The Mississippi Valley Conference (MVC) is a high school athletic conference in southwest
Wisconsin
Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
. Founded in 1989, the conference and its member schools belong to the
Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) is the regulatory body for all high school sports in Wisconsin. Its history dates to 1895, making it the earliest continually existing high school athletic organization in the country. ...
and are located in the
La Crosse-Onalaska-Sparta combined statistical area.
History
1933-1965
The first incarnation of the Mississippi Valley Conference was founded in 1933 and contained five smaller high schools in western Wisconsin:
Alma
Alma or ALMA may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film
* ''Alma'', an upcoming film by Sally Potter
* ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922
* ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017
* ''Alma'' ( ...
,
Arcadia,
Durand,
Mondovi and
Osseo.
Augusta joined from the
Little Eight Conference in 1935, replacing Alma after their return to the
Bi-County Conference.
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...
followed in 1936 while maintaining dual membership in the
Trempeleau Valley Conference (which they left in 1938).
Black River Falls
Black River Falls is a city in Jackson County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 3,523 at the 2020 census. It is located along the Black River and home to the headquarters of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin.
...
became the conference's seventh member school when it joined in 1938. These seven schools competed together for two decades before three left to become charter members of the new
Dairyland Conference in 1959: Augusta, Osseo and Whitehall.
Chippewa Falls
Chippewa Falls () is a city located on the Chippewa River in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 14,731 in the 2020 census. Incorporated as a city in 1869, it is the county seat of Chippewa County. The city's name orig ...
and
Cochrane-Fountain City took their place that same year.
Menomonie was also accepted into the conference for 1959 but withdrew before ever playing a game. Three schools exited the conference in 1963: Black River Falls for the
South Central Conference, Chippewa Falls for the
Big Rivers Conference and Cochrane-Fountain City for the Dairyland Conference. For the last two years of its existence, the Mississippi Valley Conference competed as a three-school circuit until Arcadia left for the
Coulee Conference
The Coulee Conference is a high school athletic conference of medium-sized schools based in west central Wisconsin. Founded in 1926, it is one of Wisconsin's oldest athletic conferences and its member schools are affiliated with the Wisconsin Inte ...
in 1965, thus ending the conference's run.
1989-present
The current incarnation of the Mississippi Valley Conference was formed in 1989 to accommodate for the growing attendance in schools in traditional
rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...
-based conferences and shorten travel distances for its members. Holmen and Onalaska joined from the Coulee Conference, Sparta and Tomah from the South Central Conference, and
La Crosse Central High School
La Crosse Central High School is a public high school in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Administered by the School District of La Crosse, it is located on the south side of the city. The school was established in 1907.
History
La Crosse Central is the ...
and
Logan High School from the Big Rivers Conference. Shortly after, in 1997,
Aquinas High School joined from the
Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference of the
Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association
The Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association is a former organization for high school athletics in Wisconsin. Consisting entirely of private schools, it was formed in 1968 and completed a merger with the Wisconsin Interscholastic At ...
, a private school athletic league, to become the conference's seventh member.
In 2014,
West Salem began competition in the Mississippi Valley Conference for football only, remaining in the
Coulee Conference
The Coulee Conference is a high school athletic conference of medium-sized schools based in west central Wisconsin. Founded in 1926, it is one of Wisconsin's oldest athletic conferences and its member schools are affiliated with the Wisconsin Inte ...
for all other sports. Aquinas left the MVC's football roster in 2019 when they joined the
Southwest Wisconsin Activities League as associate members for that sport. The next year, a comprehensive realignment of Wisconsin high school football conferences was implemented by the WIAA with input from the
Wisconsin Football Coaches Association
The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association is an association of American football coaches on all levels within the state of Wisconsin. An annual clinic of members is held in Madison, Wisconsin to promote the sport, primarily at the high school lev ...
to run on a two-year cycle. All six of the MVC's public high schools (Central, Holmen, Logan, Onalaska, Sparta and Tomah) remained in the conference with associate members River Falls (Big Rivers) and West Salem (Coulee) filling out the ranks. River Falls and West Salem returned to their respective conferences for the 2022-2023 realignment cycle with two schools from the
Badger Conference
The Badger Conference is a high school athletic conference with its membership concentrated in south central Wisconsin. Established in 1952, the Badger Conference is a member of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
1 ...
(
Baraboo
Baraboo ( ) is the county seat of Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States, located along the Baraboo River. The population was 12,556 at the 2020 census. The most populous city in the county, Baraboo is the principal city of the Baraboo micropol ...
and
Reedsburg) replacing them. This alignment will stay in effect through at least the 2026-2027 competition cycle.
Sports sponsored
The MVC sponsors 19 varsity sports. They are:
* Fall:
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
, boys'
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
, girls'
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
,
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
, boys'
cross country, girls' cross country and girls'
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...
* Winter: Boys'
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
, girls' basketball,
gymnastics
Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...
,
wrestling
Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...
boys' hockey.
* Spring: Boys'
track, girls' track, boys' golf, boys' tennis, girls' soccer,
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
and
softball
Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...
.
