Lakeland Conference (Wisconsin)
The Lakeland Conference is a high school athletic conference consisting of eighteen members in northwestern Wisconsin. Founded in 1934, the conference and its member schools are all members of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
1934-1957
The Lakeland Conference was formed by seven small northwestern Wisconsin high schools in 1934: Cameron, Chetek, Clear Lake, New Auburn, Shell Lake, Turtle Lake, and Weyerhaeuser. Five of the original members of the Lakeland Conference were previously part of the Heart O'North Conference and left that conference due to growing size difference between the larger and smaller schools. All of the conference's original members were located in Barron, Chippewa, Polk, Rusk, and Washburn Counties. By the end of the decade, four new schools were added to the conference: Clayton in 1936, Bruce in 1937, Birchwood in 1938, and Prairie Farm in 1939. The next year, the Lakeland Conference split its eleven-member roster into Eastern and Western Sections:| Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Birchwood | Clayton |
| Bruce | Clear Lake |
| Cameron | Prairie Farm |
| Chetek | Shell Lake |
| New Auburn | Turtle Lake |
| Weyerhaeuser |
Football was sponsored for the first time in 1938, with four members participating first in seven-player football before switching to eight-player football in 1939. Aside from Weyerhaeuser's exit to become a charter member of the Flambeauland Conference in 1946 and their subsequent return five years later, conference membership remained consistent for sixteen years. In 1956, the Lakeland Conference welcomed three new members who were displaced when their conferences ceased operations in 1955: Balsam Lake and Centuria from the Northwest Border Conference and Tony from the Flambeauland Conference. This expansion brought membership to fourteen schools in two divisions:
| Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Birchwood | Balsam Lake |
| Bruce | Centuria |
| Cameron | Clayton |
| Chetek | Clear Lake |
| New Auburn | Prairie Farm |
| Tony | Shell Lake |
| Weyerhaeuser | Turtle Lake |
1957-1968
The Lakeland Conference lost three member schools in 1957. Chetek joined with larger schools in the Heart O'North Conference, and Balsam Lake and Centuria merged with Milltown of the Upper St. Croix Valley Conference to form the new Unity High School. The new school inherited Milltown's conference membership, and the conference was left with eleven schools in two sections:| Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Birchwood | Clayton |
| Bruce | Clear Lake |
| Cameron | Prairie Farm |
| New Auburn | Shell Lake |
| Tony | Turtle Lake |
| Weyerhaeuser |
Siren was accepted into the Lakeland Conference as its twelfth member in 1959 and took up residence in the Western section. Two years later, Tony would merge with Ingram-Glen Flora of the Flambeau League to form the new Flambeau High School, taking Tony's place in the Eastern Lakeland:
| Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Birchwood | Clayton |
| Bruce | Clear Lake |
| Cameron | Prairie Farm |
| Flambeau | Shell Lake |
| New Auburn | Siren |
| Weyerhaeuser | Turtle Lake |
In 1964, five Lakeland Conference members made the transition to eleven-player football. Cameron joined them in 1966, and by 1967 the entire conference switched to eleven-player football, subdividing by enrollment size into two divisions.
1968-1994
In 1968, Winter joined the Lakeland Conference after leaving its former home in the Flambeau League, a conference which would break up two years later. Prentice would follow Winter's footsteps in 1970 after the disbandment of the Flambeau League. Lake Holcombe would also join the Eastern Lakeland in 1970, following a 5-year stint in the Cloverbelt. Cameron moved over to the Western section to accommodate the expansion:| Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Birchwood | Cameron |
| Bruce | Clayton |
| Flambeau | Clear Lake |
| Lake Holcombe | Prairie Farm |
| New Auburn | Shell Lake |
| Prentice | Siren |
| Weyerhaeuser | Turtle Lake |
| Winter |
Prentice left the Lakeland Conference in 1978 to take up residence in its current home, the Marawood Conference. Two years later, Northwood High School in Minong joined the Western section of the conference after leaving the Indianhead Conference.
