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Little Nine Conference

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The Little Nine Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin. Operational from 1928 to 1970, its membership was concentrated in east central Wisconsin and all member schools belonged to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

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Origins and Early Years (1928-1950)

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The Little Nine Conference was founded in 1928 by a group of nine small high schools in the Fox River Valley: Bear Creek, Brillion, Denmark, Hortonville, Kimberly, Little Chute (not related to the current high school), Pulaski, Seymour and Wrightstown.[1] Hilbert joined the following year to put membership at ten schools.[2] In 1930, Reedsville joined the Little Nine Conference, replacing the original Little Chute High School, which closed and redistricted to Appleton and Kaukauna.[3][4] The Little Nine also split into Eastern and Western Divisions that year:[5]

Eastern Division Western Division
Brillion Bear Creek
Denmark Hortonville
Hilbert Kimberly
Reedsville Pulaski
Wrightstown Seymour

In 1931, conference membership increased to twelve schools as Freedom and Shiocton joined the Little Nine.[6] Stockbridge was also invited to join the Little Nine that year[7] but declined the invite. Freedom was placed in the Eastern Division while Shiocton was placed in the Western Division:[8]

Eastern Division Western Division
Brillion Bear Creek
Denmark Hortonville
Freedom Kimberly
Hilbert Pulaski
Reedsville Seymour
Wrightstown Shiocton

Pulaski left the conference in 1933 to compete independent of conference affiliation,[9] and two schools swapped divisions with Freedom moving to the Western Division and Kimberly to the Eastern Division.[10] Two years later, Winneconne joined the Little Nine Conference from the Little 6-C Conference to bring membership back up to twelve schools. They took up residence in the Western Division to give the conference two six-team divisions:[11]

Eastern Division Western Division
Brillion Bear Creek
Denmark Freedom
Hilbert Hortonville
Kimberly Seymour
Reedsville Shiocton
Wrightstown Winneconne

Seymour and Wrightstown swapped division affiliation in 1937,[12] and the conference would maintain this alignment for twelve years. In 1950, Kimberly and Seymour left to join the Northeastern Wisconsin Conference, leaving membership at ten schools.[13] Divisions were also abolished that year, and the Little Nine competed as a single entity for the rest of its history.[14]

The Final Two Decades (1950-1970)

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The Little Nine Conference remained a fairly stable loop in terms of membership with few changes occurring during the last two decades of the conference's run. Brillion left in 1951 to join the Eastern Wisconsin Conference,[15] they were not replaced until 1956 when Omro joined the Little Nine from the Big 7-C Conference.[16] Brillion would return in 1965 to replace Bear Creek after they left the conference to compete in the Wolf River Valley Conference for the remainder of their history.[17] The Little Nine Conference continued as a ten-member circuit before disbanding in 1970. Six schools moved on to the new Olympian Conference (Brillion, Denmark, Freedom, Hilbert, Reedsville and Wrightstown),[18] three joined the new East Central Conference (Hortonville, Omro and Winneconne),[19] and Shiocton was accepted into the Central Wisconsin Conference.[20]

Conference Membership History

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School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Left Conference Joined Current Conference
Bear Creek Bear Creek, WI Public N/A Bruins     1928[1] 1965[17] Wolf River Valley Closed in 1969 (consolidated into Clintonville)
Brillion Brillion, WI Public 342 Lions     1928,[1] 1965[17] 1951,[15] 1970[18] Eastern Wisconsin, Olympian Eastern Wisconsin
Denmark Denmark, WI Public 488 Vikings     1928[1] 1970[18] Olympian North Eastern
Hortonville Hortonville, WI Public 1,232 Polar Bears     1928[1] 1970[19] East Central Fox Valley Association
Kimberly Kimberly, WI Public 1,595 Papermakers     1928[1] 1950[13] Northeastern Wisconsin Fox Valley Association
Little Chute Little Chute, WI Public N/A Purple and Gold     1928[1] 1930[4] Closed (district split between Appleton and Kaukauna)
Pulaski Pulaski, WI Public 1,141 Red Raiders     1928[1] 1933[9] Independent Fox River Classic
Seymour Seymour, WI Public 655 Indians     1928[1] 1950[13] Northeastern Wisconsin Bay
Wrightstown Wrightstown, WI Public 402 Tigers     1928[1] 1970[18] Olympian North Eastern
Hilbert Hilbert, WI Public 141 Wolves     1929[2] 1970[18] Olympian Big East
Reedsville Reedsville, WI Public 192 Panthers     1930[3] 1970[18] Olympian Big East
Freedom Freedom, WI Public 504 Irish     1931[6] 1970[18] Olympian North Eastern
Shiocton Shiocton, WI Public 221 Chiefs     1931[6] 1970[20] Central Wisconsin
Winneconne Winneconne, WI Public 551 Wolves     1935[11] 1970[19] East Central
Omro Omro, WI Public 333 Foxes     1956[16] 1970[19] East Central Wisconsin Flyway

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Form Conference for Small Schools". Appleton Post-Crescent. 23 February 1928. p. 14. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Hilbert Is Voted in Little Nine League". Green Bay Press-Gazette. 7 May 1929. p. 14. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Reedsville Now Member Little "9" School Circuit". Two Rivers Reporter and Chronicle. 29 April 1930. p. 2. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Vote to Abandon Little Chute High; Students Protest". Green Bay Press-Gazette. 6 May 1930. p. 23. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  5. ^ "Seymour, Pulaski Will Meet Friday in Conference Tilt". Green Bay Press-Gazette. 8 January 1931. p. 17. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Two New Schools Added to Little Nine Conference". Green Bay Press-Gazette. 15 September 1931. p. 26. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  7. ^ "Freedom, Stockbridge Asked to Join League". Appleton Post-Crescent. 13 January 1931. p. 14. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  8. ^ "Bear Creek Plays Hortonville Five Tomorrow Night". Appleton Post-Crescent. 14 January 1932. p. 14. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Pulaski High School Quits Little 9 Loop". Appleton Post-Crescent. 24 November 1933. p. 13. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  10. ^ "Little 9 League Shifts Kimberly". Appleton Post-Crescent. 15 September 1933. p. 14. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Basketball Schedule, Little Nine Conference, 1935-1936". Appleton Post-Crescent. 19 September 1935. p. 18. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  12. ^ "Little Nine in Reoganization". Appleton Post-Crescent. 27 March 1937. p. 14. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  13. ^ a b c "Kimberly and Seymour Join Northeast Loop". Janesville Weekly Gazette. 23 March 1950. p. 9. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  14. ^ "Reedsville Defeats Hilbert; Winneconne Edges Brillion". Two Rivers Reporter and Chronicle. 20 January 1951. p. 9. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  15. ^ a b "Brillion High School Officially Accepted by Eastern Wis. Circuit". Appleton Post-Crescent. 2 February 1951. p. 15. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  16. ^ a b "Omro to Join Little 9 Loop in 1956-57". Appleton Post-Crescent. 21 November 1955. p. 17. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  17. ^ a b c "Brillion Will Leave EWC". Appleton Post-Crescent. 4 December 1964. p. 20. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g "New Area Conference Forms". Appleton Post-Crescent. 2 August 1969. p. 8. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  19. ^ a b c d "New 8-School Area Conference Will Begin Competition in 1970-71". Appleton Post-Crescent. 20 June 1969. p. 19. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Area Prep Realignment Almost Complete". Neenah News-Record. 13 March 1970. p. 5. Retrieved 18 December 2024.
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