Midwest Prep Conference
Former Wisconsin high school athletic conference

The Midwest Prep Conference is a former high school athletic conference in competition from 1940 to 1983. Consisting entirely of private schools, most were located in Wisconsin and had membership in the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association.

History

1940–1952

Map
30km
19miles
Wayland Academy
Northwestern Prep
Milwaukee University School
Milwaukee Country Day
Lutheran High
Location of original Wisconsin Prep Conference members

The Midwest Prep Conference began play in 1940 as the Wisconsin Prep Conference with five private high schools in southeastern Wisconsin. Three were located in the Milwaukee area (Lutheran High, Milwaukee Country Day, and Milwaukee University), one in Watertown (Northwestern Prep) and one in Beaver Dam (Wayland Academy).[1] Northwestern Military & Naval Academy in Lake Geneva had a brief stint in the conference from 1945 to 1949,[2] and their entry coincided with the addition of football as a sponsored sport. They were replaced by Racine Lutheran High School in 1950.[3]

1952–1964

Map
50km
31miles
Wisconsin Lutheran
Wayland Academy
Racine Lutheran
Northwestern Prep
Milwaukee University School
Milwaukee Lutheran
Milwaukee Country Day
Lake Forest Academy
Location of Midwest Prep Conference members (1955–1964)

In 1952, the Wisconsin Prep Conference added two schools to bring the membership roster to eight. Both schools were located in Illinois (Lake Forest Academy and North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka). With the addition of Illinois-based schools to the loop came a new name: the Midwest Prep Conference.[4] North Shore Country Day School's tenure in the conference would be brief, as they left in 1954.[5] The next year, Lutheran High School in Milwaukee was split up by the two ecclesiastical organizations running the school. Milwaukee Lutheran High School was opened by the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod and Wisconsin Lutheran High School was established by the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, both in 1955.[6]

1964-1970

The year 1964 saw numerous changes to Midwest Prep Conference membership with a net loss of two members. Milwaukee Country Day School and Milwaukee University School (along with the all-girls Milwaukee-Downer Seminary) merged to form the University School of Milwaukee. The new school took over both MCDS’'s campus in Whitefish Bay and MUS's River Hills campus, along with both predecessor schools' conference membership.[7] The Midwest Prep also lost Lake Forest Academy and Wayland Academy, becoming a Wisconsin-only conference in the process.[8] The entry of Concordia College Prep in Milwaukee to the conference brought its membership roster to six members. St. John's Military Academy in Delafield applied for membership along with Concordia but was rejected because of scheduling issues.[9] Fox Valley Lutheran High School in Appleton joined the Midwest Prep Conference in 1965[10] accompanied with Wayland Academy's return to the circuit,[11] bringing the total number of members back up to eight schools. In 1968, seven of the eight member schools of the Midwest Prep Conference joined the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association, an organization for interscholastic athletics composed entirely of parochial and private schools.[12] Northwestern Prep was the only holdout, not joining WISAA until 1974.[13]

1970–1983

Map
30km
19miles
Wayland Academy
University School of Milwaukee
St. Mary's
St. John's Military Academy
Racine Lutheran
Northwestern Prep
Martin Luther
Location of final Midwest Prep Conference members

In 1970, Martin Luther High School in Greendale joined the Midwest Prep Conference,[14] replacing Concordia Prep, which had left the conference to compete as an independent before closing its doors the next year.[15][16] Fox Valley Lutheran left the Midwest Prep Conference in 1971 to join the Fox Valley Christian Conference, looking to cut down on long travel distances.[17] St. Mary's High School in Burlington, which had been left without conference affiliation when the Southeastern Badger Conference disbanded, replaced Fox Valley Lutheran.[18] The last changes to conference membership occurred in 1974, when Milwaukee Lutheran joined the Metro Conference[19] and Wisconsin Lutheran left for the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference.[20] St. John's Military Academy in Delafield came over from the Classic Conference to replace the two exiting schools, ten years after its initial attempt to gain conference membership.[21] The conference featured the same seven members for the remainder of its existence, with the exception of St. Lawrence Seminary in Mount Calvary joining as an associate member for football in 1981.[22] In 1983 the Midwest Prep Conference joined with nine out of the eleven schools from the Classic Conference (Central Wisconsin Christian, Kettle Moraine Lutheran, Notre Dame, Sheboygan Christian, Sheboygan Lutheran, Shoreland Lutheran, St. Lawrence Seminary, and The Prairie School) to form the Midwest Classic Conference.[23]