1994-2002
The conference would operate with fifteen members until 1994, when four schools displaced by the ending of the Upper St. Croix Valley Conference entered the Lakeland: Frederic, Grantsburg, Luck and Webster. The Lakeland Conference realigned itself into a three-division conference that year:| Central Lakeland | Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Cameron | Birchwood | Frederic |
| Clayton | Bruce | Grantsburg |
| Clear Lake | Flambeau | Luck |
| Prairie Farm | Lake Holcombe | Northwood |
| Shell Lake | New Auburn | Siren |
| Turtle Lake | Weyerhaeuser | Webster |
| Winter |
This alignment would only remain in place for two years before going back to a two-division format in 1996. Cornell became the Lakeland Conference's twentieth member school when it moved over from the Cloverbelt Conference in 1998 and was aligned to the Eastern division:
| Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Birchwood | Clayton |
| Bruce | Clear Lake |
| Cameron | Frederic |
| Cornell | Grantsburg |
| Flambeau | Luck |
| Lake Holcombe | Northwood |
| New Auburn | Shell Lake |
| Prairie Farm | Siren |
| Weyerhaeuser | Turtle Lake |
| Winter | Webster |
2002-present
The Lakeland Conference returned to a three-division format in 2002 when it accepted two of the smaller schools from the Middle Border Conference as members. Both schools joined the conference's Western division:| Central Lakeland | Eastern Lakeland | Western Lakeland |
| Cameron | Birchwood | Frederic |
| Clayton | Bruce | Grantsburg |
| Clear Lake | Cornell | Luck |
| Northwood | Flambeau | Siren |
| Prairie Farm | Lake Holcombe | St. Croix Falls |
| Shell Lake | New Auburn | Unity |
| Turtle Lake | Weyerhaeuser | Webster |
| Winter |
This alignment would remain for nearly twenty years and was relatively stable in terms of membership. Weyerhaeuser merged with Chetek of the Heart O'North Conference in 2010 with the new school continuing Chetek's Heart O'North membership. For the 2012 football season, the Lakeland Conference subdivided into eight-player and eleven-player divisions, as eight members of the conference made the transition. Cameron and St. Croix Falls followed them to the Heart O'North in 2019 and 2021, respectively. The Lakeland Conference would also adopt its current two-division alignment that year. Membership decreased from nineteen to seventeen schools in 2025 when Clear Lake left for the Dunn-St. Croix Conference and Unity shifted to the Heart O'North Conference.
Membership timeline
Full members
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1934 till:2030
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:60 left:0 bottom:50 top:5
Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:m
bar:1 color:tan1 from:1934 till:1940 text:Cameron
bar:1 color:blue from:1940 till:1970 text:
bar:1 color:skyblue from:1970 till:1994 text:
bar:1 color:powderblue from:1994 till:1996 text:
bar:1 color:blue from:1996 till:2002 text:
bar:1 color:powderblue from:2002 till:2019 text:
bar:2 color:tan1 from:1934 till:1940 text:Chetek
bar:2 color:blue from:1940 till:1957 text:
bar:3 color:tan1 from:1934 till:1940 text:Clear Lake
bar:3 color:skyblue from:1940 till:1994 text:
bar:3 color:powderblue from:1994 till:1996 text:
bar:3 color:skyblue from:1996 till:2002 text:
