Eastern Suburban Conference

The Eastern Suburban Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin, originally formed in 1969 and disbanding in 2001. With the exception of the conference's two private schools, all members belonged to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association and were located in south central Wisconsin.

History

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1969-1977

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Queen of Apostles
Palmyra
Marshall
Lakeside Lutheran
Johnson Creek
Dodgeland
Deerfield
Cambridge
Location of Original Eastern Suburban Conference Members

The Eastern Suburban Conference was formed in 1969 after the dissolution of the eighteen-member Madison Suburban Conference. Six of its original members were part of that conference's Eastern Section (Cambridge, Deerfield, Johnson Creek, Juneau-Reeseville, Lakeside Lutheran in Lake Mills, and Marshall) with Palmyra and Queen of Apostles in Madison rounding out the original membership roster.[1] Juneau-Reeseville (later renamed Dodgeland) left the conference after only one season to become a charter member of the newly created Flyway Conference.[2] They were replaced by Hustisford and Williams Bay, formerly of the Fox Valley Tri-County League and Indian Trails Conference, respectively.[3]

1977-1987

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Waterloo joined the Eastern Suburban Conference from the Capitol Conference in 1977,[4] and two years later, Queen of Apostles High School left the conference after it was closed by the Catholic order (Pallotine Fathers and Brothers of Milwaukee) that ran the school.[5] They were replaced in 1980 by Dodgeland, making their return to the Eastern Suburban after ten years of competition as members of the Flyway Conference.[6] Lake Mills became members of the conference after exiting the Capitol Conference in 1983, giving Lakeside Lutheran a crosstown rival for conference play.[7] For a three-year period, the Eastern Suburban Conference was partitioned into Northern and Southern divisions:

Northern Division Southern Division
Dodgeland Cambridge
Hustisford Deerfield
Lakeside Lutheran Johnson Creek
Marshall Lake Mills
Waterloo Palmyra-Eagle
Williams Bay

1987-2001

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Williams Bay
Waterloo
Marshall
Johnson Creek
Hustisford
Dodgeland
Deerfield
Cambridge
Location of Final Eastern Suburban Conference Members

Lake Mills' stint in the Eastern Suburban Cofnerence was short-lived, as they returned to the Capitol Conference in 1987.[8] Palmyra-Eagle would leave the Eastern Suburban to join the Rock Valley Conference in 1990,[9] and in 1991, the Eastern Suburban and Dual County Conferences traded members for their football-only alignments. Gone were the three smallest schools in the conference (Deerfield, Hustisford and Johnson Creek), and in its place entered the three largest schools from the Dual County (Montello, Pardeeville and Westfield).[10] Lakeside Lutheran would make their exit from the Eastern Suburban Conference in 1995 for membership in the Capitol Conference.[11] The Eastern Suburban Conference would end its run in 2001 with three schools (Cambridge, Marshall and Waterloo) joining the Capitol Conference and the remaining five (Deerfield, Dodgeland, Hustisford, Johnson Creek and Williams Bay) joining with the Dual County Conference to create the new Trailways Conference.[12]

Conference membership history

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Full members

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School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Left Conference Joined Current Conference
Cambridge Cambridge, WI Public 266 Bluejays     1969[1] 2001[12] Capitol
Deerfield Deerfield, WI Public 216 Demons     1969[1] 2001[12] Trailways
Dodgeland Juneau, WI Public 278 Trojans     1969,[1] 1980[6] 1970,[2] 2001[12] Trailways
Johnson Creek Johnson Creek, WI Public 180 Bluejays     1969[1] 2001[12] Trailways
Lakeside Lutheran Lake Mills, WI Private (Lutheran, WELS) 506 Warriors     1969[1] 1995[11] Capitol
Marshall Marshall, WI Public 292 Cardinals     1969[1] 2001[12] Capitol
Palmyra-Eagle Palmyra, WI Public 195 Panthers     1969[1] 1990[9] Rock Valley Trailways
Queen of Apostles Madison, WI Private (Catholic, Pallotine) N/A Raiders     1969[1] 1979[5] Closed in 1979[5]
Hustisford Hustisford, WI Public 105 Falcons     1970[3] 2001[12] Trailways
Williams Bay Williams Bay, WI Public 212 Bulldogs     1970[3] 2001[12] Trailways
Waterloo Waterloo, WI Public 259 Pirates     1977[4] 2001[12] Capitol
Lake Mills Lake Mills, WI Public 491 L-Cats     1983[7] 1987[8] Capitol

