Cloverbelt Conference
The Cloverbelt Conference is a high school athletic conference with its membership base concentrated in west central Wisconsin. Founded in 1927, the conference and its member schools are affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
1927-1945
The Cloverbelt Conference, originally known as the Wisconsin Clover Belt Interscholastic League, was formed in 1927 by five small high schools in west central Wisconsin: Boyd, Cadott, Owen, Stanley and Thorp. Original member schools were located in Chippewa County and Clark County along Wisconsin Highway 29, a major thoroughfare transversing the state from Green Bay to the Twin Cities. Cornell joined the Cloverbelt Conference in 1928, bringing the loop to six members. In 1933, the conference added Gilman and Lake Holcombe to its membership roster, and subdivided into Eastern and Western divisions:| Eastern Cloverbelt | Western Cloverbelt |
| Gilman | Boyd |
| Owen | Cadott |
| Stanley | Cornell |
| Thorp | Lake Holcombe |
Withee became the ninth member of the Cloverbelt Conference in 1938 and were assigned to the Eastern Cloverbelt. Gilman moved to the Western Cloverbelt that same year. In 1939, the Cloverbelt Conference sponsored football for the first time, with four schools playing the six-player variant until the 1944 season, when the four schools shifted to eight-player football. Neillsville accepted conference membership in 1945, the same year that the Cloverbelt Conference adopted eleven-player football and welcomed full members Owen and Stanley from the defunct football-only Chippewa-Black River Valley Conference. For all other sports, Neillsville joined the Eastern Cloverbelt, giving each division five member schools:
| Eastern Cloverbelt | Western Cloverbelt |
| Neillsville | Boyd |
| Owen | Cadott |
| Stanley | Cornell |
| Thorp | Gilman |
| Withee | Lake Holcombe |
1945-1964
After World War II, rural school district consolidation began to affect members of the Cloverbelt Conference. Lake Holcombe left the Western Cloverbelt to join the new Flambeauland Conference in 1946, with Altoona replacing them after having previously competed in the Little Eight Conference. In 1948, Boyd was consolidated into Stanley, and another former Little Eight member took their place in the Western Cloverbelt. The Cloverbelt Conference remained a ten-school league until 1955, when Owen and Withee merged, with the new school inheriting Owen's membership in the Eastern Cloverbelt. Elk Mound joined the next year from the Dunn-St. Croix Conference as the Cloverbelt's tenth school, becoming members of the Western Cloverbelt with Gilman shifting back to the Eastern Cloverbelt:| Eastern Cloverbelt | Western Cloverbelt |
| Gilman | Altoona |
| Neillsville | Cadott |
| Owen-Withee | Cornell |
| Stanley | Elk Mound |
| Thorp | Fall Creek |
Elk Mound's stay in the Cloverbelt would be brief, as they returned to the Dunn-St. Croix Conference in 1961. In 1962, the Cloverbelt Conference accepted four new members who were displaced by the dissolution of the nearby 3-C Conference: Colby, Dor-Abby, Greenwood and Loyal. All four schools joined the Eastern Cloverbelt with Gilman and Stanley moving over to the Western Cloverbelt:
| Eastern Cloverbelt | Western Cloverbelt |
| Colby | Altoona |
| Dor-Abby | Cadott |
| Greenwood | Cornell |
| Loyal | Fall Creek |
| Neillsville | Gilman |
| Owen-Withee | Stanley |
| Thorp |
1964-1982
