Classic Conference

The Classic Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin. Consisting entirely of private schools during its ten year existence from 1973 to 1983, all member schools were affiliated with the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association.

History

Founding and Growth (1973-1978)

The Classic Conference was founded in 1973 by seven private high schools in southeastern Wisconsin: Central Wisconsin Christian in Waupun, de Sales Prep in St. Francis, Notre Dame in Milwaukee, Sheboygan Christian, St. Bonaventure in Sturtevant, St. John’s Military Academy in Delafield and University Lake School in Hartland.[1] Notre Dame and St. Bonaventure were previously part of the Milwaukee Catholic Conference, and the other five schools were independents at the time of the Classic Conference’s formation.[2] SJMA would only spend one season in the conference before joining the Midwest Prep Conference in 1974, and they were replaced by Maranatha Baptist Academy in Watertown.[3] Shoreland Lutheran in Somers joined in 1975,[4] and Brookfield Academy became members of the Classic Conference in 1976.[5] They swapped affiliations with Maranatha Baptist Academy, who left to join the Indian Trails Conference.[6] Kettle Moraine Lutheran in Jackson joined as full members in 1977 after becoming members in girls’ sports the year prior.[7] The Prairie School in Wind Point also joined the conference, bringing membership in the Classic Conference to ten schools.[8] This was KML’s first conference affiliation after opening a few years earlier, while The Prairie School came over from the Indian Trails Conference.

Final Years and Merger (1978-1983)

De Sales Preparatory Seminary closed its doors in 1979, and were immediately replaced by another Catholic seminary, St. Lawrence in Mount Calvary. Winnebago Lutheran Academy in Fond du Lac also joined the conference that year, bringing the roster to eleven members.[9] Both schools were previously members of the Bay-Lakes Conference, which had disbanded the season before. In 1981, University Lake School left the Classic Conference[10] to compete as an independent for one season prior to the formation of the Southern Wisconsin and Illinois Small Schools (SWISS) Conference in 1982.[11] Sheboygan Lutheran joined the Classic Conference to take ULS’s place.[12] The eleven schools would compete until 1983, when a merger agreement was reached with the Midwest Prep Conference.[13] All but two schools in the conference joined the new Midwest Classic Conference for the 1983-84 school year, with Brookfield Academy competing as an independent before entering the SWISS Conference in 1984 and St. Bonaventure High School closing its doors after over eighty years of operation.[14]

Conference Membership History

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Left	Conference Joined	Current Conference
Central Wisconsin Christian	Waupun, WI	Private (Reformed)	119	Crusaders		1973[1]	1983[13]	Midwest Classic	Trailways
de Sales Preparatory Seminary	St. Francis, WI	Private (Catholic)	N/A	Saints		1973[1]	1979[9]	Closed in 1979
Notre Dame	Milwaukee, WI	Private (Catholic)	N/A	Redwings		1973[1]	1983[13]	Midwest Classic	Closed in 1988
Sheboygan Christian	Sheboygan, WI	Private (Christian)	131	Eagles		1973[1]	1983[13]	Midwest Classic	Big East
St. Bonaventure	Sturtevant, WI	Private (Catholic)	N/A	Cardinals		1973[1]	1983[13]	Closed in 1983
St. John's Military Academy	Delafield, WI	Private (Military)	236	Lancers		1973[1]	1974[3]	Midwest Prep	Midwest Classic
University Lake School	Hartland, WI	Private (Nonsectarian)	73	Lakers		1973[1]	1981[10]	Independent	Lake City
Maranatha Baptist Academy	Watertown, WI	Private (Baptist)	65[15]	Crusaders		1974[3]	1976[6]	Indian Trails
Shoreland Lutheran	Somers, WI	Private (WELS)	384	Pacers		1975[4]	1983[13]	Midwest Classic	Metro Classic
Brookfield Academy	Brookfield, WI	Private (Nonsectarian)	334	Blue Knights		1976[5]	1983[13]	Independent	Midwest Classic
Kettle Moraine Lutheran	Jackson, WI	Private (WELS)	553	Chargers		1977[7]	1983[13]	Midwest Classic	East Central
The Prairie School	Wind Point, WI	Private (Nonsectarian)	226	Hawks		1977[8]	1983[13]	Midwest Classic	Metro Classic
St. Lawrence Seminary	Mount Calvary, WI	Private (Catholic, Capuchin)	256 (Boys only)	Hilltoppers		1979[9]	1983[13]	Midwest Classic	Independent
Winnebago Lutheran	Fond du Lac, WI	Private (WELS)	319	Vikings		1979[9]	1983[13]	Midwest Classic	Wisconsin Flyway
Sheboygan Lutheran	Sheboygan, WI	Private (LCMS)	206	Crusaders		1981[12]	1983[13]	Midwest Classic	Big East

