Gateway-West Central Conference
The Gateway-West Central Conference is an affiliated pair of former high school athletic conferences with their membership concentrated in west central Wisconsin. Competing from 1941 to 1952, all member schools belonged to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
The Gateway-West Central Conference was founded in 1941, resulting from a split of the nine-member South Central Conference. Logan High School in La Crosse was not only the largest high school in the conference, it was the most dominant with perennial contenders in multiple sports.[1] Coupled with being a geographic outlier in west central Wisconsin, the smaller schools to the east (Baraboo, Portage, Reedsburg, Richland Center and Wisconsin Dells) voted to remove Logan from the conference in 1941.[2] The three closest schools geographically to Logan (Sparta, Tomah and Viroqua) voted with Logan to keep them in the conference, but were outnumbered by a 5-4 margin and formed the Gateway Conference.[3] Another conference under the same organizational structure was formed by three members of the Gateway (Sparta, Tomah and Viroqua), along with Mauston of the Juneau County League and Westby of the Monroe-Vernon Conference which was called the West Central Conference.[4] The two conferences were affiliated but competed for two different championships, and all games played between the three dual members counted in the standings for both leagues. This arrangement lasted until 1952 when the two conferences were disbanded after the South Central Conference was reformed.[5]
Conference Membership History
Gateway Conference
| School | Location | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Colors | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Crosse Logan | La Crosse, WI | Public | 738 | Rangers | 1941[3] | 1952 [5] | Independent | Mississippi Valley | |
| Sparta | Sparta, WI | Public | 909 | Spartans | 1941[3] | 1952 [5] | South Central | Mississippi Valley | |
| Tomah | Tomah, WI | Public | 919 | Indians | 1941[3] | 1952 [5] | South Central | Mississippi Valley | |
| Viroqua | Viroqua, WI | Public | 339 | Blackhawks | 1941[3] | 1952 [5] | South Central | Coulee |
West Central Conference
| School | Location | Affiliation | Enrollment | Nickname | Colors | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mauston | Mauston, WI | Public | 474 | Golden Eagles | 1941[3] | 1952 [5] | South Central | ||
| Sparta | Sparta, WI | Public | 909 | Spartans | 1941[3] | 1952 [5] | South Central | Mississippi Valley | |
| Tomah | Tomah, WI | Public | 919 | Indians | 1941[3] | 1952 [5] | South Central | Mississippi Valley | |
| Viroqua | Viroqua, WI | Public | 339 | Blackhawks | 1941[3] | 1952 [5] | South Central | Coulee | |
| Westby | Westby, WI | Public | 305 | Norsemen | 1941[3] | 1952 [5] | Juneau County | Coulee | |
Membership Timeline
Gateway Conference
West Central Conference
References
- ^ "Logan High School Ousted from South Central Conference". La Crosse Tribune. December 3, 1940. p. 10. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
- ^ "South Central Conference Schools Vote to Oust La Crosse Logan". Wisconsin State Journal. December 5, 1940. p. 25. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Two New Cage Loops Formed for Next Year". La Crosse Tribune. January 26, 1941. p. 9. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
- ^ Lentz, Art (November 28, 1941). "Gateway Circuit Joins West Central for '41-'42 Basketball Schedule". The Capital Times. p. 19. Retrieved December 28, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Eight Teams Join in New South-Central Conference". Portage Daily Register. November 21, 1951. p. 6. Retrieved December 28, 2024.