The Big Eight Conference is a high school athletic conference with its membership concentrated in south central Wisconsin . All member schools are affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association .
History 1925–1964 Location of Big Eight Conference Members (1930-1964) The Big Eight Conference was originally formed in 1925 as the Big Six Conference and its original members were Beloit Memorial , Janesville , Kenosha , Madison Central , Madison East and Racine . It consisted of the largest high schools in southern Wisconsin that were located outside of the greater Milwaukee area and was alternatively known by its official name (the Southern Wisconsin Conference ) during its early years. The conference added a seventh high school in 1929, a year after Racine High School split into William Horlick High School on the north side and Washington Park High School on the south side of the city. Park took Racine's place in the conference when it was split in 1928, and Horlick joined the conference a year later. However, it wouldn't be known as the "Big Seven" for long as Madison added a third high school on the west side of the city in 1930, and they immediately became members upon opening. The original Big Eight lineup lasted for over thirty years before rapid growth created a rift that changed its membership in the modern era.
1964–1970 Location of Big Eight Conference Members (1967-1969) As the metropolitan areas of the Big Eight grew, so too did the need for more space for high school students to relieve overcrowding. Madison opened a fourth high school on the city's far east side in 1963 named after Wisconsin politician Robert M. LaFollette . They joined the Big Eight in 1964 along with the new George Nelson Tremper High School on the south side of Kenosha . The existing high school in Kenosha was also renamed after local educator Mary D. Bradford . More changes were on the horizon, and three more recently opened high schools joined the conference. Jerome I. Case High School opened on Racine's west side in 1966, and two others joined in 1967: James Madison Memorial High School (renamed after Wisconsin politician Vel Phillips in 2021) on Madison's far west side and George S. Parker High School on Janesville's west side. Janesville's current high school was also named after local politician Joseph A. Craig in the process.
By this time, the Big Eight had ballooned to thirteen members (twelve after Central-University High School closed in 1969), and along with that growth came greater problems with scheduling and travel. In 1967, the five Madison high schools announced their exit from the Big Eight Conference and gave the three high schools in Rock County the option of joining them in a new conference, which they accepted. The five high schools in Racine and Kenosha formed the South Shore Conference after their forced removal from the Big Eight, which had a tumultuous ten-year history before it was finally disbanded in 1980.
1970–present With the Madison-area schools having successfully split from those in southeastern Wisconsin, the new-look Big Eight Conference began play in 1970 with seven schools (Beloit Memorial, Janesville Craig, Janesville Parker, Madison East, Madison La Follette, Madison Memorial and Madison West). Membership increased back to eight with the addition of Sun Prairie High School from the Badger Conference in 1977, and in later years the Big Eight added two other large metropolitan Madison high schools: Middleton in 1994 and Verona in 2008 (both formerly of the Badger Conference). Membership stayed at ten schools until 2022, when Sun Prairie High School completed its split into two schools. Sun Prairie High School became Sun Prairie East and Sun Prairie West High School was completed on the west side of the district. The following year, Beloit Memorial left the Big Eight after nearly a century of membership to join the Southern Lakes Conference .
Football-only alignment In February 2019, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association, the WIAA released a sweeping football-only realignment for Wisconsin to commence with the 2020 football season and run on a two-year cycle. The Big Eight Conference decreased its football membership from ten to eight schools, with the two Janesville schools leaving for membership in the Badger Conference's large-school division. They would return to the Big Eight for football in 2022, exchanging affiliation with the newly split Sun Prairie East and Sun Prairie West, who took their place in the large-school division of the Badger Conference. Beloit Memorial also left to join the Southern Lakes Conference for football, one year prior to moving over as full members in 2023.
