East Central Conference
The East Central Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin. Originally founded in 1970, it was disbanded in 2001 and remained defunct until its reconstitution in 2015. It lasted for ten seasons before a second dissolution in 2025, and all members in both incarnations belonged to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
1970–2001
The East Central Conference was founded in 1970 by eight medium-sized high schools in east central Wisconsin. Six of the eight schools were displaced by the dissolution of their previous conferences: three from the Little Nine Conference, two from the Little Ten Conference and New London of the Mid-Eastern Conference. Former Central Wisconsin Conference members Waupaca and Weyauwega rounded out the original eight. In 1973, Weyauwega left the East Central Conference to rejoin the CWC, and Little Chute joined from the CWC as their replacement the following year. In 1979, New London exited for membership in the Bay Conference with Wautoma moving over from the CWC to maintain an eight-member conference. Aside from Waupun replacing Wautoma as a football-only member in 1995, the all-sport membership roster would remain intact for the next twenty years. In 1999, Hortonville, Little Chute and Waupaca became charter members of the Valley 8 Conference. Laconia and Markesan joined the ECC from the neighboring Flyway Conference to take the vacated members' place. For football, the two new members stayed in the Flyway Conference, with Mayville and St. Mary's Springs in Fond du Lac joining as football-only members. Two years later, the seven schools of the East Central Conference merged with the nine members of the Flyway Conference to form the East Central Flyway Conference.2015–2025
During the realignment of several conferences within northeastern Wisconsin, eight schools joined together to form a new East Central Conference in 2015. Three of the members of the new ECC were also members of the original conference. In 2021, after a previous unsuccessful attempt two years prior, Campbellsport left the East Central Conference to join the Wisconsin Flyway Conference, leaving the ECC with seven members. That same year, Berlin and Ripon requested a move to the nearby South Central Conference due to declining enrollment and competitive disparity. Winneconne also requested a shift to the Bay Conference due to its growth and West De Pere's desire to move to the larger Fox River Classic Conference. Both requests were denied by the WIAA Task Force due to a lack of solution to move the other four schools. In December 2023, the other four schools requested an exit from the East Central Conference. Kettle Moraine Lutheran wanted to join other private schools in the Midwest Classic Conference, Kewaskum and Plymouth sought membership in the North Shore Conference and Waupun requested a shift to the Capitol Conference. After some deliberation, the decision was made to disband the East Central Conference and disperse its member schools to other conference. Berlin and Ripon joined the South Central Conference, Waupun became members of the Capitol Conference, Winneconne was accepted into the Bay Conference and the remaining three schools combined with four other schools to form the Glacier Trails Conference.Football-only alignment (2020-2025)
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 East Central Conference retained six members for football and welcomed two football-only members: Port Washington of the North Shore Conference, and Sheboygan Falls of the Eastern Wisconsin Conference. This alignment remained in place for the 2022-2023 realignment cycle. For the 2024-2025 cycle, the East Central Conference was whittled down to six members, with returnees Kettle Moraine Lutheran, Kewaskum, Plymouth and Port Washington being joined by Beaver Dam and Watertown of the Badger Conference. The East Central Conference was realigned out of existence for football for the 2026-2027 realignment cycle.Conference membership history
1970-2001
Final members
Previous members
Football-only members
2015-2025
Final members
Previous members
Football-only members
Membership timeline
1970-2001
Full members
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bar:1 color:tan1 from:1970 till:2001 text:Berlin
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bar:3 color:tan1 from:1970 till:1979 text:New London
bar:4 color:tan1 from:1970 till:2001 text:Omro
bar:5 color:tan1 from:1970 till:2001 text:Ripon
bar:6 color:tan1 from:1970 till:1999 text:Waupaca
bar:7 color:tan1 from:1970 till:1973 text:Weyauwega
bar:8 color:tan1 from:1970 till:2001 text:Winneconne
bar:9 color:tan1 from:1974 till:1999 text:Little Chute
bar:10 color:tan1 from:1979 till:2001 text:Wautoma
bar:11 color:tan1 from:1999 till:2001 text:Laconia
bar:12 color:tan1 from:1999 till:2001 text:Markesan
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Football members
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bar:4 color:lavender from:1970 till:2001 text:Omro
bar:5 color:lavender from:1970 till:2001 text:Ripon
bar:6 color:lavender from:1970 till:1999 text:Waupaca
bar:7 color:lavender from:1970 till:1973 text:Weyauwega
bar:8 color:lavender from:1970 till:2001 text:Winneconne
bar:9 color:lavender from:1974 till:1999 text:Little Chute
bar:10 color:lavender from:1979 till:1995 text:Wautoma
bar:10 color:lavender from:1999 till:2001 text:
bar:11 color:lavender from:1995 till:2001 text:Waupun
bar:12 color:lavender from:1999 till:2001 text:Mayville
bar:13 color:lavender from:1999 till:2001 text:St. Mary's Springs
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2015-2025
Full members
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bar:3 color:tan1 from:2015 till:2025 text:Kettle Moraine Lutheran
bar:4 color:tan1 from:2015 till:2025 text:Kewaskum
bar:5 color:tan1 from:2015 till:2025 text:Plymouth
bar:6 color:tan1 from:2015 till:2025 text:Ripon
bar:7 color:tan1 from:2015 till:2025 text:Waupun
bar:8 color:tan1 from:2015 till:2025 text:Winneconne
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Football members
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bar:4 color:lavender from:2015 till:2026 text:Kewaskum
bar:5 color:lavender from:2015 till:2026 text:Plymouth
bar:6 color:lavender from:2015 till:2024 text:Ripon
bar:7 color:lavender from:2015 till:2024 text:Waupun
bar:8 color:lavender from:2015 till:2020 text:Winneconne
bar:9 color:lavender from:2020 till:2026 text:Port Washington
bar:10 color:lavender from:2020 till:2024 text:Sheboygan Falls
bar:11 color:lavender from:2024 till:2026 text:Beaver Dam
bar:12 color:lavender from:2024 till:2026 text:Watertown
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List of state champions
Fall sports
| School | Year | Division |
| Winneconne | 2020 | Division 2 |
Winter sports
| School | Year | Division |
| Waupun | 2022 | Division 3 |
| Kewaskum | 2023 | Division 3 |
Spring sports
| School | Year | Division |
| Plymouth | 2023 | Division 3 |
| Plymouth | 2024 | Division 3 |
| School | Year | Division |
| Berlin | 1986 | Class B |
| Wautoma | 1990 | Class B |