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

Formation and Early Years (1952-1977)

The Badger Conference was formed in 1952, and most of its members came from two conferences that disbanded the year prior: Edgerton, Fort Atkinson, Monroe, Stoughton and Wisconsin High from the Southern Ten Conference, and Evansville, Jefferson, Lake Mills and Milton from the Rock Valley League. Middleton, formerly of the Madison Suburban Conference, rounded out the original membership roster at ten schools. Three years after joining the conference, three schools left for the Madison Suburban Conference: Evansville, Lake Mills and Milton. They were replaced by the recently opened Monona Grove High School, who joined the conference in 1956. Sun Prairie moved over from the Madison Suburban Conference in 1963, and University of Wisconsin High was closed the next year, with its students being moved to Madison Central High School. The Badger Conference's membership roster would stay consistent until major realignment in the late 1970s.

Realignment (1977-2001)

In 1977, the Badger Conference underwent a significant realignment. Three schools left the conference: Edgerton and Jefferson for the Rock Valley Conference and Sun Prairie for the Big Eight Conference. They were replaced that same year by Oregon from the Central Suburban Conference and Sauk Prairie from the South Central Conference. Ten years later, DeForest and Waunakee joined from the Capitol Conference. Middleton left to join the Big Eight in 1994, and their place was taken by Verona from the Capitol Conference. Fort Atkinson left for the Southern Lakes Conference in 1997, and Edgewood High School of the Sacred Heart in Madison joined in 1999 after competing independently as a WISAA member for most of their athletic history.

Expansion and Divisional Split (2001-present)

In 2001, the Badger Conference expanded from nine to fourteen schools, adding three schools formerly in the South Central Conference (Baraboo, Portage and Reedsburg) and two who joined from the Capitol Conference (McFarland and Mount Horeb). In order to accommodate this, the conference split its members into North and South Divisions: In 2008, McFarland and Verona left the Badger Conference to join the Rock Valley and Big Eight Conferences, respectively. Their place in the South Division was taken by Fort Atkinson and Milton, who rejoined the Badger Conference from the Southern Lakes Conference. Beaver Dam and Watertown joined from the dissolved Wisconsin Little Ten Conference in 2017 and were placed in separate divisions (Beaver Dam in the North, Watertown in the South). In 2021, the Badger Conference realigned its divisions by East and West for most sports: This alignment only remained in place for two years, as it was replaced by Large School and Small School divisions in 2023. During this same year, McFarland and Monroe swapped conference affiliations: McFarland rejoined the Badger Conference and Monroe went to the Rock Valley Conference.

List of Member Schools

Current Members

Football-Only Members

Former Members

List of State Champions

Fall Sports

Winter Sports

Spring Sports