List of member schools Current members School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Janesville Craig Janesville, WI Public 1,612 Cougars 1967 Janesville Parker Janesville, WI Public 1,484 Vikings 1967 Madison East Madison, WI Public 1,783 Purgolders 1925 Madison La Follette Madison, WI Public 1,625 Lancers 1964 Madison West Madison, WI Public 2,284 Regents 1930 Middleton Middleton, WI Public 2,409 Cardinals 1994 Sun Prairie East Sun Prairie, WI Public 1,395 Cardinals 1977 Sun Prairie West Sun Prairie, WI Public 1,382 Wolves 2022 Vel Phillips Memorial Madison, WI Public 2,074 Spartans 1967 Verona Verona, WI Public 1,842 Wildcats 2008
Current associate members School Location Affiliation Mascot Colors Primary Conference Sport(s) Beloit Memorial Beloit, WI Public Purple Knights Southern Lakes Boys Hockey DeForest DeForest, WI Public Norskies Badger Boys Volleyball Edgewood Madison, WI Private (Catholic ) Crusaders Badger Boys Volleyball Fort Atkinson Fort Atkinson, WI Public Blackhawks Badger Boys Volleyball Waunakee Waunakee, WI Public Warriors Badger Boys Volleyball
Notes Current co-operative members Team Colors Host School Co-operative Members Sport(s) Janesville Parker Janesville Craig Boys Hockey Sun Prairie United Varies by sport Sun Prairie East , Sun Prairie West Gymnastics, Boys Hockey, Boys Tennis, Boys Volleyball
Former members Membership timeline Full members Football members Membership map Location of Big Eight Conference full members:1 Janesville Craig 2 Janesville Parker 3 Madison East 4 Madison LaFollette 5 Madison West 6 Middleton 7 Sun Prairie East 8 Sun Prairie West 9 Vel Phillips Memorial 10 Verona Sanctioned sports Baseball Boys Basketball Girls Basketball Boys Cross Country Girls Cross Country Football Boys Golf Girls Golf Gymnastics Boys Hockey Boys Soccer Girls Soccer Softball Boys Swim & Dive Girls Swim & Dive Boys Tennis Girls Tennis Boys Track & Field Girls Track & Field Boys Volleyball Girls Volleyball Boys Wrestling Girls Wrestling Janesville Craig X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Janesville Parker X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Madison East X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Madison La Follette X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Madison West X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Middleton X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Sun Prairie East X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Sun Prairie West X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Vel Phillips Memorial X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Verona X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Notes List of state champions Fall sports School Year Division Madison West 1947 Single Division Racine Park 1948 Single Division Racine Park 1949 Large Schools Janesville 1950 Large Schools Madison West 1951 Large Schools Madison West 1955 Large Schools Janesville 1961 Large Schools Janesville 1962 Large Schools Madison West 1963 Large Schools Racine Horlick 1966 Large Schools Madison Memorial 1967 Large Schools Madison Memorial 1969 Large Schools Madison Memorial 1991 Division 1 Madison West 2004 Division 1 Madison La Follette 2006 Division 1 Madison La Follette 2007 Division 1 Madison West 2012 Division 1 Madison West 2014 Division 1 Madison West 2016 Division 1 Middleton 2017 Division 1 Middleton 2019 Division 1
School Year Division Madison Memorial 1980 Class A Madison Memorial 1984 Class A Janesville Craig 1991 Division 1 Middleton 1995 Division 1 Middleton 1996 Division 1 Middleton 1997 Division 1 Middleton 2006 Division 1 Sun Prairie 2016 Division 1 Sun Prairie 2017 Division 1 Middleton 2020-21 Alternate Season Middleton 2021 Division 1
School Year Division Madison West 1977 Division 1 Sun Prairie 1995 Division 1
School Year Division Madison West 1972 Single Division Madison West 1973 Single Division Madison West 1974 Single Division Madison West 1975 Single Division Madison West 1976 Single Division Madison Memorial 1977 Single Division Madison Memorial 1979 Single Division Madison Memorial 1980 Single Division Middleton 2009 Division 1 Verona 2014 Division 1 Middleton 2015 Division 1 Middleton 2019 Division 1 Middleton 2020-21 Alternate Season
School Year Division Madison West 1984 Single Division Madison West 1987 Single Division Madison West 1988 Single Division Middleton 2004 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2006 Division 1 Verona 2019 Division 1 Verona 2022 Division 1 Middleton 2023 Division 1