Conference membership history

Final members

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Left Conference Joined Current Conference
Martin Luther Greendale, WI Private (LCMS) 649 Spartans       1970[14] 1983[23] Midwest Classic Metro Classic
Northwestern Prep Watertown, WI Private (WELS) N/A Hornets     1940[1] 1983[23] Midwest Classic Closed in 1995 (merged with Martin Luther Prep)
Racine Lutheran Racine, WI Private (LCMS) 303 Crusaders     1950[3] 1983[23] Midwest Classic Metro Classic
St. John's Military Academy Delafield, WI Private (Nonsectarian), Military 236 Lancers     1974[21] 1983[23] Midwest Classic
St. Mary’s Burlington, WI Private (Catholic) 128 Hilltoppers     1971[18] 1983[23] Midwest Classic
University School of Milwaukee River Hills, WI Private (Nonsectarian) 407 Wildcats     1964[7] 1983[23] Midwest Classic
Wayland Academy Beaver Dam, WI Private (historically Baptist) 159 Big Red     1940,[1] 1965[11] 1964,[8] 1983[23] Independent, Midwest Classic Trailways

Previous members

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Left Conference Joined Current Conference
Concordia Prep Milwaukee, WI Private (LCMS) N/A Falcons     1964[9] 1970[15] Independent Closed in 1971[16]
Fox Valley Lutheran Appleton, WI Private (WELS) 742 Foxes     1965[10] 1971[17] Fox Valley Christian Bay (2025)
Lake Forest Academy Lake Forest, IL Private (Nonsectarian) 452 Caxys     1952[4] 1964[8] Private School League (IHSA) Independent School League (IHSA)
Lutheran High Milwaukee, WI Private (LCMS & WELS) N/A Knights     1940[1] 1955[6] Closed (split into Milwaukee Lutheran and Wisconsin Lutheran)
Milwaukee Country Day Whitefish Bay, WI Private (Nonsectarian) N/A Cougars     1940[1] 1964[7] Closed (merged into University School of Milwaukee)
Milwaukee Lutheran Milwaukee, WI Private (LCMS) 908 Red Knights     1955[6] 1974[19] Metro Woodland
Milwaukee University River Hills, WI Private (Nonsectarian) N/A Lancers     1940[1] 1964[7] Closed (merged into University School of Milwaukee)
North Shore Country Day Winnetka, IL Private (Nonsectarian) 213 Raiders     1952[4] 1954[5] Private School League (IHSA) Independent School League (IHSA)
Northwestern Military & Naval Academy Lake Geneva, WI Private (Nonsectarian), Military N/A Falcons     1945[2] 1949[3] Independent Closed in 1995 (merged with St. John's Military Academy)
Wisconsin Lutheran Milwaukee, WI Private (WELS) 938 Vikings       1955[6] 1974[20] Wisconsin Little Ten Woodland

Football-only members

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Seasons Primary Conference
St. Lawrence Seminary Mount Calvary, WI Private (Catholic) 256 (Boys only) Hilltoppers     1981-1982 Classic