Dor-Abby would become the new Abbotsford High School in 1964 after the merger between Dorchester and Abbotsford that had taken place three years earlier was ended. The Cloverbelt Conference also adopted the Eastern-Western divisional format for football alongside the other sports offered. Lake Holcombe rejoined the Western Cloverbelt in 1965, giving each division seven schools. This alignment would be short-lived, as Abbotsford left in 1966 to join the Marawood Conference. Lake Holcombe exited in 1970 to become a member of the Lakeland Conference, and the conference competed as a twelve-member league for the first half of the 1970s:| Eastern Cloverbelt | Western Cloverbelt |
| Colby | Altoona |
| Greenwood | Cadott |
| Loyal | Cornell |
| Neillsville | Fall Creek |
| Owen-Withee | Gilman |
| Thorp | Stanley-Boyd |
Colby left the Cloverbelt Conference in 1976 to join an expanded Lumberjack Conference, but their membership only lasted for two seasons. They returned in 1978, bringing three former Lumberjack members with them: Auburndale, Mosinee and Nekoosa. All four schools took up residence in the Eastern Cloverbelt with Thorp moving to the Western Cloverbelt to accommodate the expansion:
| Eastern Cloverbelt | Western Cloverbelt |
| Auburndale | Altoona |
| Colby | Cadott |
| Greenwood | Cornell |
| Loyal | Fall Creek |
| Mosinee | Gilman |
| Neillsville | Stanley-Boyd |
| Nekoosa | Thorp |
| Owen-Withee |
Football was also realigned by enrollment size instead of geographical location for the first time in 1978, with all fifteen members participating:
| Large Cloverbelt | Small Cloverbelt |
| Auburndale | Altoona |
| Cadott | Cornell |
| Colby | Fall Creek |
| Mosinee | Gilman |
| Neillsville | Greenwood |
| Nekoosa | Loyal |
| Stanley-Boyd | Owen-Withee |
| Thorp |
1982-2008
Nekoosa was only a Cloverbelt member for four years before they left to join the South Central Conference in 1982, leaving the conference with fourteen member schools. Osseo-Fairchild would move over from the Dairyland Conference in 1986 with Thorp returning to their former home in the Eastern Cloverbelt. Augusta's entry to the Western Cloverbelt from the Dairyland in 1990 gave the conference sixteen members:| Eastern Cloverbelt | Western Cloverbelt |
| Auburndale | Altoona |
| Colby | Augusta |
| Greenwood | Cadott |
| Loyal | Cornell |
| Mosinee | Fall Creek |
| Neillsville | Gilman |
| Owen-Withee | Osseo-Fairchild |
| Thorp | Stanley-Boyd |
This alignment would remain in place for most of the 1990s, the first change was Cornell's exit in 1998 to join the Lakeland Conference. In 2000, Auburndale left to rejoin the Marawood Conference, and two schools who were former members of WISAA and the Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference joined the Cloverbelt: McDonell Central Catholic in Chippewa Falls and Regis in Eau Claire. Both schools took up residence in the Western Cloverbelt with Stanley-Boyd shifting to the Eastern Cloverbelt:
| Eastern Cloverbelt | Western Cloverbelt |
| Colby | Altoona |
| Greenwood | Augusta |
| Loyal | Cadott |
| Mosinee | Fall Creek |
| Neillsville | Gilman |
| Owen-Withee | McDonell Central Catholic |
| Stanley-Boyd | Osseo-Fairchild |
| Thorp | Regis |
2008-present
In 2008, the Cloverbelt Conference added three former Marawood Conference members to its stable: Columbus Catholic in Marshfield, Granton and Spencer. All three schools joined the Eastern Cloverbelt, with Stanley-Boyd and Thorp moving to the Western Cloverbelt and Augusta shifting to the Eastern Cloverbelt. With the loss of Mosinee to the new Great Northern Conference, the Cloverbelt Conference now had eighteen member schools on its roster:| Eastern Cloverbelt | Western Cloverbelt |
| Augusta | Altoona |
| Colby | Cadott |
| Columbus Catholic | Fall Creek |
| Granton | Gilman |
| Greenwood | McDonell Central Catholic |
| Loyal | Osseo-Fairchild |
| Neillsville | Regis |
| Owen-Withee | Stanley-Boyd |
| Spencer | Thorp |