List of member schools (1989-present)
Current members
Current football-only members
Current associate members
Former football-only members
Conference membership history (1933-1965)
Full members
Football-only members
Membership timeline
1933-1965
Full members
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bar:1 color:tan1 from:1933 till:1935 text:Alma (1933-1935)
bar:2 color:tan1 from:1933 till:1965 text:Arcadia (1933-1965)
bar:3 color:tan1 from:1933 till:1965 text:Durand (1933-1965)
bar:4 color:tan1 from:1933 till:1965 text:Mondovi (1933-1965)
bar:5 color:tan1 from:1933 till:1959 text:Osseo (1933-1959)
bar:6 color:tan1 from:1935 till:1959 text:Augusta (1935-1959)
bar:7 color:tan1 from:1936 till:1959 text:Whitehall (1936-1959)
bar:8 color:tan1 from:1938 till:1963 text:Black River Falls (1938-1963)
bar:9 color:tan1 from:1959 till:1963 text:Chippewa Falls (1959-1963)
bar:10 color:tan1 from:1959 till:1963 text:Cochrane-Fountain City (1959-1963)
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Football members
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bar:1 color:lavender from:1939 till:1965 text:Arcadia (1939-1964)
bar:2 color:lavender from:1939 till:1959 text:Augusta (1939-1958)
bar:3 color:lavender from:1939 till:1963 text:Black River Falls (1939-1962)
bar:4 color:lavender from:1939 till:1965 text:Durand (1939-1964)
bar:5 color:lavender from:1939 till:1965 text:Mondovi (1939-1964)
bar:6 color:lavender from:1939 till:1956 text:Whitehall (1939-1955)
bar:6 color:lavender from:1957 till:1959 text:(1957-1958)
bar:7 color:lavender from:1941 till:1953 text:Osseo (1941-1958)
bar:8 color:lavender from:1946 till:1949 text:Galesville (1946-1948)
bar:9 color:lavender from:1949 till:1959 text:Gale-Ettrick (1949-1958)
bar:10 color:lavender from:1959 till:1963 text:Chippewa Falls (1959-1962)
bar:11 color:lavender from:1959 till:1963 text:Cochrane-Fountain City (1959-1962)
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1989-present
Full members
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bar:3 color:tan1 from:1989 till:2030 text:La Crosse Logan (1989-present)
bar:4 color:tan1 from:1989 till:2030 text:Onalaska (1989-present)
bar:5 color:tan1 from:1989 till:2030 text:Sparta (1989-present)
bar:6 color:tan1 from:1989 till:2030 text:Tomah (1989-present)
bar:7 color:tan1 from:1997 till:2030 text:Aquinas (1997-present)
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Football members
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bar:3 color:lavender from:1989 till:2030 text:La Crosse Logan (1989-present)
bar:4 color:lavender from:1989 till:2030 text:Onalaska (1989-present)
bar:5 color:lavender from:1989 till:2030 text:Sparta (1989-present)
bar:6 color:lavender from:1989 till:2030 text:Tomah (1989-present)
bar:7 color:lavender from:1997 till:2019 text:Aquinas (1997-2018)
bar:8 color:lavender from:2014 till:2022 text:West Salem (2014-2021)
bar:9 color:lavender from:2020 till:2022 text:River Falls (2020-2021)
bar:10 color:lavender from:2022 till:2030 text:Baraboo (2022-present)
bar:11 color:lavender from:2022 till:2030 text:Reedsburg (2022-present)
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1989
Membership map
List of state champions
Fall sports
Winter sports
Spring sports
Summer Sports
List of conference champions
1933-1965
Boys Basketball
Football
1989-present
Boys Basketball
Girls Basketball
Football
Rivalries
The Mississippi Valley Conference has a number of intense rivalries, both based on proximity, and performance.
City
* Central Vs. Logan - The two La Crosse public schools' intense rivalry is well publicized by local media and is highlighted by football's Battle for the Ark of Victory.
* Central Vs. Aquinas - A heated battle for city supremacy and the overall city championship.
* Logan Vs. Aquinas - A heated battle for city supremacy and the overall city championship.
Other main rivalries
* Holmen Vs. Onalaska - Proximity spices up this rivalry, as the two school districts overlap city boundaries. Both schools also came over from the Coulee Conference together.
* Tomah Vs. Sparta - Both came over from the South Central Conference and are separated by 17 miles of Interstate 90. The closest conference foe for both teams.
* Reedsburg Vs. Baraboo - Both moved to the MVC as affiliated members and have one of the longest rivalries in the state.
In addition to these main rivalries, many other rivalries have developed based on different sports and success. In the early 2000s, Holmen and Aquinas had fierce competitions in Boys' Basketball in which tickets were sold out days after going on sale. Additionally, in the early 1990s, Onalaska Vs. Central was a heated matchup in Boys' Basketball. That rivalry was rekindled in the 2010s as both teams regularly competed for state bids. In wrestling, Holmen Vs. Sparta and Holmen Vs. Tomah have come and gone. In Boys' Ice Hockey, Onalaska and Aquinas/Holmen/G-E-T/C-FC hold a battle for the Omni Center rivalry, as both teams play in the same venue.
Many non-conference rivalries are also in the MVC. Onalaska Vs. West Salem, Logan and Central Vs. Eau Claire Memorial and North, Tomah Vs. Black River Falls, and Holmen Vs. G-E-T are all annual football games. Aquinas maintains matchups with old conference members from their WISAA days.
Rivalry Week
In many different sports, particularly but not limited to football, basketball, and wrestling, the three big rivalries will frequently be played on the same days, coining the phrase Rivalry Week in football and Rivalry Night in other sports. These rivalries are Central Vs. Logan, Holmen Vs. Onalaska, and Sparta Vs. Tomah. Occasionally, Aquinas will be inserted into a city match up or against Holmen or Onalaska on a Rivalry Night.
References
External links
MVC website
{{Wisconsin high school athletic conferences
Wisconsin high school sports conferences
Sports organizations established in 1933
Sports organizations established in 1989
1933 establishments in Wisconsin
1965 disestablishments in Wisconsin
1989 establishments in Wisconsin