Membership timeline

Full members

Football members

List of state champions

Fall sports

Boys Cross Country
School Year Organization Division
University School 1975[24] WISAA Class C
University School 1976[25] WISAA Class C
University School 1977[26] WISAA Class C
University School 1982[27] WISAA Class C
Football
School Year Organization Division
St. Mary’s 1976[28] WISAA Class B
St. Mary’s 1977[29] WISAA Class B
St. Mary’s 1978[30] WISAA Class B
Northwestern Prep 1980[31] WISAA Class B
St. Mary’s 1981[32] WISAA Class B
Boys Soccer
School Year Organization
University School 1975[33] WISAA
Girls Tennis
School Year Organization
University School 1976[34] WISAA
University School 1977[35] WISAA
University School 1978[36] WISAA
University School 1982[37] WISAA

Winter sports

Boys Basketball
School Year Organization Division
Racine Lutheran 1975[38] WISAA Class B
Girls Basketball
School Year Organization Division
Northwestern Prep 1979[39] WISAA Class B

Spring sports

Boys Golf
School Year Organization
Milwaukee Lutheran 1969[40] WISAA
Boys Tennis
School Year Organization
University School 1969[41] WISAA
University School 1971[42] WISAA
University School 1972[43] WISAA
University School 1973[44] WISAA
University School 1974[45] WISAA
University School 1975[46] WISAA
University School 1976[47] WISAA
University School 1978[48] WISAA
University School 1979[49] WISAA
University School 1980[50] WISAA
Boys Track & Field
School Year Organization Division
Wayland Academy 1969[51] WISAA Class C
University School 1970[52] WISAA Class C
University School 1971[53] WISAA Class C
University School 1972[54] WISAA Class C
University School 1975[55] WISAA Class C
University School 1976[56] WISAA Class C
St. John’s Military Academy 1977[57] WISAA Class C
University School 1978[58] WISAA Class C
University School 1979[59] WISAA Class C
Racine Lutheran 1980[60] WISAA Class C
Racine Lutheran 1981[61] WISAA Class C
Racine Lutheran 1982[62] WISAA Class C
Wayland Academy 1983[63] WISAA Class C
Girls Track & Field
School Year Organization
Wisconsin Lutheran 1972[64] WISAA
Wisconsin Lutheran 1973[65] WISAA

List of conference champions

Boys Basketball

School Quantity Years
Milwaukee University 8 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961
Racine Lutheran 8 1951, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1972, 1982, 1983
Lutheran High 6 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1955
Milwaukee Lutheran 6 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1972
Wisconsin Lutheran 6 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1971, 1973
St. John’s Military Academy 5 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980
Wayland Academy 5 1942, 1947, 1957, 1969, 1970
Lake Forest Academy 3 1955, 1957, 1958
Martin Luther 2 1974, 1975
Northwestern Prep 2 1941, 1981
University School 2 1974, 1975
Milwaukee Country Day 1 1946
St. Mary’s 1 1976
Concordia Prep 0
Fox Valley Lutheran 0
North Shore Country Day 0
Northwestern Military & Naval Academy 0

Girls Basketball

School Quantity Years
Northwestern Prep 6 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983
Racine Lutheran 2 1980, 1981
St. Mary’s 1 1983
Martin Luther 0
University School 0
Wayland Academy 0

Football

School Quantity Years
Milwaukee Country Day 15 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963
St. Mary’s 5 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981
University School 5 1964, 1965, 1970, 1974, 1978
Milwaukee Lutheran 4 1962, 1966, 1967, 1969
Wayland Academy 4 1945, 1946, 1954, 1956
Martin Luther 3 1972, 1973, 1980
Milwaukee University 3 1957, 1960, 1961
Wisconsin Lutheran 3 1968, 1971, 1972
St. John’s Military Academy 2 1978, 1982
Lake Forest Academy 1 1953
Lutheran High 1 1948
Concordia Prep 0
Fox Valley Lutheran 0
North Shore Country Day 0
Northwestern Military & Naval Academy 0
Northwestern Prep 0
Racine Lutheran 0
St. Lawrence Seminary 0

