic, Jesuit)Hilltoppers 19301974MetroGreater MetroMessmerMilwaukee, WIPrivate (Catholic)Bishops 19301974MetroMidwest ClassicPius XIMilwaukee, WIPrivate (Catholic)Popes 19421974MetroWoodlandSt. Catherine'sRacine, WIPrivate (Catholic, Dominican)Angels 19301974MetroMetro ClassicSt. John's CathedralMilwaukee, WIPrivate (Catholic)Eagles 19301974MetroClosed in 1976St. JosephKenosha, WIPrivate (Catholic)Lancers 19581974MetroMetro ClassicThomas MoreMilwaukee, WIPrivate (Catholic)Cavaliers 19721974MetroMetro Classic

Previous members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent ConferenceDon BoscoMilwaukee, WIPrivate (Catholic)Dons 19471972Merged into Thomas More (1972)Francis JordanMilwaukee, WIPrivate (Catholic)Cardinals 19621969Closed in 1969Notre DameMilwaukee, WIPrivate (Catholic, School Sisters of Notre Dame)Redwings 19351973ClassicClosed in 1988Pio NonoSt. Francis, WIPrivate (Catholic)Spartans 1930,19681941,1972Became St. Francis Minor Seminary (1941), merged into Thomas More (1972)St. Benedict the MoorMilwaukee, WIPrivate (Catholic, Capuchin)Brown Bombers, Pacers 1940,19591948,1964Independent (1948), closed in 1964St. BonaventureSturtevant, WIPrivate (Catholic, Franciscan)Cardinals 1930,1940,19461937,1942,1973Independent (1937),Independent (1942),Classic (1973)Closed in 1983St. Francis Minor SeminarySt. Francis, WIPrivate (Catholic)Maroons 19411948Discontinued athletics in 1948St. Mary'sBurlington, WIPrivate (Catholic)Hilltoppers 19321934IndependentMidwest Classic

Membership timeline

Full members

Football members

List of state champions

Fall sports + Boys Cross CountrySchoolYearOrganizationDivisionPius XI1967WCIAASt. Catherine's1968WISAAClass ASt. Catherine's1969WISAAClass ASt. Catherine's1970WISAAClass ASt. Catherine's1971WISAAClass APius XI1972WISAAClass AThomas More1973WISAAClass A

+ FootballSchoolYearOrganizationPius XI1972WISAA

+ VolleyballSchoolYearOrganizationDominican1973WISAA

Winter sports + Boys BasketballSchoolYearOrganizationSt. Catherine's1958WCIAASt. Catherine's1959WCIAASt. Catherine's1961WCIAAMarquette University1965WCIAAMessmer1966WCIAAMarquette University1967WCIAAMessmer1968WCIAASt. Catherine's1969WISAAPius XI1970WISAASt. Catherine's1971WISAAMarquette University1972WISAAMarquette University1973WISAADominican1974WISAA

+ WrestlingSchoolYearOrganizationSt. Catherine's1957WCIAADon Bosco1958WCIAACatholic Memorial1959WCIAACatholic Memorial1960WCIAASt. Joseph1961WCIAASt. Joseph1962WCIAASt. Joseph1963WCIAASt. Joseph1964WCIAASt. Joseph1965WCIAASt. Joseph1966WCIAAPius XI1969WISAASt. Catherine's1970WISAAPius XI1971WISAAPio Nono1972WISAAThomas More1974WISAA

Spring sports + BaseballSchoolYearOrganizationNotre Dame1957WCIAAMarquette University1959WCIAAMarquette University1962WCIAAPius XI1963WCIAAPius XI1964WCIAASt. Joseph1965WCIAASt. Catherine's1968WCIAASt. Joseph1970WISAASt. Catherine's1971WISAASt. Catherine's1972WISAASt. Catherine's1973WISAA

+ GolfSchoolYearOrganizationMarquette University1958WCIAASt. Catherine's1960WCIAASt. Catherine's1961WCIAADon Bosco1962WCIAAMarquette University1963WCIAAMarquette University1964WCIAAMarquette University1965WCIAAMarquette University1966WCIAASt. Joseph1967WCIAAPius XI1968WCIAASt. Joseph1972WISAA +Boys TennisSchoolYearOrganizationCatholic Memorial1960WCIAACatholic Memorial1961WCIAACatholic Memorial1962WCIAACatholic Memorial1963WCIAACatholic Memorial1964WCIAAMarquette University1965WCIAAMarquette University1966WCIAAMarquette University1967WCIAA + Boys Track & FieldSchoolYearOrganizationDivisionMarquette University1957WCIAAMarquette University1958WCIAAPius XI1959WCIAAPius XI1960WCIAAPius XI1961WCIAAMarquette University1962WCIAAMarquette University1963WCIAAMarquette University1965WCIAAClass AMessmer1966WCIAAClass APius XI1967WCIAAClass AMessmer1968WCIAAClass APius XI1970WISAAClass APius XI1971WISAAClass APius XI1972WISAAClass AMarquette University1973WISAAClass APius XI1974WISAAClass A

List of conference champions

Boys Basketball SchoolQuantityYearsMarquette University161937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1948, 1951, 1954, 1959, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1973St. Catherine's121931, 1933, 1935, 1951, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1974Messmer111939, 1940, 1944, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968Pius XI71957, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1973Don Bosco61952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1968, 1970St. John's Cathedral51932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1944Notre Dame31948, 1949, 1962Pio Nono21932, 1937Catholic Memorial11961Dominican0Francis Jordan0St. Benedict the Moor0St. Bonaventure0St. Francis Minor Seminary0St. Joseph0St. Mary's0Thomas More0

Football SchoolQuantityYearsMarquette University141936, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1944, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1973St. Catherine's131931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1949, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957Don Bosco81953, 1954, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970Pius XI61954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1968, 1969Catholic Memorial41960, 1961, 1971, 1972St. John's Cathedral31934, 1937, 1939Pio Nono21935, 1936Messmer11947Thomas More11973Dominican0Francis Jordan0Notre Dame0St. Benedict the Moor0St. Francis Minor Seminary0St. Joseph0

References