Wikipedia

Flyway 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

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1970-1999

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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

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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

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Full members

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School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Left Conference Joined Current Conference
Campbellsport Campbellsport, WI Public 470 Cougars     1970[1] 1999[7] Eastern Wisconsin Wisconsin Flyway
Dodgeland Juneau, WI Public 278 Trojans     1970[1] 1980[4] Eastern Suburban Trailways
Horicon Horicon, WI Public 275 Marshmen     1970[1] 2001[9] East Central Flyway Trailways
Laconia Rosendale, WI Public 317 Spartans     1970[1] 1999[7] East Central Wisconsin Flyway
Lomira Lomira, WI Public 323 Lions     1970[1] 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
Markesan Markesan, WI Public 254 Hornets     1977[3] 1999[7] East Central Trailways
Mayville Mayville, WI Public 375 Cardinals     1980[4] 2001[9] East Central Flyway Wisconsin Flyway
Central Wisconsin Christian Waupun, WI Private (Reformed) 119 Crusaders     1999[7] 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

Football-only members

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School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Seasons Primary Conference
Wautoma Wautoma, WI Public 381 Hornets     1995-1998 East Central
Laconia Rosendale, WI Public 317 Spartans     1999-2000 East Central
Markesan Markesan, WI Public 254 Hornets     1999-2000 East Central

Membership timeline

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Full members

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Football members

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List of state champions

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Fall sports

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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

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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

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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

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Boys Basketball

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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

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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

Football

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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

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ Hillstrom, Eric (March 26, 1970). "City, Area Prep Hi-Notes". The Capital Times. p. 32. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Markesan now in Flyway". Fond du Lac Reporter. June 27, 1975. p. 14. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "WIAA Approves Realignment; Kewaskum in Eastern Wisconsin". Kewaskum Statesman. April 27, 1979. p. 20. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
  5. ^ "Prep Football Standings (see Flyway)". Wisconsin State Journal. September 30, 1986. pp. 6, Section 2. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  6. ^ Ellingsen, Ray (September 9, 1995). "Wautoma wins first Flyway game". Oshkosh Northwestern. pp. D2. Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Zenner, Michael J. (August 27, 1999). "New Kids on the Block". Fond du Lac Reporter. pp. 14 (Football '99 insert). Retrieved June 6, 2025.
  9. ^ 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.
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