In football, the Cloverbelt Conference members were split into two different conferences. Six members of the Large Cloverbelt were grouped with Regis of the Small Cloverbelt and Spencer, and this conference retained the Cloverbelt moniker. The other group consisted of six schools formerly in the Small Cloverbelt and four from the Marawood Conference, with the new conference calling itself the Cloverwood Conference as a nod to its member schools' primary membership:
| Cloverbelt | Cloverwood |
| Altoona | Abbotsford |
| Cadott | Assumption |
| Colby | Athens |
| Fall Creek | Augusta |
| Neillsville | Gilman |
| Osseo-Fairchild | Greenwood |
| Regis | Loyal |
| Spencer | Newman Catholic |
| Stanley-Boyd | Owen-Withee |
| Thorp |
Augusta would make its return to the Dairyland Conference in 2014, and Gilman shifted to the Eastern Cloverbelt after six decades as Western Cloverbelt members. In 2021, Altoona accepted an invitation to join larger schools in the Middle Border Conference, with Bloomer moving over from the Heart O' North Conference to replace them. Currently, the Cloverbelt Conference has sixteen member schools, with Osseo-Fairchild leaving for membership in the Dairyland Conference in 2024, and Elk Mound planning to rejoin the Cloverbelt Conference in 2025 as their replacement:
| Eastern Cloverbelt | Western Cloverbelt |
| Colby | Bloomer |
| Columbus Catholic | Cadott |
| Gilman | Fall Creek |
| Granton | McDonell Central Catholic |
| Greenwood | Osseo-Fairchild |
| Loyal | Regis |
| Neillsville | Stanley-Boyd |
| Owen-Withee | Thorp |
| Spencer |
Football (since 2020)
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. The Cloverbelt retained five members from the previous alignment and added three members of the Dunn-St. Croix Conference to form its initial roster. This alignment has remained in place for both the 2022-2023 and 2024-2025 competition cycles, with Osseo-Fairchild leaving for the Dunn-St. Croix Conference and all other members retained. The Cloverbelt will also be entering into a scheduling partnership with the Marawood Conference to schedule one mandatory crossover game per member, with results counting towards overall conference standings.Membership timeline
Full members
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bar:4 color:tan1 from:1927 till:1933 text:Stanley
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bar:4 color:skyblue from:1965 till:2000 text:Stanley-Boyd
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bar:4 color:skyblue from:2008 till:2030 text:
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bar:5 color:skyblue from:1978 till:1986 text:
bar:5 color:blue from:1986 till:2008 text:
bar:5 color:skyblue from:2008 till:2030 text:
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bar:7 color:blue from:1933 till:1938 text:Gilman
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bar:7 color:blue from:2014 till:2030 text:
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bar:9 color:blue from:1938 till:1955 text:Withee
bar:10 color:blue from:1945 till:2030 text:Neillsville
bar:11 color:skyblue from:1946 till:2021 text:Altoona
bar:12 color:skyblue from:1948 till:2030 text:Fall Creek
bar:13 color:blue from:1955 till:2030 text:Owen-Withee
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bar:14 color:skyblue from:2025 till:2030 text:
bar:15 color:blue from:1962 till:1976 text:Colby
bar:15 color:blue from:1978 till:2030 text:
bar:16 color:blue from:1962 till:1964 text:Dor-Abby
bar:17 color:blue from:1962 till:2030 text:Greenwood
bar:18 color:blue from:1962 till:2030 text:Loyal
bar:19 color:blue from:1964 till:1966 text:Abbotsford
bar:20 color:blue from:1978 till:2000 text:Auburndale
