Milwaukee City Conference
The Milwaukee City Conference (also known as "City Conference") is a high school athletic conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All full-time member institutions are located in the city of Milwaukee and are members of the Milwaukee Public Schools system. Its members participate in WIAA Division 1.
Membership
Institution | Enrollment |
Nickname | Colors | Varsity Teams
(including co-op teams) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Bay View High School | 725 | Redcats | Scarlet & Black | 18 |
Lynde & Harry Bradley Technology and Trade School (Bradley Tech) | 1,060 | Trojans | Purple & White | 17 |
Career & Tech Ed High School | 448 | Cougars | Red & White | 13 |
Hamilton High School | 1,700 | Wildcats | Green & Gold | 18 |
Rufus King High School | 1,486 | Generals | Royal Blue & Gold | 18 |
Madison University High School | 940 | Knights | Forest Green & White | 19 |
Morse.Marshall High School | 795 | Eagles | Scarlet Red & Columbia Blue | 17 |
North Division High School | 499 | Blue Devils | Blue & White | 5 |
Pulaski High School | 1,371 | Rams | Crimson Red & Navy Blue | 17 |
Riverside University High School | 1,595 | Tigers | Orange & Black | 18 |
South Division High School | 1,445 | Cardinals | Cardinal & White | 17 |
Vincent High School | 1,328 | Vikings | Maroon & Gold | 17 |
Washington High School | 800 | Purgolders | Purple & Gold | 16 |
Affiliate members
The following schools are members of the City Conference on a part-time basis :
- Milwaukee High School of the Arts
- Malcolm X Academy
- Metropolitan High School
- Ronald W. Reagan College Preparatory High School
- Milwaukee School of Languages
- Thomas Edison High School
- Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning
Co-op teams
Several co-op teams exist in the conference. These co-op teams usually include a full-time member and an affiliate member. The "host" school is listed in bold.
- Bay View & Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning (football, boys' & girls' tennis)
- Pulaski & Milwaukee High School of the Arts (football, girls' volleyball, baseball, boys' tennis, girls' soccer)
- Marshall & School Of Languages (football)
- Ronald W. Reagan & Wisconsin Conservatory of Lifelong Learning (girls' basketball)
- Madison, Marshall, & School Of Languages (boys' tennis)
- South Division & Bradley Tech (boys' tennis)
- Pulaski, Milwaukee High School of the Arts, and Ronald W. Reagan (girls' and boys' swimming)
- Riverside and Shorewood (wrestling)
Sanctioned sports
- Boys and girls
- Basketball
- Cross country
- Swimming
- Tennis
- Track and field
- Boys only
- Baseball
- Football
- Wrestling
- Girls only
- Softball
- Volleyball
WIAA championships
Softball
Bay View won the lone state championship for City Conference members in 1985. The Redcats also advanced to the state tournament in 1981, 1982, 1986, 1990 and 1991. Bay View won 111 straight conference games from 1985-91.
Spring Baseball
Bradley Tech (formerly Boys Tech) won the lone state championship for City Conference members in 1948, the inaugural year.
Boys' basketball
The City Conference did not allow its teams to compete in the WIAA tournament until the 1951-52 season. The now disbanded Lincoln High School became the first City team to win the state title in 1959. It won four more state titles (1961, 1962, 1966, and 1967).
Hamilton won the Class A title in 1972, the first year in which separate tournaments were held based on enrollment size. Three city schools won consecutive titles when Milwaukee Tech (1979), North Division (1980) and Madison (1981) each took home a Class A crown. Milwaukee Tech (now Bradley Tech) repeated its success in 1983.
Since then, 14 titles have gone to one of three City schools: Rufus King (1984, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2004), Washington (1985, 1987, 1990, 1993) and Vincent (1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001).[1]
Boys' track and field
South Division put together a string of five consecutive Class A (now Division 1) titles from 1985 to 1989. Vincent has won three Division 1 titles in boys' track and field (2001, 2003 and 2005). North Division (1992) and Bradley Tech (1995) have each claimed a Division 1 title. King won in 2006.
Girls' basketball
Washington is one of three City Conference team to have won the WIAA Division 1 title five times, a public school record.[2] Its first Class A title came in 1979, and its second in 1990. The team accomplished the first three-peat in girls' tournament history (in any division), winning the title in 1994, 1995 and 1996. Vincent has also won the title three times: 2007, 2008 and 2009. Riverside won its first WIAA Division 1 title in 2013.[3]
Girls' track and field
Since the WIAA Class A/Division 1 tournament was established in 1972, the following City schools have won: Custer (1976), Riverside (1986, 2012), Bradley Tech (1996, 2009, 2010, 2011) and Rufus King (1989, 2002, 2016).[4] Athletes from the member schools hold five individual and three relay-team state tournament records.[5]
Controversy
Recently the WIAA decided to restrict travel outside Wisconsin and its border states. The decision was made as a response to the practice of City Conference boys' basketball teams, which often traveled long distances to find competition. Athletic directors from City schools argued against the decision, saying the travel was paid for by the host school or event organizer.[6]
The situation has caused some supporters to call for the City Conference to follow the lead of leagues in other major cities, such as Chicago and Philadelphia, to hold its own tournaments separate from the WIAA.
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2003-10-17. Retrieved 2012-06-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2003-10-17. Retrieved 2006-12-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2003-08-07. Retrieved 2006-12-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2003-08-12. Retrieved 2006-12-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links and resources
- Milwaukee City Conference pages at Wissports.net
- Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Preps Plus Online