bar:3 color:powderblue from:2002 till:2021 text:
bar:3 color:skyblue from:2021 till:2025 text:
bar:4 color:tan1 from:1934 till:1940 text:New Auburn
bar:4 color:blue from:1940 till:2030 text:
bar:5 color:tan1 from:1934 till:1940 text:Shell Lake
bar:5 color:skyblue from:1940 till:1994 text:
bar:5 color:powderblue from:1994 till:1996 text:
bar:5 color:skyblue from:1996 till:2002 text:
bar:5 color:powderblue from:2002 till:2021 text:
bar:5 color:skyblue from:2021 till:2030 text:
bar:6 color:tan1 from:1934 till:1940 text:Turtle Lake
bar:6 color:skyblue from:1940 till:1994 text:
bar:6 color:powderblue from:1994 till:1996 text:
bar:6 color:skyblue from:1996 till:2002 text:
bar:6 color:powderblue from:2002 till:2021 text:
bar:6 color:skyblue from:2021 till:2030 text:
bar:7 color:tan1 from:1934 till:1940 text:Weyerhaeuser
bar:7 color:blue from:1940 till:1946 text:
bar:7 color:blue from:1951 till:2010 text:
bar:8 color:tan1 from:1936 till:1940 text:Clayton
bar:8 color:skyblue from:1940 till:1994 text:
bar:8 color:powderblue from:1994 till:1996 text:
bar:8 color:skyblue from:1996 till:2002 text:
bar:8 color:powderblue from:2002 till:2021 text:
bar:8 color:blue from:2021 till:2030 text:
bar:9 color:tan1 from:1937 till:1940 text:Bruce
bar:9 color:blue from:1940 till:2030 text:
bar:10 color:tan1 from:1938 till:1940 text:Birchwood
bar:10 color:blue from:1940 till:2030 text:
bar:11 color:tan1 from:1939 till:1940 text:Prairie Farm
bar:11 color:skyblue from:1940 till:1994 text:
bar:11 color:powderblue from:1994 till:1996 text:
bar:11 color:blue from:1996 till:2002 text:
bar:11 color:powderblue from:2002 till:2021 text:
bar:11 color:blue from:2021 till:2030 text:
bar:12 color:skyblue from:1956 till:1957 text:Balsam Lake
bar:13 color:skyblue from:1956 till:1957 text:Centuria
bar:14 color:blue from:1956 till:1961 text:Tony
bar:15 color:skyblue from:1959 till:2030 text:Siren
bar:16 color:blue from:1961 till:2030 text:Flambeau
bar:17 color:blue from:1968 till:2030 text:Winter
bar:18 color:blue from:1970 till:2030 text:Lake Holcombe
bar:19 color:blue from:1970 till:1978 text:Prentice
bar:20 color:skyblue from:1980 till:2002 text:Northwood
bar:20 color:powderblue from:2002 till:2021 text:
bar:20 color:skyblue from:2021 till:2030 text:
bar:21 color:skyblue from:1994 till:2030 text:Frederic
bar:22 color:skyblue from:1994 till:2030 text:Grantsburg
bar:23 color:skyblue from:1994 till:2030 text:Luck
bar:24 color:skyblue from:1994 till:2030 text:Webster
bar:25 color:blue from:1998 till:2030 text:Cornell
bar:26 color:skyblue from:2002 till:2021 text:St. Croix Falls
bar:27 color:skyblue from:2002 till:2025 text:Unity
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:10 start:1934
Football members
8-player (1938-1966)
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1938 till:1967
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5
Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:m
bar:1 color:lavender from:1938 till:1956 text:Bruce
bar:1 color:green from:1956 till:1964 text:
bar:2 color:lavender from:1938 till:1956 text:Cameron
bar:2 color:green from:1956 till:1964 text:
bar:2 color:lavender from:1964 till:1966 text:
bar:3 color:lavender from:1938 till:1956 text:Chetek
bar:3 color:green from:1956 till:1957 text:
