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WIAA Conference Realignment Task Force amends 2026 football-only proposals

01/17/2025, 12:30pm CST
By Travis Wilson

At the WIAA Conference Realignment Task Force meeting on Thursday, the group heard appeals from schools and provided amended plans for football-only changes for 11-player and 8-player football that would take effect in the 2026 season for a two-year cycle.

Schools and conferences that are directly affected by the amended realignment considerations have the opportunity to appeal the proposed changes at the next Task Force meeting on Thursday, February 6th. Plans that are advanced from the Task Force meeting on February 6th will be reviewed by the Board of Control to make a final determination on each of the proposals at its March 11th meeting.

Of note, there were no changes to the proposed 8-Player Football realignment plan.

In 11-Player Football, several changes were proposed from the initial plans released in December. Please note the changes noted below are those from the last realignment plan, not those that are changes from the current (2024-2025) alignments.

11-Player Impacts

  • In the original proposal, the Badger-Large and Badger-Small would have been separate, eight-team conferences. In the new proposal, Watertown would flip from the Badger-Large to the Badger-Small, Edgewood and Lakeside Lutheran would flip from the Badger-Small to the Capitol (where they are currently), McFarland would change from the Badger-Small to the Rock Valley (their current league), and Monroe would switch from the Rock Valley to the Badger-Small. This would make both divisions of the Badger seven team leagues, meaning a mandatory conference crossover game for each team.
  • East Troy would switch from the Capitol to the Rock Valley, which combined with the changes mentioned above, result in the Capitol and Rock Valley each having eight teams, no longer paired for crossover games.
  • Catholic Memorial would move from the Parkland to the Greater Metro.
  • Kettle Moraine would move from the Classic Eight to the Greater Metro.
  • Marquette and Franklin would move from the Greater Metro to the Classic Eight.
  • Oak Creek would move from the Classic Eight to the Southeast (where they are currently).
  • Milwaukee Reagan would change from the Milwaukee-Richardson to the Southeast.
  • the Milwaukee-Richardson would now be a seven-team league with no paired conference, meaning they would play just seven conference games.
  • Pewaukee would switch from the North Shore to the Parkland.
  • The North Shore and Glacier Trails would now be seven-team leagues and play a conference crossover.
  • Westosha Central would move from the Southeast to the Southern Lakes.
  • The Southeast and Southern Lakes would now become eight-team leagues and no longer play conference crossovers.
  • Shorewood/Messmer/Dominican would move from the Midwest Classic-Large to the Metro Classic.
  • University School would move from the Metro Classic to the Midwest Classic-Large.
  • Kohler/Sheboygan Lutheran/Christian would change from the Eastern Wisconsin to the North Eastern, while Two Rivers would move from the North Eastern to the Eastern Wisconsin.
  • Belleville would move from the SWAL to the Eastern Suburban.
  • The Eastern Suburban would now become an eight-team league and no longer paired with the SWC for crossovers.
  • The SWC and SWAL would be seven-team leagues and play a crossover game.

About the Author

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.

For the latest and most up to date football news and recruiting information, follow Travis on Twitter @travisWSN. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Travis at travis(at)wissports.net.

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