State Line League


The State Line League is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin. Formed in 1927 and ending competition in 1997, its membership consisted of small schools located in the southernmost counties of the state along the Wisconsin-Illinois border. All member schools were associated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

1927–1944

The State Line League was formed in 1927 by eight small high schools in south central Wisconsin: Argyle, Belleville, Blanchardville, Brodhead, Hollandale, Juda, Monticello and New Glarus. Original member schools were located predominantly in Green and Lafayette Counties, which are located on the border between Wisconsin and Illinois. Albany High School joined the State Line League in the 1928-29 school year, taking the place of Juda, which left the league after its first season. Juda High School would make its return in 1929, bringing membership to nine schools. Two years later, membership would go back down to eight as Brodhead left to join the Rock River Valley League in 1931. Brooklyn High School would take their place the next year, and Orfordville High School would join in 1933. With the increase in membership to ten schools, the State Line League would split into Eastern and Western Divisions:
Eastern DivisionWestern Division
AlbanyArgyle
BrooklynBelleville
JudaBlanchardville
MonticelloHollandale
OrfordvilleNew Glarus

1944–1971

The State Line League ended its two-division format and welcomed Brodhead back into the fold in 1944, bringing membership to eleven schools. Three years later, the State Line League sponsored football for the first time, and six members played in the six-player variant. Juda became the seventh football-playing member in 1949, and Blanchardville joined a year later after moving over from the Madison Suburban Conference and transitioning from eleven-player football. Hollandale left to join the Iowa County League in 1951, decreasing the amount of full members to ten schools. Eight-player football was adopted by the State Line League in 1954, and over the next few years, rural school district consolidations began to affect conference membership. Brooklyn High School was closed in 1962 and consolidated with the larger Oregon High School, and their place was immediately taken by South Wayne. The next year, the State Line League transitioned to eleven-player football with eight participants. In 1967, South Wayne was merged with former conference rivals Gratiot to form Black Hawk High School, which remained in the State Line League after consolidation. In 1970, Parkview High School exited the State Line League to join the Central Suburban Conference. The last of the consolidations to affect membership occurred in 1971, when Blanchardville and Hollandale merged to form Pecatonica High School. Two schools joined the State Line League that year in addition to Pecatonica: Barneveld and Holy Name Seminary in Madison.

1971–1997

Membership in the State Line League remained stable for the rest of its existence with the exception of two schools leaving the conference. Brodhead joined the Rock Valley Conference in 1977, and Holy Name Seminary left the conference in 1995 after the Roman Catholic Diocese of Madison closed its doors that year. The State Line League ended sponsorship of football in 1993 when Black Hawk and Pecatonica/Argyle were approved as new football members in the Black Hawk League for the 1994 season. Coupled with the formation of the Sugar River Raiders football cooperative between three State Line members, the conference would have had only three members for football had it continued. In 1997, the Six Rivers Conference was formed through the merger of the nine members of the State Line League with the seven members of the neighboring Black Hawk League.

Conference membership history

Final members

Previous members

Football-only members

Membership timeline

Full members


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bar:6 color:blue from:1933 till:1944 text:
bar:6 color:tan1 from:1944 till:1997 text:
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bar:7 color:tan1 from:1944 till:1997 text:
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bar:9 color:blue from:1933 till:1944 text:
bar:9 color:tan1 from:1944 till:1997 text:
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bar:10 color:blue from:1933 till:1944 text:
bar:10 color:tan1 from:1944 till:1962 text:
bar:11 color:blue from:1933 till:1944 text:Orfordville
bar:11 color:tan1 from:1944 till:1964 text:
bar:11 color:tan1 from:1964 till:1970 text:Parkview
bar:12 color:tan1 from:1962 till:1967 text:South Wayne
bar:13 color:tan1 from:1967 till:1997 text:Black Hawk
bar:14 color:tan1 from:1971 till:1997 text:Barneveld
bar:15 color:tan1 from:1971 till:1995 text:Holy Name Seminary
bar:16 color:tan1 from:1971 till:1997 text:Pecatonica

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Football members


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bar:5 color:lavender from:1947 till:1988 text:New Glarus
bar:6 color:lavender from:1947 till:1964 text:Orfordville
bar:6 color:lavender from:1964 till:1970 text:Parkview
bar:7 color:lavender from:1949 till:1983 text:Juda
bar:8 color:lavender from:1950 till:1971 text:Blanchardville
bar:9 color:lavender from:1962 till:1967 text:South Wayne
bar:10 color:lavender from:1967 till:1994 text:Black Hawk
bar:11 color:lavender from:1971 till:1984 text:Barneveld
bar:11 color:lavender from:1985 till:1990 text:
bar:12 color:lavender from:1971 till:1994 text:Holy Name Seminary
bar:13 color:lavender from:1971 till:1991 text:Pecatonica
bar:14 color:lavender from:1988 till:1994 text:New Glarus/Monticello
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bar:15 color:lavender from:1993 till:1994 text:
bar:16 color:lavender from:1991 till:1994 text:Pecatonica/Argyle
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List of state champions

Fall sports

SchoolYearDivision
Albany1989Class C
Albany1990Division 3
Albany1991Division 3

Winter sports

Spring sports

List of conference champions

Boys Basketball

Girls Basketball

Football