Classic 8 Conference


The Classic 8 Conference is a high school athletic conference with its membership base in southeastern Wisconsin. Founded in 1997, the conference and its member schools belong to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
WWW Official Site

History

The Classic 8 Conference was formed in 1997 by eight large high schools in the western suburbs of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The six public school members of the new conference were previously members of the Southeast Conference. Two private Catholic high schools that were formerly in the Metro Conference joined the conference in conjunction with the coming merger between the WIAA and their previous parent organization, the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association. The original lineup remained intact for the first fifteen years of competition. In 2012, Pius XI, which was the smallest school in the conference, left the Classic 8 to join the Woodland Conference and compete with schools that were closer in size. They were replaced by Muskego, who joined the Classic 8 from the Southeast Conference after the new Indian Trail High School opened on the west side of Kenosha. The Classic 8 absorbed a ninth member in 2017 when Oconomowoc joined from the shuttered Wisconsin Little Ten Conference. In 2020, Catholic Memorial left the Classic 8 as a football member due to difference in competition level with the conference's public high schools, joining the football-only Parkland Conference for that sport. The Classic 8 has returned to an eight-member roster for the 2025-26 school year with Waukesha North and Waukesha South both joining the Woodland Conference and Oak Creek moving over from the Southeast Conference.

Football-only alignment

In February 2019, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association, the WIAA released a sweeping football-only realignment for Wisconsin to commence with the 2020 football season and run on a two-year cycle. Most of the Classic 8 remained intact for football, with the exception of Catholic Memorial shifting to the new football-only Parkland Conference to create an eight-member loop. This alignment stayed intact through the 2022-2023 cycle. In 2024, the Classic 8 experienced a net loss of one member, with Waukesha North and Waukesha South moving over to the Parkland Conference, with Pewaukee swapping affiliations to make a seven-member conference. The Classic 8 also entered into a scheduling alliance with the Greater Metro Conference where there would be one mandatory crossover game per school that would count towards the conference standings. For the 2026-2027 realignment cycle, the Classic 8 will be losing Pewaukee to the North Shore Conference and Waukesha West to the Greater Metro Conference. These two schools are currently slated to be replaced by Oak Creek of the Southeast Conference and Sussex Hamilton of the Greater Metro Conference.

Membership timeline

Full members


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Period = from:1997 till:2030
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width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:m
bar:1 color:tan1 from:1997 till:2030 text:Arrowhead
bar:2 color:tan1 from:1997 till:2030 text:Catholic Memorial
bar:3 color:tan1 from:1997 till:2030 text:Kettle Moraine
bar:4 color:tan1 from:1997 till:2030 text:Mukwonago
bar:5 color:tan1 from:1997 till:2012 text:Pius XI
bar:6 color:tan1 from:1997 till:2025 text:Waukesha North
bar:7 color:tan1 from:1997 till:2025 text:Waukesha South
bar:8 color:tan1 from:1997 till:2030 text:Waukesha West
bar:9 color:tan1 from:2012 till:2030 text:Muskego
bar:10 color:tan1 from:2017 till:2030 text:Oconomowoc
bar:11 color:tan1 from:2025 till:2030 text:Oak Creek

ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1997

Football members (since 2020)


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Period = from:2020 till:2030
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bar:1 color:lavender from:2020 till:2030 text:Arrowhead
bar:2 color:lavender from:2020 till:2030 text:Kettle Moraine
bar:3 color:lavender from:2020 till:2030 text:Mukwonago
bar:4 color:lavender from:2020 till:2030 text:Muskego
bar:5 color:lavender from:2020 till:2030 text:Oconomowoc
bar:6 color:lavender from:2020 till:2024 text:Waukesha North
bar:7 color:lavender from:2020 till:2024 text:Waukesha South
bar:8 color:lavender from:2020 till:2026 text:Waukesha West
bar:9 color:lavender from:2024 till:2026 text:Pewaukee
bar:10 color:lavender from:2026 till:2030 text:Sussex Hamilton
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:2020

List of state champions

Fall sports

SchoolYearDivision
Catholic Memorial1997Division 1
Catholic Memorial1998Division 1
Waukesha West1998Division 1
Catholic Memorial1999Division 1
Waukesha West1999Division 1
Waukesha West2000Division 1
Waukesha West2001Division 1
Waukesha West2004Division 1
Waukesha West2005Division 1
Arrowhead2007Division 1
Arrowhead2011Division 1
Arrowhead2012Division 1
Arrowhead2013Division 1
Muskego2018Division 1
Muskego2019Division 1
Muskego2022Division 1

SchoolYearDivision
Arrowhead2004Division 1
Arrowhead2013Division 1
Arrowhead2016Division 1
Arrowhead2017Division 1
Kettle Moraine2018Division 1

SchoolYearDivision
Arrowhead2002Division 1
Arrowhead2003Division 1
Arrowhead2004Division 1
Arrowhead2005Division 1
Arrowhead2006Division 1
Arrowhead2008Division 1
Arrowhead2009Division 1
Arrowhead2010Division 1
Mukwonago/
Waukesha South		2011Division 1
Mukwonago/
Waukesha South		2012Division 1
Mukwonago/
Waukesha South		2013Division 1
Arrowhead2014Division 1
Arrowhead2015Division 1
Arrowhead2022Division 1

SchoolYear
Catholic Memorial2000
Pius XI2001
Catholic Memorial2010
Catholic Memorial2016
Kettle Moraine2020
Kettle Moraine2022

Winter sports

SchoolYearDivision
Pius XI1998Division 1
Kettle Moraine1999Division 1
Pius XI1999Division 1
Pius XI2000Division 1
Pius XI2010Division 1
Kettle Moraine2022Division 1
Kettle Moraine2023Division 1
Arrowhead2024Division 1

SchoolYearDivision
Arrowhead2002Division 1
Arrowhead2003Division 1
Arrowhead2004Division 1
Arrowhead2008Division 1
Catholic Memorial/
Waukesha South		2010Division 1
Catholic Memorial/
Waukesha South		2017Division 1

Spring sports

SchoolYear
Kettle Moraine/
Badger		2024

SchoolYearDivision
Catholic Memorial2021Division 2

SchoolYearDivision
Pius XI1998Division 1
Arrowhead2004Division 1
Kettle Moraine2008Division 1
Arrowhead2009Division 1
Arrowhead2021Division 1
Arrowhead2022Division 1
Arrowhead2023Division 1
Arrowhead2024Division 1