School Year Division Madison Memorial 1970 Single Division Madison Memorial 1971 Single Division Madison Memorial 1972 Single Division Madison West 1973 Single Division Madison Memorial 1974 Single Division Madison Memorial 1975 Single Division Madison Memorial 1976 Single Division Madison West 1977 Single Division Madison Memorial 1978 Single Division Madison Memorial 1979 Single Division Madison West 1980 Single Division Madison West 1981 Single Division Madison West 1982 Single Division Madison West 1983 Single Division Madison West 1986 Single Division Madison Memorial 1988 Single Division Madison West 1989 Single Division Madison West 1990 Single Division Madison West 1991 Single Division Madison West 1992 Division 1 Madison Memorial 1993 Division 1 Madison Memorial 1994 Division 1 Madison West 1995 Division 1 Madison West 1996 Division 1 Madison West 1997 Division 1 Madison West 1998 Division 1 Madison Memorial 1999 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2000 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2001 Division 1 Madison East 2007 Division 1 Middleton 2016 Division 1 Middleton 2017 Division 1 Middleton 2018 Division 1 Middleton 2023 Division 1
School Year Division Madison Memorial 1987 Single Division Madison Memorial 1988 Single Division Middleton 2013 Division 1 Middleton 2020-21 Alternate Season
School Year Division Madison West 1947 Single Division Madison Central 1949 Single Division Madison Central 1950 Single Division Middleton 2023 Single Division
Winter sports School Year Division Beloit Memorial 1932 Single Division Beloit Memorial 1933 Single Division Beloit Memorial 1934 Class A Beloit Memorial 1937 Class A Racine Park 1943 Single Division Madison West 1945 Single Division Beloit Memorial 1947 Single Division Madison East 1958 Single Division Beloit Memorial 1969 Single Division Janesville Parker 1971 Single Division Beloit Memorial 1973 Class A Madison La Follette 1977 Class A Madison La Follette 1982 Class A Madison West 1992 Division 1 Madison La Follette 2002 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2005 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2009 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2011 Division 1
School Year Division Madison West 1976 Class A Madison West 1982 Class A Janesville Parker 1993 Division 1 Janesville Parker 2000 Division 1 Janesville Parker 2001 Division 1 Verona 2016 Division 1
School Year Division Madison La Follette 1983 Class A Madison East 1987 Class A Verona/Edgewood 2023 Division 1
School Year Division Madison East 1975 Single Division Madison Memorial 1976 Single Division Madison Memorial 1977 Single Division Madison East 1978 Single Division Madison Memorial 1979 Single Division Madison Memorial 1980 Single Division Madison West 1983 Single Division Madison Memorial 1985 Single Division Madison East 1987 Single Division Madison Memorial 1988 Single Division Sun Prairie 1997 Single Division Madison Memorial 1998 Single Division Beloit Memorial 1999 Single Division Madison Memorial 2000 Single Division Verona 2014 Single Division Verona 2020 Division 1
School Year Division Madison Central 1926 Single Division Madison Central 1928 Single Division
School Year Division Kenosha 1929 Single Division Kenosha 1930 Single Division Kenosha 1931 Single Division Kenosha 1934 Single Division Kenosha 1952 Single Division Janesville 1955 Single Division Janesville 1961 Single Division Beloit Memorial 1975 Single Division Beloit Memorial 1976 Single Division Madison West 1977 Single Division Madison West 1978 Single Division Madison West 1979 Single Division Madison Memorial 1980 Single Division Madison Memorial 1981 Single Division Madison West 1982 Single Division Madison West 1983 Single Division Madison West 1984 Single Division Madison West 1985 Single Division Madison Memorial 1986 Single Division Madison West 1987 Single Division Madison West 1988 Single Division Madison West 1989 Single Division Madison West 1990 Single Division Madison West 1991 Single Division Madison Memorial 1992 Single Division Madison West 1993 Division 1 Madison Memorial 1994 Division 1 Madison Memorial 1996 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2005 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2006 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2007 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2009 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2011 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2012 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2013 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2014 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2015 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2016 Division 1 Madison West 2018 Division 1 Madison West 2019 Division 1 Middleton 2020 Division 1 Sun Prairie 2021 Division 1 Middleton 2023 Division 1 Middleton 2024 Division 1
School Year Division Madison East 1955 Single Division Kenosha 1956 Single Division Madison West 1965 Single Division Racine Park 1967 Single Division Racine Park 1969 Single Division
Spring sports School Year Division Madison Central 1949 Single Division Madison West 1952 Single Division Kenosha 1963 Single Division Beloit Memorial 1965 Single Division Madison East 1967 Single Division Kenosha Tremper 1969 Single Division Janesville Parker 1977 Single Division Janesville Craig 1983 Class A Janesville Craig 1984 Class A Janesville Craig 1988 Class A Madison Memorial 1990 Class A Madison Memorial 1992 Division 1 Sun Prairie 1994 Division 1 Sun Prairie 1997 Division 1 Middleton 2003 Division 1 Sun Prairie 2005 Division 1 Sun Prairie 2006 Division 1 Sun Prairie 2012 Division 1 Sun Prairie 2013 Division 1 Sun Prairie 2014 Division 1 Janesville Craig 2015 Division 1 Sun Prairie 2021 Division 1