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Prep Conference for Wisconsin is Formed". Green Bay Press-Gazette. April 9, 1940. p. 13. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Wayland Places Two Players on All Prep Eleven". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. November 26, 1945. p. 8. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Lutheran High Crusaders Join Wisconsin Conference". Racine Journal Times. March 31, 1950. p. 15. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Brehm, Keith (March 10, 1952). "Lutheran 3d; New Prep Loop Set". Racine Journal Times. p. 11. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Trower, Ralph (September 11, 1954). "Lutheran High Faces Grid Rebuilding Task". Racine Journal Times. p. 12. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d Trower, Ralph (November 30, 1955). "NW Prep, Wayland, MCD Loom Strong in Midwest Prep". Racine Journal Times. p. 35. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d "3 Milwaukee Prep Schools to Merge". Appleton Post-Crescent. September 8, 1963. p. 2. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c "Lake Forest, Wayland Quit Midwest Prep". Racine Journal Times. November 15, 1963. p. 17. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  9. ^ a b UPI (January 18, 1964). "Concordia in Midwest Conference". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. p. 5. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  10. ^ a b UPI (January 23, 1965). "Fox Valley Lutheran Joins Midwest Prep Athletic Conference". Sheboygan Press. p. 18. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  11. ^ a b "Wayland Is Returning To Midwest Prep Conference". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. January 28, 1965. p. 6. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  12. ^ AP (June 30, 1968). "54 Independent And Parochials Form New WISAA". Green Bay Press-Gazette. p. 30. Retrieved January 9, 2025.
  13. ^ "Northwestern Prep Admitted to WISAA". Wisconsin State Journal. May 19, 1974. p. 23. Retrieved February 18, 2025.
  14. ^ a b Witt, Ron (October 9, 1970). "FVL, Martin Luther Football Teams to Clash Here Saturday". Appleton Post-Crescent. p. 17. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  15. ^ a b Finneman, John (September 30, 1969). "Prep Spotlight". Racine Journal Times. p. 16. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  16. ^ a b "Concordia University". Encyclopedia of Milwaukee. 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  17. ^ a b "Catholic Loop Retains Cadets, Admits Foxes". Green Bay Press-Gazette. November 3, 1970. p. 13. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  18. ^ a b "St. Mary's in League". Racine Journal Times. November 10, 1970. p. 11. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Anderson, John (December 19, 1973). "Catholic Conference Changes Name, Adds Milwaukee Lutheran". Racine Journal Times. p. 1. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  20. ^ a b "To Join Little Ten". Waukesha County Freeman. September 24, 1973. p. 13. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  21. ^ a b "Classic League Nice for St. John's Cagers While It Lasted: Kaufmann". Waukesha County Freeman. March 22, 1974. p. 8. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  22. ^ "Vikes experience scheduling problems". Fond du Lac Reporter. August 23, 1981. pp. C-9. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h "Private school leagues merge". Kenosha News. November 30, 1982. p. 20. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  24. ^ "Scoreboard (see Cross Country, WISAA)". Racine Journal Times. November 2, 1975. pp. 2D. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  25. ^ "Wayland Harriers 8th in State Meet". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. November 1, 1976. p. 12. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  26. ^ "Aquinas harriers win state title". La Crosse Tribune. October 30, 1977. p. 27. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  27. ^ "Roncalli boys second, girls fourth in WISAA cross country meets". Manitowoc Herald-Times-Reporter. October 31, 1982. p. 6. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  28. ^ Lindstrom, Don (November 7, 1976). "Burlington St. Mary's ends Apostles' title bid". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 30. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  29. ^ Hoffmann, Gregg (November 6, 1977). "Happy Birthday Tom Aldrich!". Racine Journal Times. p. 37. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  30. ^ UPI (November 6, 1978). "Burlington takes crown". Kenosha News. p. 23. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  31. ^ "Northwestern Prep takes WISAA Class B title easily". Wisconsin State Journal. November 8, 1980. p. 14. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  32. ^ Armstrong, Jim (November 8, 1981). "St. Mary's reaches 'top of the hill'". Racine Journal Times. p. 25. