Former Wisconsin high school athletic conference
The Flyway Conference is a former high school athletic conference with its membership concentrated in east central Wisconsin . Founded in 1970 and disbanded in 2001, all of its members were affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association .
History
1970–1999
13km 8.1miles
Location of Original Flyway Conference Members
The Flyway Conference was formed in 1970 by seven small- to medium-sized high schools in the lower Fox River Valley in east central Wisconsin.[1] Three schools came from the disbanded Fox Valley Tri-County League (Laconia , Lomira and Oakfield), two joined from the Scenic Moraine Conference (Campbellsport and North Fond du Lac), and one school each came from the Eastern Suburban Conference (Dodgeland ) and the Little Ten Conference (Horicon) after the latter's dissolution.[2] Membership remained relatively stable through the history of the conference with few changes in the conference's first decade. Markesan joined the Flyway in 1977 to create an eight-member circuit,[3] and in 1980, Dodgeland left to rejoin the Eastern Suburban Conference with Mayville taking its place from the Scenic Moraine Conference.[4] With the exception of Oakfield joining the Central Lakeshore Conference as a football-only member in 1987[5] and Wautoma's entry as a football-only member in 1995,[6] the Flyway Conference continued as an eight-school loop for nineteen seasons before any further realignment for most sports.
1999–2001
13km 8.1miles
Location of Final Flyway Conference Members
In 1999, two schools left to join the East Central Conference (Laconia and Markesan) along with Campbellsport's departure to the Eastern Wisconsin Conference . To counter the losses, four private schools joined as a result of the pending WIAA/WISAA merger set to be finalized in 2000. Three schools joined from the Midwest Classic Conference (Central Wisconsin Christian in Waupun , St. Lawrence Seminary in Mount Calvary and Winnebago Lutheran Academy in Fond du Lac ) and St. Mary's Springs Academy in Fond du Lac joined from the former Fox Valley Christian Conference .[7] Laconia and Markesan stayed on as football-only members for the last two seasons of the conference to counter the loss of Mayville and St. Mary's Springs to the East Central Conference for that sport.[8] 2001 saw the end of the Flyway Conference as the merger agreement originally reached two years prior with the East Central Conference was finalized. The East Central Flyway Conference would begin play in the 2001-02 school year.[9]
Conference membership history
Final members School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Left Conference Joined Current Conference Central Wisconsin Christian Waupun, WI Private (Reformed ) 119 Crusaders 1999[7] 2001[9] East Central Flyway Trailways Horicon Horicon, WI Public 275 Marshmen 1970[1] 2001[9] East Central Flyway Trailways Lomira Lomira, WI Public 323 Lions 1970[1] 2001[9] East Central Flyway Wisconsin Flyway Mayville Mayville, WI Public 375 Cardinals 1980[4] 2001[9] East Central Flyway Wisconsin Flyway North Fond du Lac North Fond du Lac, WI Public 466 Orioles 1970[1] 2001[9] East Central Flyway Wisconsin Flyway Oakfield Oakfield, WI Public 158 Oaks 1970[1] 2001[9] East Central Flyway Trailways St. Lawrence Seminary Mount Calvary, WI Private (Catholic , Capuchin ) 256 Hilltoppers 1999[7] 2001[9] East Central Flyway Independent St. Mary's Springs Fond du Lac, WI Private (Catholic ) 263 Ledgers 1999[7] 2001[9] East Central Flyway Wisconsin Flyway Winnebago Lutheran Fond du Lac, WI Private (Lutheran , WELS ) 319 Vikings 1999[7] 2001[9] East Central Flyway Wisconsin Flyway
Previous members
Membership timeline
Full members
List of state champions
Fall sports Boys Cross Country School Year Division Campbellsport 1972 Medium Schools
Girls Cross Country School Year Division Mayville 1992 Division 2 Mayville 1993 Division 2
Football School Year Division Mayville 1994 Division 4
Girls Volleyball School Year Division Laconia 1998 Division 3
Winter sports Boys Basketball School Year Division Mayville 1983 Class B Markesan 1994 Division 3 Markesan 1996 Division 3
Girls Basketball School Year Division Oakfield 1979 Class C Lomira 1991 Division 3 North Fond du Lac 1997 Division 3 North Fond du Lac 2000 Division 3
Boys Wrestling School Year Division Campbellsport 1980 Class B
Spring sports Baseball School Year Division Oakfield 1984 Class C Oakfield 1986 Class C Lomira 1991 Division 3
Softball School Year Division Oakfield 1997 Division 3 Mayville 1999 Division 2
List of conference champions
Boys Basketball School Quantity Years Mayville 10 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995 Markesan 9 1978, 1979, 1980, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1998 Oakfield 7 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1995 Campbellsport 6 1977, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1999 Laconia 2 1980, 1997 Lomira 2 1985, 2000 North Fond du Lac 2 1973, 2001 Dodgeland 1 1973 Horicon 1 1975 Central Wisconsin Christian 0 St. Lawrence Seminary 0 St. Mary's Springs 0 Winnebago Lutheran 0
Girls Basketball School Quantity Years Markesan 9 1981, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1998 Mayville 9 1981, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995 North Fond du Lac 6 1977, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Oakfield 5 1978, 1979, 1986, 1987, 1988 Laconia 3 1980, 1981, 1983 Lomira 2 1980, 1993 St. Mary's Springs 1 2001 Campbellsport 0 Central Wisconsin Christian 0 Dodgeland 0 Horicon 0 Winnebago Lutheran 0
School Quantity Years Mayville 14 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1998 Horicon 6 1970, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1990 Lomira 4 1974, 1981, 1984, 1997 Markesan 4 1979, 1986, 1998, 1999 Laconia 3 1995, 1997, 2000 Dodgeland 2 1972, 1978 North Fond du Lac 2 1972, 1973 Campbellsport 1 1979 Oakfield 0 Wautoma 0 Winnebago Lutheran 0
References ^ a b c d e f g h "School Board Reviews Fee Charged to Mobile Homes". Fond du Lac Reporter . October 18, 1969. p. 27. Retrieved December 19, 2024 . ^ Hillstrom, Eric (March 26, 1970). "City, Area Prep Hi-Notes". The Capital Times . p. 32. Retrieved December 19, 2024 . ^ a b "Markesan now in Flyway". Fond du Lac Reporter . June 27, 1975. p. 14. Retrieved December 19, 2024 . ^ a b c "WIAA Approves Realignment; Kewaskum in Eastern Wisconsin". Kewaskum Statesman . April 27, 1979. p. 20. Retrieved December 19, 2024 . ^ "Prep Football Standings (see Flyway)". Wisconsin State Journal . September 30, 1986. pp. 6, Section 2. Retrieved June 6, 2025 . ^ Ellingsen, Ray (September 9, 1995). "Wautoma wins first Flyway game". Oshkosh Northwestern . pp. D2. Retrieved June 6, 2025 . ^ a b c d e f g h "Dawn of the three 'new' leagues". Fond du Lac Reporter . November 28, 1999. pp. D1. Retrieved December 19, 2024 . ^ Zenner, Michael J. (August 27, 1999). "New Kids on the Block". Fond du Lac Reporter . pp. 14 (Football '99 insert). Retrieved June 6, 2025 . ^ a b c d e f g h i j Sommerfeldt, Todd (July 26, 2001). "ECC, Flyway merge". Oshkosh Northwestern . pp. C1. Retrieved December 30, 2024 .
Organizations Current Former Football-only