# Suburban Conference (Wisconsin)

The Suburban Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin, operating from 1925 to 1985 with its membership concentrated in the suburbs of Milwaukee.

## History
### Formative Years (1925-1942)

The Suburban Conference, originally known as the Milwaukee Suburban Interscholastic Athletic Association, was formed in 1925 by seven high schools located in the streetcar suburbs of Milwaukee: Cudahy, Milwaukee County Agricultural, Shorewood, South Milwaukee, Waukesha, Wauwatosa and West Allis. It was the second athletic conference to form in the Milwaukee area, preceded only by the Milwaukee City Conference in 1893. Milwaukee County School of Agriculture left the conference when it closed in 1928, and its place was taken by the newly opened high school in West Milwaukee in 1929. Four years later, Whitefish Bay joined the conference, bringing membership to eight schools.

### Post-war Metropolitan Growth (1942-1974)

The growth of the Suburban Conference coincided with population growth in the Milwaukee area. West Allis added a second high school in 1939 when Nathan Hale High School added senior high school grades, and they joined the conference in 1942. West Allis High School changed their name to West Allis Central in the process. Scheduling issues with having nine members led the Suburban Conference to explore adding a tenth member in the early 1950s. After making unsuccessful overtures to Oconomowoc High School to leave the Little Ten Conference, the Suburban extended an invite to Greendale High School, and they joined the conference in 1952. Port Washington and Watertown were also candidates for expansion but formed half of the new Braveland Conference in 1953. Wauwatosa West High School joined the conference in 1961 (the same year it opened), with Wauwatosa High School becoming Wauwatosa East. They replaced Greendale, who left to join the Braveland Conference for two years before becoming a charter member of the Parkland Conference. A conference realignment plan that merged the Suburban and Braveland Conferences was also discussed that year but never implemented. 1974 brought an eleventh member to the conference in the form of the newly opened Waukesha North High School, and Waukesha High School changed its name to Waukesha South.

### Realignment and Collapse (1974-1985)

After years of discussion, a major conference realignment was unveiled by the WIAA for southeastern Wisconsin in 1980. Five new schools joined the Suburban: four of the smaller schools from the Milwaukee City Conference (Juneau, Riverside, Rufus King and West Division) and Racine Horlick from the former South Shore Conference. In 1983, Racine Case joined from the Parkland Conference and Racine Park joined from the Milwaukee Area Conference. For the last two years of the Suburban Conference's existence, it was aligned into two divisions based on enrollment size: the Gold Division contained larger schools and the Blue Division contained the smaller ones:
| Gold Division | Blue Division |
| Milwaukee Juneau | Cudahy |
| Milwaukee Rufus King | Milwaukee Riverside |
| Racine Case | Milwaukee West Division |
| Racine Horlick | Nathan Hale |
| Racine Park | Shorewood |
| Waukesha North | South Milwaukee |
| Waukesha South | West Allis Central |
| Wauwatosa East | West Milwaukee |
| Wauwatosa West | Whitefish Bay |
The Suburban Conference was realigned out of existence in 1985, with most of its members joining three newly formed conferences in southeastern Wisconsin (the Big Nine, North Shore and Suburban Park conferences). The two Waukesha high schools joined an overhauled Braveland Conference, the four Milwaukee high schools rejoined the City Conference, and West Milwaukee joined the Parkland Conference (where it would remain until it closed in 1992).

## Conference Membership History

| School | Location | Affiliation | Enrollment | Mascot | Colors | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
| Cudahy | Cudahy, WI | Public | 677 | Packers | | 1925 | 1985 | Suburban Park | Woodland |
| Milwaukee County School of Agriculture | Wauwatosa, WI | Public | N/A | Aggies | Unknown | 1925 | 1928 | Closed 1928 | Closed 1928 |
| Shorewood | Shorewood, WI | Public | 662 | Greyhounds | | 1925 | 1985 | North Shore | Woodland |
| South Milwaukee | South Milwaukee, WI | Public | 1,002 | Rockets | | 1925 | 1985 | Suburban Park | Woodland |
| Waukesha South | Waukesha, WI | Public | 1,179 | Blackshirts | | 1925 | 1985 | Braveland | Classic Eight |
| Wauwatosa East | Wauwatosa, WI | Public | 1,047 | Red Raiders | | 1925 | 1985 | North Shore | Greater Metro |
| West Allis Central | West Allis, WI | Public | 1,126 | Bulldogs | | 1925 | 1985 | Suburban Park | Woodland |
| West Milwaukee | West Milwaukee, WI | Public | N/A | Mustangs | | 1929 | 1985 | Parkland | Closed 1992 |
| Whitefish Bay | Whitefish Bay, WI | Public | 944 | Blue Dukes | | 1933 | 1985 | North Shore | North Shore |
| Nathan Hale | West Allis, WI | Public | 1,373 | Huskies | | 1942 | 1985 | Suburban Park | Greater Metro |
| Greendale | Greendale, WI | Public | 931 | Panthers | | 1952 | 1961 | Braveland | Woodland |
| Wauwatosa West | Wauwatosa, WI | Public | 1,028 | Trojans | | 1961 | 1985 | North Shore | Greater Metro |
| Waukesha North | Waukesha, WI | Public | 1,018 | Northstars | | 1974 | 1985 | Braveland | Classic Eight |
| Milwaukee Juneau | Milwaukee, WI | Public | 233 | Pioneers | | 1980 | 1985 | Milwaukee City | Milwaukee City |
| Milwaukee Riverside | Milwaukee, WI | Public | 1,235 | Tigers | | 1980 | 1985 | Milwaukee City | Milwaukee City |
| Milwaukee Rufus King | Milwaukee, WI | Public | 1,284 | Generals | | 1980 | 1985 | Milwaukee City | Milwaukee City |
| Milwaukee West Division | Milwaukee, WI | Public | 1,023 | Redmen | | 1980 | 1985 | Milwaukee City | Milwaukee City |
| Racine Horlick | Racine, WI | Public | 1,360 | Rebels | | 1980 | 1985 | Big Nine | Southeast |
| Racine Case | Racine, WI | Public | 1,892 | Eagles | | 1983 | 1985 | Big Nine | Southeast |
| Racine Park | Racine, WI | Public | 1,059 | Panthers | | 1983 | 1985 | Big Nine | Southeast |