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  33. ^ UPI (November 3, 1975). "Soccer Winner". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. p. 15. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  34. ^ "Aquinas Girls Place 7th in WISAA State Tennis". La Crosse Tribune. October 11, 1976. p. 11. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  35. ^ "Aquinas girls fourth in WISAA state tennis". La Crosse Tribune. October 9, 1977. p. 28. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  36. ^ "WISAA girls tennis finishes in title tie". Wisconsin State Journal. October 8, 1978. p. 25. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  37. ^ "University School takes net crown". Appleton Post-Crescent. October 10, 1982. p. 49. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  38. ^ Pufall, Dick (March 10, 1975). "Crusaders overcome a legend, win B". Racine Journal Times. p. 11. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  39. ^ "Baylon, Heiling Honored". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. March 9, 1979. p. 12. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
  40. ^ "Milwaukee Lutheran WISAA Golf Champion". Racine Journal Times. May 24, 1969. p. 10. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  41. ^ UPI (May 25, 1969). "MUS Snares First WISAA Tennis Title". Green Bay Press-Gazette. p. 40. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  42. ^ "Zmolek Edged in Finals". Oshkosh Northwestern. May 24, 1971. p. 22. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  43. ^ AP (May 21, 1972). "University School Is Tennis Champ". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 26. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  44. ^ AP (May 21, 1973). "University School Wins Net Crown". Sheboygan Press. p. 25. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  45. ^ AP (May 19, 1974). "MUS Takes Fourth Straight WISAA Net Championship". Green Bay Press-Gazette. p. 46. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  46. ^ "University School Cops WISAA Tennis Tourney". La Crosse Tribune. May 18, 1975. p. 30. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  47. ^ "Wildcats win tennis crown". Appleton Post-Crescent. May 23, 1976. p. 43. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  48. ^ AP (May 21, 1978). "Milw. University School wins WISAA tennis crown". La Crosse Tribune. p. 33. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  49. ^ AP (May 20, 1979). "University School wins WISAA tennis crown". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 28. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  50. ^ "University School wins title". Oshkosh Northwestern. May 27, 1980. p. 5. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  51. ^ UPI (May 26, 1969). "Wayland Wins in WISAA Class "C" Track Tourney". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. p. 4. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  52. ^ "Pius Wins WISAA Track Title". La Crosse Tribune. May 24, 1970. p. 17. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  53. ^ "Janssen and Van Groll Pace Chuters to 2nd in State Class C". Appleton Post-Crescent. May 23, 1971. p. 42. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  54. ^ "Angels 4th in WISAA Track". Racine Journal Times. May 21, 1972. p. 15. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  55. ^ "Redmen Earn 6th in Class C Track". Beaver Dam Daily Citizen. May 27, 1975. p. 4. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  56. ^ "University School, Kliefgen Sparkle". Green Bay Press-Gazette. May 23, 1976. p. 39. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  57. ^ "Apostles trackmen fourth with three individual titles". Wisconsin State Journal. May 22, 1977. p. 34. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  58. ^ "Vondra wins two titles at state WISAA track meet". Wisconsin State Journal. May 21, 1978. p. 32. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  59. ^ "WISAA Boys C". Fond du Lac Reporter. May 20, 1979. p. 11. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  60. ^ "Holy Name places fourth in WISAA track". Wisconsin State Journal. May 25, 1980. p. 24. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  61. ^ "Crusaders 3rd". Fond du Lac Reporter. May 24, 1981. p. 15. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  62. ^ "Lancers place fourth, sixth in WISAA state track meet". Manitowoc Herald-Times-Reporter. May 30, 1982. p. 5. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  63. ^ AP (May 22, 1983). "Goldman wins Class C discus". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 64. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  64. ^ Lucas, Mike (May 31, 1972). "A.M. Report (Mack's Carol Joas sets mark)". Chippewa Herald-Telegram. p. 16.
  65. ^ "St. John girls take 4th in WISAA track test". Appleton Post-Crescent. May 21, 1973. p. 22. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
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