Southern Ten Conference

The Southern Ten Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin, comprising schools in the south central part of the state. It was in operation from 1941 to 1952 and all member schools were affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

The Southern Ten Conference was formed in 1941 by a group of medium-sized high schools in south central Wisconsin after the breakup of two established conferences: the South Central Conference and the Southern Six Conference. Logan High School in La Crosse had recently been voted out of the South Central by a 5-4 margin for reasons of competitive balance. The three schools that voted with Logan to keep them in the conference (Sparta, Tomah and Viroqua) followed them out, and these four schools formed the new Gateway Conference.[1] The five schools that voted for Logan's forced exit from the South Central (Baraboo, Portage, Reedsburg, Richland Center and Wisconsin Dells) joined with five schools from the Southern Six (Edgerton, Fort Atkinson, Monroe, Stoughton and Wisconsin High) in forming the Southern Ten.[2] Watertown, who was removed from the Southern Six prior to the merger for similar reasons to Logan's removal from the South Central,[3] competed as an independent for twelve years until the Braveland Conference was formed in 1953.[4]

The Southern Ten Conference split in 1952 due to the reformation of the South Central Conference by the five schools that originally competed in that conference.[5] The five remaining schools that were originally part of the Southern Six joined with members of the disbanded Rock River Valley League (Evansville, Jefferson, Lake Mills and Milton) and Middleton (formerly of the Madison Suburban Conference) to form the new Badger Conference.[6][7]

Conference Membership History

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Colors	Joined	Left	Conference Joined	Current Conference
Baraboo	Baraboo, WI	Public	919	Thunderbirds		1941[2]	1952[5]	South Central	Badger
Edgerton	Edgerton, WI	Public	537	Crimson Tide		1941[2]	1952[7]	Badger	Rock Valley
Fort Atkinson	Fort Atkinson, WI	Public	964	Blackhawks		1941[2]	1952[7]	Badger
Monroe	Monroe, WI	Public	742	Cheesemakers		1941[2]	1952[7]	Badger	Rock Valley
Portage	Portage, WI	Public	705	Warriors		1941[2]	1952[5]	South Central	Badger
Reedsburg	Reedsburg, WI	Public	897	Beavers		1941[2]	1952[5]	South Central	Badger
Richland Center	Richland Center, WI	Public	418	Hornets		1941[2]	1952[5]	South Central	Southwest Wisconsin
Stoughton	Stoughton, WI	Public	868	Vikings		1941[2]	1952[7]	Badger
Wisconsin Dells	Wisconsin Dells, WI	Public	596	Chiefs		1941[2]	1952[5]	South Central
Wisconsin High	Madison, WI	Public (University of Wisconsin-Madison)	N/A	Badger Preps		1941[2]	1952[7]	Badger	Closed in 1964

Membership Timeline

References

1. "South Central Conference Schools Vote to Oust La Crosse Logan". Wisconsin State Journal. December 5, 1940. p. 27. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
2. "Southern Six, South Central Schools Form New League". Wisconsin State Journal. February 15, 1941. p. 7. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
3. "Watertown's Ouster Made Official at Souther Six Meeting; Grid Slate Set". Stoughton Courier. December 4, 1940. p. 4. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
4. "New League". The Capital Times. September 25, 1953. p. 13. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
5. "Eight Teams Join in New South-Central Conference". Portage Daily Register. November 21, 1951. p. 6. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
6. "Announce Prep Grid Schedule for New Loop". The Capital Times. January 22, 1952. p. 9. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
7. Mueller, Chuck (March 24, 1952). ""Badger" Is Selected as Name of New 10-School Conference". Janesville Weekly Gazette. p. 10. Retrieved December 17, 2024.