bar:4 color:lavender from:1938 till:1949 text:Clear Lake
bar:4 color:lavender from:1951 till:1956 text:
bar:4 color:yellowgreen from:1956 till:1964 text:
bar:4 color:lavender from:1964 till:1967 text:
bar:5 color:lavender from:1939 till:1956 text:Shell Lake
bar:5 color:yellowgreen from:1956 till:1964 text:
bar:5 color:lavender from:1964 till:1967 text:
bar:6 color:lavender from:1940 till:1951 text:Clayton
bar:6 color:lavender from:1952 till:1956 text:
bar:6 color:yellowgreen from:1956 till:1964 text:
bar:6 color:lavender from:1964 till:1967 text:
bar:7 color:lavender from:1940 till:1956 text:Prairie Farm
bar:7 color:yellowgreen from:1956 till:1964 text:
bar:8 color:lavender from:1940 till:1956 text:Turtle Lake
bar:8 color:yellowgreen from:1956 till:1964 text:
bar:9 color:lavender from:1944 till:1967 text:New Auburn
bar:9 color:green from:1956 till:1964 text:
bar:9 color:lavender from:1964 till:1967 text:
bar:10 color:lavender from:1951 till:1956 text:Weyerhaeuser
bar:10 color:green from:1956 till:1964 text:
bar:10 color:lavender from:1964 till:1967 text:
bar:11 color:yellowgreen from:1956 till:1957 text:Balsam Lake
bar:12 color:green from:1956 till:1964 text:Birchwood
bar:12 color:lavender from:1964 till:1967 text:
bar:13 color:yellowgreen from:1956 till:1957 text:Centuria
bar:14 color:green from:1956 till:1961 text:Tony
bar:15 color:lavender from:1959 till:1964 text:Siren
bar:15 color:lavender from:1964 till:1967 text:
bar:16 color:green from:1961 till:1964 text:Flambeau
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1938
11-player (1964-present)
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:1964 till:2030
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:160 left:0 bottom:50 top:5
Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:m
bar:1 color:lavender from:1964 till:1967 text:Bruce
bar:1 color:green from:1967 till:2002 text:
bar:1 color:yellowgreen from:2002 till:2012 text:
bar:2 color:lavender from:1964 till:1967 text:Clear Lake
bar:2 color:green from:1967 till:2012 text:
bar:2 color:brightgreen from:2012 till:2019 text:
bar:2 color:lavender from:2019 till:2020 text:
bar:3 color:lavender from:1964 till:1967 text:Flambeau
bar:3 color:green from:1967 till:2007 text:
bar:3 color:yellowgreen from:2007 till:2010 text:
bar:3 color:green from:2010 till:2012 text:
bar:3 color:limegreen from:2012 till:2017 text:
bar:3 color:brightgreen from:2017 till:2019 text:
bar:3 color:lavender from:2019 till:2024 text:
bar:4 color:lavender from:1964 till:1967 text:Prairie Farm
bar:4 color:yellowgreen from:1967 till:2002 text:
bar:4 color:brightgreen from:2002 till:2012 text:
bar:5 color:lavender from:1964 till:1967 text:Turtle Lake
bar:5 color:green from:1967 till:2002 text:
bar:5 color:yellowgreen from:2002 till:2012 text:
bar:5 color:brightgreen from:2012 till:2019 text:
bar:5 color:lavender from:2019 till:2020 text:
bar:6 color:lavender from:1966 till:1967 text:Cameron
bar:6 color:green from:1967 till:2012 text:
bar:6 color:limegreen from:2012 till:2019 text:
bar:6 color:lavender from:2024 till:2030 text:
bar:7 color:yellowgreen from:1967 till:1988 text:Birchwood
bar:7 color:yellowgreen from:2010 till:2012 text:
bar:8 color:yellowgreen from:1967 till:2002 text:Clayton
bar:8 color:brightgreen from:2002 till:2017 text:
bar:9 color:yellowgreen from:1967 till:2002 text:New Auburn
bar:9 color:brightgreen from:2002 till:2012 text:
bar:10 color:green from:1967 till:2002 text:Shell Lake
bar:10 color:yellowgreen from:2002 till:2012 text:
bar:10 color:limegreen from:2012 till:2013 text:
bar:10 color:brightgreen from:2013 till:2017 text:
bar:10 color:limegreen from:2017 till:2018 text:
bar:11 color:yellowgreen from:1967 till:1980 text:Siren
bar:11 color:green from:1980 till:1991 text:
bar:11 color:yellowgreen from:1991 till:2012 text:
bar:12 color:yellowgreen from:1967 till:1988 text:Weyerhaeuser
bar:13 color:yellowgreen from:1970 till:2002 text:Lake Holcombe
bar:13 color:brightgreen from:2002 till:2013 text:
bar:14 color:green from:1972 till:1978 text:Prentice
bar:15 color:yellowgreen from:1980 till:1990 text:Northwood
bar:15 color:yellowgreen from:1991 till:2006 text:
bar:15 color:yellowgreen from:2007 till:2008 text:
bar:16 color:yellowgreen from:1988 till:2010 text:Birchwood/Weyerhaeuser
bar:17 color:green from:1991 till:1994 text:Chetek
bar:18 color:green from:1994 till:2002 text:Frederic
bar:18 color:yellowgreen from:2002 till:2012 text:
bar:18 color:limegreen from:2012 till:2015 text:
bar:18 color:brightgreen from:2015 till:2018 text:
bar:19 color:green from:1994 till:2012 text:Grantsburg
bar:19 color:limegreen from:2012 till:2019 text:
bar:19 color:lavender from:2019 till:2030 text:
bar:20 color:yellowgreen from:1994 till:2002 text:Luck
bar:20 color:green from:2002 till:2010 text:
bar:20 color:yellowgreen from:2010 till:2012 text:
bar:21 color:green from:1994 till:2012 text:Webster
bar:21 color:limegreen from:2012 till:2019 text:
bar:21 color:lavender from:2019 till:2030 text:
bar:22 color:yellowgreen from:1998 till:2002 text:Cornell
bar:22 color:brightgreen from:2002 till:2013 text:
bar:23 color:brightgreen from:2002 till:2012 text:Elmwood
bar:24 color:brightgreen from:2002 till:2009 text:Pepin
bar:25 color:brightgreen from:2002 till:2012 text:Plum City
bar:26 color:green from:2002 till:2012 text:St. Croix Falls
bar:26 color:limegreen from:2012 till:2019 text:
bar:27 color:yellowgreen from:2006 till:2007 text:Northwood/Solon Springs
bar:27 color:yellowgreen from:2008 till:2012 text:
bar:28 color:green from:2007 till:2012 text:Unity
bar:28 color:limegreen from:2012 till:2019 text:
bar:28 color:lavender from:2019 till:2030 text:
bar:29 color:yellowgreen from:2008 till:2012 text:Winter
bar:30 color:brightgreen from:2009 till:2019 text:Pepin/Alma
bar:31 color:brightgreen from:2012 till:2019 text:Elmwood/Plum City
bar:31 color:lavender from:2019 till:2020 text:
bar:32 color:brightgreen from:2013 till:2018 text:Lake Holcombe/Cornell
bar:32 color:limegreen from:2018 till:2019 text:
bar:32 color:lavender from:2019 till:2022 text:
bar:33 color:limegreen from:2015 till:2030 text:Washburn/Bayfield/South Shore
bar:34 color:lavender from:2020 till:2024 text:Hurley
bar:35 color:lavender from:2020 till:2030 text:Ladysmith
bar:36 color:lavender from:2020 till:2024 text:Rib Lake/Prentice
bar:37 color:lavender from:2024 till:2030 text:Cadott
bar:38 color:lavender from:2024 till:2030 text:Chetek-Weyerhaeuser
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:5 start:1964
8-player (2012-2023)
DateFormat = yyyy
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:20
Period = from:2012 till:2024
