MONLPC Football Conference

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The Marinette & Oconto-Northern Lakes-Packerland Conference, more commonly referred to as the MONLPC, is a former high school football conference comprising small schools in northeastern Wisconsin. Founded in 2017 and dissolved after the 2021 football season, its member schools were affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

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The MONLPC Football Conference was formed in 2017 by members of three conferences in northeastern Wisconsin: the Marinette & Oconto, Northern Lakes and Packerland.[1] It was created in reaction to the increasing number of schools in the region that were transitioning to eight-player football[2] and featured an eight-player division in addition to large-school and small-school divisions for eleven-player football:

MONLPC Large MONLPC Small MONLPC-8
Algoma Crandon Bowler/Gresham
Coleman Crivitz Gibraltar
Kewaunee Elcho/White Lake Gillett
Oconto Florence Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas
Peshtigo Northern Elite Menominee Indian
Southern Door Suring NEW Lutheran
Sturgeon Bay Three Lakes/Phelps Oneida Nation
Wabeno/Laona Sevastopol
Wausaukee

Even after the conference's formation, the influx of schools moving to eight-player football continued to drive the MONLPC's realignment. Florence was the first member to do so after the 2017 season,[3] followed by five more programs after the 2018 season (Algoma, Elcho/White Lake, Suring, Three Lakes/Phelps and Wabeno/Laona).[4] This allowed the Bowler/Gresham and Menominee Indian programs to join their primary home, the Central Wisconsin Conference, when they adopted an eight-player division in 2019.[5] Coleman was shifted over to the MONLPC's small schools division in 2019, which would turn out to be the last for the two eleven-player divisions after they were realigned out of existence. This came after the WIAA and the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association unveiled a comprehensive realignment plan for Wisconsin's high school football conferences to be refreshed every two years.[6] The nine displaced schools either joined a newly reconstituted Packerland Conference (Kewaunee, Oconto, Peshtigo, Southern Door and Sturgeon Bay) or the new Northwoods Football Conference (Coleman, Crandon, Crivitz and Northern Elite).[7] Another change brought by realignment was the MONLPC's change to a twelve-member, two-division conference sponsoring eight-player football only:[8]

MONLPC East MONLPC West
Algoma Elcho/White Lake
Gibraltar Florence
Gillett Suring
Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas Three Lakes/Phelps
NEW Lutheran/Oneida Wabeno/Laona
Sevastopol Wausaukee

This alignment would last until the 2022-2023 competition cycle, when the eight-player divisions of the MONLPC were shuttered, just as their eleven-player counterparts were two years earlier.[9] Eight programs (Algoma, Gibraltar, Gillett, Lena/St. Thomas Aquinas, NEW Lutheran/Oneida, Sevastopol, Suring and Wausaukee) formed the new Across the Bay Conference, while the other four (Elcho/White Lake, Florence, Three Lakes/Phelps and Wabeno/Laona constituted two thirds of the new Northern Border Conference, along with Niagara and Goodman/Pembine after the breakup of the Northern Elite football cooperative.[10]

Conference membership history

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11-player

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School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Seasons Primary Conference
Algoma Algoma, WI Public 219 Wolves     2017-2018 Packerland
Coleman Coleman, WI Public 229 Cougars     2017-2019 Marinette & Oconto
Crandon Crandon, WI Public 239 Cardinals     2017-2019 Northern Lakes
Crivitz Crivitz, WI Public 215 Wolverines     2017-2019 Marinette & Oconto
Elcho/
White Lake 		Elcho, WI Public 126 Wolverines     2017-2018 Northern Lakes
Florence Florence, WI Public 118 Bobcats     2017 Northern Lakes
Kewaunee Kewaunee, WI Public 298 Storm     2017-2019 Packerland
Northern Elite Niagara, WI Public 234 Predators     2017-2019 Marinette & Oconto, Northern Lakes
Oconto Oconto, WI Public 282 Blue Devils     2017-2019 Packerland
Peshtigo Peshtigo, WI Public 339 Bulldogs     2017-2019 Packerland
Southern Door Brussels, WI Public 323 Eagles     2017-2019 Packerland
Sturgeon Bay Sturgeon Bay, WI Public 394 Clippers     2017-2019 Packerland
Suring Suring, WI Public 117 Eagles     2017-2018 Marinette & Oconto
Three Lakes/
Phelps 		Three Lakes, WI Public 183 Bluejays     2017-2018 Northern Lakes
Wabeno/
Laona 		Wabeno, WI Public 187 Rebels     2017-2018 Northern Lakes