Membership Timeline

List of State Champions

Fall Sports

Boys Cross Country

School	Year	Organization	Division
Central Wisconsin Christian	1978[16]	WISAA	Class C

Boys Soccer

School	Year	Organization
Notre Dame	1977[17]	WISAA
University Lake School	1978[18]	WISAA

Girls Tennis

School	Year	Organization
The Prairie School	1980[19]	WISAA

Winter Sports

Boys Basketball

School	Year	Organization	Division
Notre Dame	1976[20]	WISAA	Class B
Notre Dame	1978[21]	WISAA	Class B
Notre Dame	1979[22]	WISAA	Class B
Central Wisconsin Christian	1980[23]	WISAA	Class B
Sheboygan Christian	1981[24]	WISAA	Class B
The Prairie School	1982[25]	WISAA	Class B

Spring Sports

Girls Track & Field

School	Year	Organization	Division
Winnebago Lutheran	1980[26]	WISAA	Class C

References

1. "ULS, St. John's Join New League". Waukesha Daily Freeman. October 12, 1973. p. 16. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
2. "Seven Schools Form Classic Conference". Wisconsin State Journal. October 13, 1972. p. 26. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
3. "Maranatha Joins Classic Conference". Waukesha County Freeman. March 18, 1974. p. 12. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
4. "Maranatha Joins Classic Loop". Sheboygan Press. March 19, 1974. p. 15. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
5. "BA Switches Conferences". Waukesha County Freeman. November 5, 1975. p. 17. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
6. "Changes to Classic Conference". Racine Journal Times. November 7, 1975. p. 16. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
7. Kohl, Tom (November 15, 1977). "Bart Bruins wears 3 hats well". Fond du Lac Reporter. p. 38. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
8. "Prairie Hawks get a classic change". Racine Journal Times. February 19, 1977. p. 9. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
9. "Vikes, Hilltops to join Classic". Fond du Lac Reporter. August 1, 1978. p. 10. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
10. Casper, Jim (November 26, 1981). "New lineup at Shoreland". Kenosha News. p. 25. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
11. "ULS Joins New League". Oconomowoc Enterprise. January 28, 1982. p. 14. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
12. "Lutheran High Joins Classic Conference". Sheboygan Press. September 18, 1980. p. 29. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
13. "Classic, Midwest loops merge". Sheboygan Press. November 18, 1982. p. 33. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
14. "St. Bonaventure may have buyer". Racine Journal Times. February 15, 1984. pp. 4A. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
15. "Maranatha Baptist Academy". Private School Review. December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 13, 2024.
16. "Waupun Christian wins Class C". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. October 30, 1978. p. 10. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
17. "Squires Beaten in Finals". Green Bay Press Gazette. November 7, 1977. pp. B-5. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
18. "ULS wins state soccer championship". Oconomowoc Enterprise. November 9, 1978. p. 9. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
19. "Prairie girls win WISAA tennis title". Racine Journal Times. October 12, 1980. pp. 3C. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
20. "Marquette Upset, Pius WISAA Champ". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. March 8, 1976. p. 9. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
21. "Notre Dame recaptures WISAA "B" cage crown". Wausau Daily Herald. March 6, 1978. p. 20. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
22. "Notre Dame captures WISAA B championship". Appleton Post-Crescent. March 5, 1979. p. 26. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
23. UPI (March 10, 1980). "Prairie runs out of gas". Kenosha News. p. 20. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
24. "They drove coach bananas, but came up winners". Sheboygan Press. March 9, 1981. p. 9. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
25. Uschan, Michael (March 7, 1982). "Lepp key to state title". Kenosha News. pp. D1. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
26. "Aquinas boys WISAA track champions". La Crosse Tribune. May 25, 1980. p. 23. Retrieved January 4, 2025.