bar:21 color:blue from:1978 till:2008 text:Mosinee
bar:22 color:blue from:1978 till:1982 text:Nekoosa
bar:23 color:skyblue from:1986 till:2024 text:Osseo-Fairchild
bar:24 color:skyblue from:1990 till:2008 text:Augusta
bar:24 color:blue from:2008 till:2014 text:
bar:25 color:skyblue from:2000 till:2030 text:McDonell Central Catholic
bar:26 color:skyblue from:2000 till:2030 text:Regis
bar:27 color:blue from:2008 till:2030 text:Columbus Catholic
bar:28 color:blue from:2008 till:2030 text:Granton
bar:29 color:blue from:2008 till:2030 text:Spencer
bar:30 color:skyblue from:2021 till:2030 text:Bloomer
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Football members
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bar:8 color:lavender from:1962 till:1964 text:
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bar:19 color:yellow from:1978 till:2008 text:Mosinee
bar:20 color:yellow from:1978 till:1982 text:Nekoosa
bar:21 color:yellow from:1986 till:2008 text:Osseo-Fairchild
bar:21 color:lavender from:2008 till:2026 text:
bar:22 color:dullyellow from:1990 till:2008 text:Auugsta
bar:23 color:yellow from:1991 till:2003 text:Neillsville/Granton
bar:23 color:lavender from:2016 till:2030 text:
bar:24 color:yellow from:2000 till:2002 text:McDonell Central Catholic
bar:24 color:dullyellow from:2002 till:2008 text:
bar:25 color:dullyellow from:2000 till:2008 text:Regis
bar:25 color:lavender from:2008 till:2030 text:
bar:26 color:lavender from:2008 till:2009 text:Spencer
bar:27 color:lavender from:2009 till:2020 text:Spencer/Columbus
bar:28 color:lavender from:2020 till:2030 text:Durand-Arkansaw
bar:29 color:lavender from:2020 till:2030 text:Elk Mound
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List of state champions
Fall sports
| School | Year | Division |
| Mosinee | 1980 | Division 4 |
| Mosinee | 1980 | Division 4 |
| Gilman | 1986 | Division 6 |
| Greenwood | 1990 | Division 6 |
| Stanley-Boyd | 1991 | Division 4 |
| Owen-Withee | 1992 | Division 6 |
| Fall Creek | 1993 | Division 5 |
| Thorp | 1993 | Division 6 |
| Fall Creek | 1994 | Division 5 |
| Stanley-Boyd | 1995 | Division 4 |
| Osseo-Fairchild | 1996 | Division 5 |
| Colby | 1998 | Division 4 |
| Cadott | 1999 | Division 4 |
| Owen-Withee | 1999 | Division 6 |
| Osseo-Fairchild | 2000 | Division 5 |
| Regis | 2003 | Division 7 |
| Gilman | 2006 | Division 7 |
| Colby | 2008 | Division 5 |
| Colby | 2011 | Division 5 |
| Stanley-Boyd | 2013 | Division 5 |
| Regis | 2016 | Division 6 |
| Regis | 2022 | Division 7 |
Winter sports
| School | Year | Division |
| Gilman | 1983 | Class C |
| Fall Creek | 1985 | Class C |
| Fall Creek | 1987 | Class C |
| Fall Creek | 1988 | Class C |
| Augusta | 1996 | Division 4 |
| Fall Creek | 1996 | Division 3 |
| Mosinee | 2000 | Division 2 |
| Regis | 2003 | Division 4 |
| Altoona | 2011 | Division 3 |
| Regis | 2011 | Division 4 |
| Neillsville | 2012 | Division 4 |
| Loyal | 2017 | Division 5 |
| McDonell Central Catholic | 2023 | Division 5 |
Spring sports
| School | Year | Division |
| Osseo-Fairchild | 1994 | Division 3 |
| Mosinee | 1995 | Division 2 |
| Osseo-Fairchild | 1995 | Division 3 |
| Osseo-Fairchild | 1996 | Division 3 |
| Osseo-Fairchild | 1999 | Division 3 |
| Osseo-Fairchild | 2000 | Division 3 |
| Osseo-Fairchild | 2003 | Division 3 |
| Osseo-Fairchild | 2004 | Division 3 |
| Osseo-Fairchild | 2006 | Division 3 |
| Osseo-Fairchild | 2013 | Division 3 |
| School | Year | Division |
| Mosinee | 1979 | Class B |
| Cadott | 1994 | Division 3 |
| Cadott | 1997 | Division 3 |
| Fall Creek | 1999 | Division 3 |
| Fall Creek | 2000 | Division 3 |
| McDonell Central Catholic | 2014 | Division 3 |
| Fall Creek | 2023 | Division 3 |