# East Central Conference

The East Central Conference is a high school athletic conference in Wisconsin. Originally founded in 1970, it was disbanded in 2001 and remained defunct until its reconstitution in 2015. It will be dissolved again after 2024-25 school year, 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 (Hortonville, Omro and Winneconne), two from the Little Ten Conference (Berlin and Ripon) 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. The all-sport membership roster would remain intact for the next twenty years, until 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. 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 (Berlin, Campbellsport, Kewaskum, Kettle Moraine Lutheran, Plymouth, Ripon, Waupun and Winneconne) 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 (Berlin, Ripon and Winneconne). 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 (Kettle Moraine Lutheran, Kewaskum and Plymouth) combined with four other schools (Port Washington, Sheboygan South, West Bend East and West Bend West) to form the Glacier Trails Conference.

## Conference membership history
### 1970-2001

| School | Location | Affiliation | Enrollment | Mascot | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
| Berlin | Berlin, WI | Public | 474 | Indians | 1970 | 2001 | East Central Flyway | South Central (2025) |
| Hortonville | Hortonville, WI | Public | 1,232 | Polar Bears | 1970 | 1999 | Valley 8 | Fox Valley Association |
| New London | New London, WI | Public | 712 | Bulldogs | 1970 | 1979 | Bay | Bay |
| Omro | Omro, WI | Public | 333 | Foxes | 1970 | 2001 | East Central Flyway | Wisconsin Flyway |
| Ripon | Ripon, WI | Public | 484 | Tigers | 1970 | 2001 | East Central Flyway | South Central (2025) |
| Waupaca | Waupaca, WI | Public | 589 | Comets | 1970 | 1999 | Valley 8 | North Eastern |
| Weyauwega | Weyauwega, WI | Public | 291 | Indians | 1970 | 1973 | Central Wisconsin | Central Wisconsin |
| Winneconne | Winneconne, WI | Public | 551 | Wolves | 1970 | 2001 | East Central Flyway | Bay (2025) |
| Little Chute | Little Chute, WI | Public | 514 | Mustangs | 1974 | 1999 | Valley 8 | North Eastern |
| Wautoma | Wautoma, WI | Public | 381 | Hornets | 1979 | 2001 | East Central Flyway | South Central |
| Laconia | Rosendale, WI | Public | 317 | Spartans | 1999 | 2001 | East Central Flyway | Wisconsin Flyway |
| Markesan | Markesan, WI | Public | 254 | Hornets | 1999 | 2001 | East Central Flyway | Trailways |

### 2015-2025

| School | Location | Affiliation | Enrollment | Mascot | Joined | Left | Conference Joined |
| Berlin | Berlin, WI | Public | 474 | Indians | 2015 | 2025 | South Central (2025) |
| Campbellsport | Campbellsport, WI | Public | 470 | Cougars | 2015 | 2021 | Wisconsin Flyway |
| Kettle Moraine Lutheran | Jackson, WI | Private (Lutheran, WELS) | 553 | Chargers | 2015 | 2025 | Glacier Trails (2025) |
| Kewaskum | Kewaskum, WI | Public | 572 | Indians | 2015 | 2025 | Glacier Trails (2025) |
| Plymouth | Plymouth, WI | Public | 746 | Panthers | 2015 | 2025 | Glacier Trails (2025) |
| Ripon | Ripon, WI | Public | 484 | Tigers | 2015 | 2025 | South Central (2025) |
| Waupun | Waupun, WI | Public | 573 | Warriors | 2015 | 2025 | Capitol (2025) |
| Winneconne | Winneconne, WI | Public | 551 | Wolves | 2015 | 2025 | Bay (2025) |

## List of state champions
### Fall sports

Boys Cross Country :
| School | Year | Division |
| Berlin | 1978 | Class B |
Girls Cross Country :
| School | Year | Division |
| Winneconne | 2020 | Division 2 |
Girls Volleyball :
| School | Year | Division |
| Ripon | 1998 | Division 2 |

### Winter sports

Boys Basketball :
| School | Year | Division |
| Wautoma | 1980 | Class B |
| Omro | 1997 | Division 3 |
| Waupun | 2016 | Division 3 |
Girls Basketball :
| School | Year | Division |
| Waupun | 2022 | Division 3 |
| Kewaskum | 2023 | Division 3 |
Boys Swimming & Diving :
| School | Year | Division |
| Berlin | 2001 | Division 2 |

### Spring sports

Baseball :
| School | Year | Division |
| Hortonville | 1987 | Class B |
| Ripon | 1988 | Class B |
| Winneconne | 1992 | Division 2 |
| Hortonville | 1997 | Division 2 |
| Hortonville | 1998 | Division 2 |
| Waupun | 2018 | Division 2 |
Girls Soccer :
| School | Year | Division |
| Plymouth | 2023 | Division 3 |
| Plymouth | 2024 | Division 3 |
Softball :
| School | Year | Division |
| Hortonville | 1996 | Division 2 |
| Waupun | 2024 | Division 2 |
Boys Track & Field :
| School | Year | Division |
| Berlin | 1986 | Class B |
| Wautoma | 1990 | Class B |