The Fox Valley Catholic Conference is a former high school athletic conference in northeastern Wisconsin. Founded in 1929, it was composed entirely of Catholic high schools and was succeeded by the Fox Valley Christian Conference in 1971. The conference and its member schools were affiliated with the Wisconsin Catholic Interscholastic Athletic Association from 1957 to 1968, and the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association from 1968 to 1971.
History
1929–1942
The Fox Valley Catholic Conference was formed in 1929 by seven parochial high schools within the Diocese of Green Bay: Cathedral in Green Bay, Our Lady of Lourdes in Marinette, St. John in Little Chute, St. Mary in Oshkosh, St. Mary Catholic in Neenah, St. Norbert in De Pere and St. Peter's in Oshkosh. Cathedral spent two seasons in the conference before leaving in 1931 to compete as an independent. St. Joseph of Marinette joined in 1932, but they only lasted one season in the conference before leaving. St. Mary left the Fox Valley Catholic Conference in 1935, but returned two years later, offsetting the loss of Our Lady of Lourdes in 1937. St. Joseph Indian School on the Menominee Indian reservation in Keshena joined the conference in 1939, and Our Lady of Lourdes and newcomers St. Mary's Springs joined the Fox Valley Catholic Conference in 1940. St. Mary's Springs was the only conference member not in the Green Bay diocese, as Fond du Lac County was part of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. Green Bay Central Catholic joined the conference after opening in 1941, the same year that the two Catholic high schools in Oshkosh (St. Mary and St. Peter's) closed their doors.
1942–1961 In 1942, the Fox Valley Catholic Conference lost three additional members: Our Lady of Lourdes (for the second time), St. Joseph Indian and St. Mary's Springs. The conference continued with four active members for the next two years before Our Lady of Lourdes rejoined in 1944. St. Mary's Springs made their return in 1948, bringing membership back up to six schools. During the 1950s, several Fox Valley Catholic Conference schools went through name changes. Green Bay Central Catholic renamed itself Our Lady of Premontre when it was relocated from downtown to the west side of Green Bay in 1955, and two schools changed their names in 1959. Our Lady of Lourdes became Marinette Central Catholic when the city's Catholic schools were consolidated, and St. Norbert was changed to Abbot Pennings when it was moved into the old Nicolet High School building in De Pere.
1961–1971
In 1961, membership in the Fox Valley Catholic Conference increased to eight schools with the addition of Lourdes Academy in Oshkosh and Xavier in Appleton. Roncalli High School in Manitowoc became the conference's ninth member in 1968 after a one-year stint in the WIAA's Kettle Moraine Conference. The conference continued with this lineup until it was ended in 1971, when the first non-Catholic member was accepted into the group (Fox Valley Lutheran in Appleton) and the new conference christened itself the Fox Valley Christian Conference in recognition.
Conference membership history
Final members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent ConferenceAbbot PenningsDe Pere, WIPrivate (Catholic, Norbertine)Squires 19291971Fox Valley ChristianClosed in 1990 (merged into Notre Dame Academy)Lourdes AcademyOshkosh, WIPrivate (Catholic)Knights 19611971Fox Valley ChristianTrailwaysMarinette Central CatholicMarinette, WIPrivate (Catholic)Cavaliers 1929, 1940, 19441937, 1942, 1971Fox Valley ChristianMarinette & OcontoOur Lady of PremontreGreen Bay, WIPrivate (Catholic)Cadets 19551971Fox Valley ChristianClosed in 1990 (merged into Notre Dame Academy)St. JohnLittle Chute, WIPrivate (Catholic)Flying Dutchmen 19291971Fox Valley ChristianClosed in 1973RoncalliManitowoc, WIPrivate (Catholic)Jets 19681971Fox Valley ChristianEastern WisconsinSt. Mary CatholicNeenah, WIPrivate (Catholic)Zephyrs 19291971Fox Valley ChristianBig EastSt. Mary's SpringsFond du Lac, WIPrivate (Catholic)Ledgers 1940, 19481942, 1971Fox Valley ChristianWisconsin FlywayXavierAppleton, WIPrivate (Catholic)Hawks 19611971Fox Valley ChristianBay
Previous members SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent ConferenceCathedralGreen Bay, WIPrivate (Catholic)Bluegolds 19291931IndependentClosed in 1941Green Bay Central CatholicGreen Bay, WIPrivate (Catholic)Cadets 19411955Relocated and changed name to Our Lady of PremontreSt. JosephMarinette, WIPrivate (Catholic)UnknownUnknown19321933IndependentClosed (date unknown)St. Joseph IndianKesīqnæh, WIPrivate (Catholic)Indians 19391942IndependentClosed in 1952St. MaryOshkosh, WIPrivate (Catholic)Greyhounds 1929, 19371935, 1941ClosedSt. Peter'sOshkosh, WIPrivate (Catholic)Keymen 19291941Closed
Membership timeline
Full members
Football members
List of state champions
Fall sports +Boys Cross CountrySchoolYearOrganizationDivisionRoncalli1969WISAAClass BRoncalli1970WISAAClass B +FootballSchoolYearOrganizationRoncalli1969WISAAOur Lady of Premontre1970WISAA
Winter sports +Boys BasketballSchoolYearOrganizationSt. Norbert1957WCIAASt. Mary Catholic1960WCIAAXavier1963WCIAAMarinette Catholic Central1964WCIAA
Spring sports +Boys GolfSchoolYearOrganizationSt. Mary's Springs1959WCIAA +Boys TennisSchoolYearOrganizationXavier1963WCIAA +Boys Track & FieldSchoolYearOrganizationDivisionOur Lady of Premontre1969WISAAClass ALourdes Academy1969WISAAClass BRoncalli1970WISAAClass B
Notes
List of conference champions
Boys Basketball SchoolQuantityYearsSt. Mary Catholic181934, 1935, 1938, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961(St. Norbert)Abbot Pennings121930, 1936, 1937, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1961, 1970, 1971Xavier81962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969Green Bay Central Catholic31949, 1950, 1953St. John21939, 1942St. Peter's21931, 1932Lourdes Academy11971(Our Lady of Lourdes)Marinette Catholic Central11933Our Lady of Premontre11958Green Bay Cathedral0Roncalli0St. Joseph0St. Joseph Indian0St. Mary0St. Mary's Springs0
Football SchoolQuantityYearsSt. Mary Catholic141931, 1933, 1934, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1968St. John121932, 1933, 1940, 1941, 1951, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1964, 1967Xavier71961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968(St. Norbert)Abbot Pennings61935, 1936, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1956Green Bay Central Catholic51945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949Our Lady of Premontre21968, 1970Roncalli11969St. Peter's11930Lourdes Academy0(Our Lady of Lourdes)Marinette Catholic Central0St. Joseph Indian0St. Mary's Springs0
References