Football-only members

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School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Seasons Primary Conference
Montello Montello, WI Public 251 Hilltoppers     1991-2000[10] Dual County
Pardeeville Pardeeville, WI Public 263 Bulldogs     1991-2000[10] Dual County
Westfield Westfield, WI Public 295 Pioneers     1991-2000[10] Dual County

Membership timeline

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Full members (1969-2001)

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Northern Division Southern Division  Football-only members  Non-football members

List of state champions

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Fall sports

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Boys Cross Country
School Year Division
Lakeside Lutheran 1992 WISAA Division 2[13]
Girls Cross Country
School Year Division
Cambridge 1984 Class C
Football
School Year Division
Cambridge 1979 Division 5
Girls Volleyball
School Year Division
Cambridge 1974 Class C
Cambridge 1975 Class C
Cambridge 1980 Class C
Hustisford 2000 Division 4

Winter sports

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Girls Basketball
School Year Division
Marshall 1976 Class C
Marshall 1977 Class C
Johnson Creek 1984 Class C
Lakeside Lutheran 1987 WISAA Class B[14]
Gymnastics
School Year Division
Marshall 1973 Single Division

Spring sports

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Baseball
School Year Division
Hustisford 1978 Class C
Waterloo 1999 Division 3
Softball
School Year Division
Marshall 1987 Class C
Marshall 1989 Class C
Marshall 1994 Division 3
Boys Track & Field
School Year Division
Deerfield 1980 Class C
Deerfield 1981 Class C
Cambridge 1987 Class C
Deerfield 1996 Division 3
Girls Track & Field
School Year Division
Palmyra-Eagle 1978 Class C
Waterloo 1987 Class C

List of conference champions

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Boys Basketball

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School Quantity Years
Lakeside Lutheran 9 1975, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1991, 1993, 1994
Marshall 6 1972, 1973, 1976, 1992, 1999, 2000
Waterloo 6 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1998
Palmyra-Eagle 5 1974, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990
Cambridge 4 1971, 1996, 1997, 2001
Williams Bay 4 1977, 1987, 1988, 1995
Deerfield 1 1984
Dodgeland 1 1970
Hustisford 1 1997
Johnson Creek 0
Lake Mills 0
Queen of Apostles 0

Football

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School Quantity Years
Cambridge 15 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1996, 1999
Waterloo 9 1983, 1985, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999
Marshall 7 1972, 1984, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 2000
Lakeside Lutheran 4 1970, 1975, 1990, 1994
Deerfield 2 1969, 1985
Queen of Apostles 2 1973, 1976
Dodgeland 1 1981
Johnson Creek 1 1978
Palmyra-Eagle 1 1987
Pardeeville 1 1999
Hustisford 0
Lake Mills 0
Montello 0
Westfield 0
Williams Bay 0

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hillstrom, Eric (January 16, 1969). "City, Area Prep Hi-Notes". The Capital Times. p. 27. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Flyway Conference Administrators Meet". Fond du Lac Reporter. January 30, 1970. pp. 3 (Section 2). Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Juneau's Schaefer Tops All-Conference". Janesville Weekly Gazette. March 25, 1970. p. 34. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Prep Conference Realignment - Madison area changes". The Capital Times. August 17, 1977. p. 69. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Mayo, Virginia (February 6, 1979). "Queen of Apostles will close in June". The Capital Times. p. 1. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Dodgeland Move Waits For WIAA Approval". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. July 10, 1979. p. 7. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Changes made in conferences". Waukesha County Freeman. August 24, 1983. pp. 12-C. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  8. ^ a b McMillin, Miles (August 27, 1987). "Conference changes greet start of prep football". The Capital Times. p. 23. Retrieved May 20, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "P-E packs parting shot". Wisconsin State Journal. August 27, 1989. p. 54. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d Lynn, Adam (August 29, 1991). "ESC-Dual County trade affects 6". The Capital Times. pp. 5B. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Hernandez, Rob (August 27, 1995). "Lakeside prepares for a rude welcome". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 58. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Schwab, Frank (January 25, 2001). "Valley Christian ready to join new Trailways league". Oshkosh Northwestern. pp. E4. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  13. ^ "The fine print (see Prep Cross Country section)". Appleton Post-Crescent. pp. D2. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  14. ^ "Sports in Brief". Sheboygan Press. March 9, 1987. p. 23. Retrieved December 9, 2024.