8-player

[edit]
School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Seasons Primary Conference
Bowler/
Gresham 		Bowler, WI Public 182 Cats     2017-2018 Central Wisconsin
Gibraltar Fish Creek, WI Public 182 Vikings     2017-2021 Packerland
Gillett Gillett, WI Public 158 Tigers     2017-2021 Marinette & Oconto
Lena/
St. Thomas Aquinas 		Lena, WI Public, Private (Catholic) 171 Titans     2017-2021 Marinette & Oconto
Menominee Indian Keshena, WI Federal (Tribal) 349 Eagles     2017-2018 Central Wisconsin
NEW Lutheran Green Bay, WI Private (Lutheran, WELS) 145 Blazers     2017-2018 Packerland
Oneida Nation Oneida, WI Federal (Tribal) 127 Thunderhawks     2017-2018 Marinette & Oconto
Sevastopol Sturgeon Bay, WI Public 180 Pioneers     2017-2021 Packerland
Wausaukee Wausaukee, WI Public 126 Rangers     2017-2021 Marinette & Oconto
Florence Florence, WI Public 118 Bobcats     2019-2021 Marinette & Oconto
NEW Lutheran/
Oneida Nation 		Green Bay, WI Private (WELS), Federal (Tribal) 272 Blazers     2019-2021 Packerland, Marinette & Oconto
Suring Suring, WI Public 117 Eagles     2019-2021 Marinette & Oconto
Wabeno/
Laona 		Wabeno, WI Public 187 Rebels     2019-2021 Marinette & Oconto
Algoma Algoma, WI Public 219 Wolves     2020-2021 Packerland
Elcho/
White Lake 		Elcho, WI Public 126 Wolverines     2020-2021 Northern Lakes
Three Lakes/
Phelps 		Three Lakes, WI Public 183 Bluejays     2020-2021 Northern Lakes

Membership timeline

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11-player

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MONLPC Large MONLPC Small

8-player

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MONLPC East MONLPC West

List of state champions

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8-Player Football
School Year
Sevastopol 2018

List of conference champions

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11-player

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School Quantity Years
Kewaunee 2 2018, 2019
Coleman 1 2019
Crandon 1 2017
Crivitz 1 2018
Southern Door 1 2017
Algoma 0
Elcho/
White Lake 		0
Florence 0
Northern Elite 0
Oconto 0
Peshtigo 0
Sturgeon Bay 0
Suring 0
Three Lakes/
Phelps 		0
Wabeno/
Laona 		0

8-player

[edit]
School Quantity Years
Lena/
St. Thomas Aqunias 		2 2020, 2021
Sevastopol 2 2017, 2018
Wabeno/
Laona 		2 2020, 2021
Gibraltar 1 2019
Suring 1 2019
Algoma 0
Bowler/
Gresham 		0
Elcho/
White Lake 		0
Florence 0
Gillett 0
Menominee Indian 0
NEW Lutheran 0
NEW Lutheran/
Oneida Nation 		0
Oneida Nation 0
Three Lakes/
Phelps 		0
Wausaukee 0

References

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  1. ^ Mallien, Korey (23 January 2017). "New prep football conference finalized". Green Bay Press-Gazette. pp. D1. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  2. ^ Mallien, Korey (23 January 2017). "New prep football conference finalized". Green Bay Press-Gazette. pp. D3. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  3. ^ "Florence Football History". MaxPreps. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  4. ^ "8-Man Freelance Football Standings (2019-20 season)". MaxPreps. 7 March 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  5. ^ "Central Wisconsin (8-Man) Football Standings (2019-20 season)". MaxPreps. 7 March 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  6. ^ "Revised Football-Only Conference Plan Released". Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. 9 February 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  7. ^ "WFCA/WIAA Football-Only Realignment Proposal" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  8. ^ "WFCA Eight Player Conference Alignment" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. 20 May 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  9. ^ "Proposed Football Only Conference Alignment - 8-Player" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  10. ^ McCarthy, Matt "Sweets" (12 October 2021). "Northern Elite era ends with loss to Panthers". Iron Mountian Daily News. Retrieved 28 July 2025.