Little Eight Conference (Wisconsin)

The Little Eight Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin. Founded in 1926 and dissolved in 1937, the conference and its member schools belonged to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

The Little Eight Conference was formed in 1926 by eight small high schools in west central Wisconsin: Altoona, Augusta, Black River Falls, Fairchild, Fall Creek, Humbird, Merrillan and Osseo. Most conference members were located in Eau Claire County (or the neighboring counties of Clark, Jackson and Trempealeau) and all members with one exception were located along U.S. Route 12. A ninth member was added to the Little Eight in 1931 when Elk Mound moved over from the Dunn-St. Croix Conference. The next year, Neillsville joined as members and the conference was realigned into Northern and Southern sections:

This alignment lasted for three seasons before four members left the Little Eight Conference in 1935: Augusta, Black River Falls, Neillsville and Osseo. Augusta left for membership in the Mississippi Valley Conference along with Osseo, who relinquished dual membership in the Little Eight to join the MVC on a full-time basis. Black River Falls and Neillsville both became independents before forming the Mississippi Valley Triangular League with Augusta in 1936. The six remaining members carried on for two more seasons before the Little Eight Conference ceased operations in 1937. Elk Mound returned to the Dunn-St. Croix Conference and Merrillan became members of the Trempealeau Valley Conference. The other four schools (Altoona, Fairchild, Fall Creek and Humbird) became independents until joining new conferences after World War II.

Conference membership history

Membership timeline

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bar:1 color:tan1 from:1926 till:1932 text:Altoona (1926-1937)
bar:1 color:blue from:1932 till:1935 text:
bar:1 color:tan1 from:1935 till:1937 text:
bar:2 color:tan1 from:1926 till:1932 text:Augusta (1926-1935)
bar:2 color:blue from:1932 till:1935 text:
bar:3 color:tan1 from:1926 till:1932 text:Black River Falls (1926-1935)
bar:3 color:skyblue from:1932 till:1935 text:
bar:4 color:tan1 from:1926 till:1932 text:Fairchild (1926-1937)
bar:4 color:skyblue from:1932 till:1935 text:
bar:4 color:tan1 from:1935 till:1937 text:
bar:5 color:tan1 from:1926 till:1932 text:Fall Creek (1926-1937)
bar:5 color:blue from:1932 till:1935 text:
bar:5 color:tan1 from:1935 till:1937 text:
bar:6 color:tan1 from:1926 till:1932 text:Humbird (1926-1937)
bar:6 color:skyblue from:1932 till:1935 text:
bar:6 color:tan1 from:1935 till:1937 text:
bar:7 color:tan1 from:1926 till:1932 text:Merrillan (1926-1937)
bar:7 color:skyblue from:1932 till:1935 text:
bar:7 color:tan1 from:1935 till:1937 text:
bar:8 color:tan1 from:1926 till:1932 text:Osseo (1926-1935)
bar:8 color:blue from:1932 till:1935 text:
bar:9 color:tan1 from:1931 till:1932 text:Elk Mound (1931-1937)
bar:9 color:blue from:1932 till:1935 text:
bar:9 color:tan1 from:1935 till:1937 text:
bar:9 color:tan1 from:1935 till:1937 text:
bar:10 color:skyblue from:1932 till:1935 text:Neillsville (1932-1935)

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:1926

List of state champions

Fall sports

None

Winter sports

Spring sports

List of conference champions

Boys Basketball

References

{{Wisconsin high school athletic conferences

Wisconsin high school sports conferences
Sports organizations established in 1926
1926 establishments in Wisconsin
1937 disestablishments in Wisconsin