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal
PlotArea = right:30 left:0 bottom:50 top:5
Colors = id:barcolor value:rgb
id:line value:black
id:bg value:white
PlotData=
width:15 textcolor:black shift: anchor:from fontsize:m
bar:1 color:lavender from:2012 till:2017 text:Birchwood
bar:2 color:lavender from:2012 till:2017 text:Bruce
bar:2 color:green from:2017 till:2018 text:
bar:2 color:yellowgreen from:2018 till:2020 text:
bar:3 color:lavender from:2012 till:2017 text:Luck
bar:3 color:green from:2017 till:2018 text:
bar:3 color:yellowgreen from:2018 till:2020 text:
bar:3 color:dullyellow from:2020 till:2024 text:
bar:4 color:lavender from:2012 till:2017 text:New Auburn
bar:4 color:yellowgreen from:2017 till:2020 text:
bar:5 color:lavender from:2012 till:2017 text:Northwood/Solon Springs
bar:5 color:green from:2017 till:2020 text:
bar:5 color:yellow from:2020 till:2024 text:
bar:6 color:lavender from:2012 till:2017 text:Prairie Farm
bar:6 color:yellowgreen from:2017 till:2020 text:
bar:6 color:dullyellow from:2020 till:2022 text:
bar:7 color:lavender from:2012 till:2017 text:Siren
bar:7 color:green from:2017 till:2020 text:
bar:7 color:dullyellow from:2020 till:2024 text:
bar:8 color:lavender from:2014 till:2017 text:Mellen
bar:8 color:yellowgreen from:2017 till:2018 text:
bar:8 color:green from:2018 till:2020 text:
bar:8 color:yellow from:2020 till:2024 text:
bar:9 color:green from:2017 till:2018 text:Alma Center Lincoln
bar:9 color:yellowgreen from:2019 till:2020 text:
bar:10 color:green from:2017 till:2018 text:Clayton
bar:10 color:yellowgreen from:2018 till:2020 text:
bar:10 color:dullyellow from:2020 till:2024 text:
bar:11 color:yellowgreen from:2017 till:2018 text:Mercer/Butternut
bar:11 color:green from:2018 till:2020 text:
bar:11 color:yellow from:2020 till:2022 text:
bar:12 color:yellowgreen from:2017 till:2018 text:Winter/Birchwood
bar:12 color:green from:2018 till:2020 text:
bar:12 color:yellow from:2020 till:2024 text:
bar:13 color:yellowgreen from:2018 till:2020 text:Frederic
bar:13 color:dullyellow from:2020 till:2024 text:
bar:14 color:green from:2018 till:2020 text:Shell Lake
bar:14 color:dullyellow from:2020 till:2024 text:
bar:15 color:green from:2018 till:2020 text:Washburn/Bayfield
bar:16 color:yellow from:2020 till:2022 text:Chequamegon
bar:17 color:yellow from:2020 till:2024 text:Washburn
bar:18 color:yellow from:2022 till:2024 text:Chequamegon/Butternut/Mercer
bar:19 color:yellow from:2022 till:2024 text:Phillips
bar:20 color:dullyellow from:2022 till:2024 text:Valley Christian
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:1 start:2012
List of state champions
Fall sports
| School | Year | Division |
| Shell Lake | 1980 | Division 5 |
| Turtle Lake | 1988 | Division 6 |
| Shell Lake | 1991 | Division 6 |
| Turtle Lake | 1995 | Division 6 |
| Flambeau | 1997 | Division 6 |
| Lake Holcombe | 1998 | Division 6 |
| Shell Lake | 2004 | Division 7 |
| Luck | 2019 | 8-Player |
Winter sports
| School | Year | Division |
| Shell Lake | 1988 | Class C |
Spring sports
| School | Year | Division |
| Grantsburg | 2006 | Division 3 |
| Grantsburg | 2009 | Division 3 |
| Grantsburg | 2022 | Division 4 |
| School | Year | Division |
| Shell Lake | 2007 | Division 3 |
| Webster | 2022 | Division 3 |