School Year Division Kenosha 1929 Single Division Racine Park 1931 Single Division Beloit Memorial 1932 Single Division Madison West 1934 Single Division Madison West 1935 Single Division Madison West 1936 Single Division Beloit Memorial 1945 Single Division Racine Park 1947 Single Division Racine Park 1948 Single Division Madison West 1949 Single Division Racine Horlick 1950 Single Division Janesville 1951 Single Division Racine Horlick 1952 Single Division Janesville 1953 Single Division Madison West 1956 Single Division Madison West 1957 Single Division Racine Park 1958 Single Division Madison West 1960 Single Division Madison West 1961 Single Division Madison West 1962 Single Division Janesville 1963 Single Division Madison East 1965 Single Division Madison West 1966 Single Division Madison West 1967 Single Division Racine Park 1968 Single Division Racine Park 1970 Single Division Madison Memorial 1972 Single Division Madison West 1976 Single Division Madison Memorial 1984 Single Division Madison West 1987 Single Division Madison West 1988 Class A Madison Memorial 1990 Class A Sun Prairie 1991 Division 1 Madison West 1995 Division 1 Middleton 1997 Division 1 Middleton 1998 Division 1 Middleton 1999 Division 1 Madison La Follette 2003 Division 1 Middleton 2011 Division 1
School Year Division Middleton 2024 Single Division
School Year Division Madison Memorial 1986 Single Division Madison Memorial 1987 Single Division Madison West 1988 Single Division Madison West 1991 Single Division Madison West 1999 Division 1 Madison West 2000 Division 1 Middleton 2006 Division 1 Verona 2010 Division 1 Madison West 2012 Division 1
School Year Division Madison West 1976 Single Division Sun Prairie 2018 Division 1
School Year Division Racine Park 1931 Single Division Madison West 1948 Single Division
School Year Division Kenosha 1927 Class A Madison West 1942 Class A Madison West 1944 Class A Kenosha 1947 Class A Madison West 1948 Class A Beloit Memorial 1949 Class A Madison West 1951 Class A Madison West 1952 Class A Madison West 1953 Class A Madison West 1956 Class A Kenosha 1957 Class A Madison West 1964 Class A Kenosha Bradford 1965 Class A Racine Horlick 1968 Class A Madison La Follette 1969 Class A Madison Memorial 1970 Class A Racine Case 1970 Class A Madison Memorial 1973 Class A Beloit Memorial 1977 Class A Beloit Memorial 1991 Division 1 Madison La Follette 2002 Division 1
School Year Division Madison Memorial 1972 Class A Madison Memorial 1973 Class A Madison West 1974 Class A Madison West 1975 Class A Madison East 1977 Class A Madison Memorial 1977 Class A Madison Memorial 1979 Class A Madison West 1980 Class A Madison West 1981 Class A Madison West 1982 Class A Madison West 1985 Class A Middleton 1997 Division 1 Middleton 1998 Division 1 Madison Memorial 2003 Division 1
List of conference champions Boys Basketball School Quantity Years Beloit Memorial 21 1926, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1941, 1947, 1962, 1963, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1990, 2000 Madison West 18 1944, 1945, 1947, 1951, 1952, 1958, 1960, 1965, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1992, 1996, 1999, 2000 Janesville Craig 13 1971, 1972, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999 Vel Phillips Memorial 13 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2026 Madison East 12 1947, 1948, 1952, 1958, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1979, 1993, 2010, 2019, 2020 Janesville 9 1939, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1965 Madison Central 8 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1947 Racine Park 8 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1948, 1963, 1967, 1968 Madison La Follette 8 1974, 1982, 1985, 1986, 2002, 2003, 2020, 2022 (Sun Prairie) East 6 1996, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2025 Middleton 5 1998, 2001, 2016, 2023, 2026 Racine Horlick 5 1936, 1949, 1953, 1955, 1965 (Kenosha) Bradford 4 1927, 1931, 1935, 1964 Janesville Parker 1 1982 Sun Prairie West 1 2024 Kenosha Tremper 0 Racine 0 Racine Case 0 Verona 0
Girls Basketball School Quantity Years Janesville Parker 18 1982, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2013 Middleton 11 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 Verona 9 2009, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 Madison West 8 1976, 1977, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1999, 2003 (Sun Prairie) East 5 1995, 1996, 2017, 2018, 2022 Madison La Follette 4 1975, 1978, 1986, 2026 Beloit Memorial 3 1979, 1998, 2004 Janesville Craig 3 1980, 1981, 2015 Vel Phillips Memorial 3 1987, 2020, 2026 Madison East 2 1985, 1989 Sun Prairie West 0
Football School Quantity Years (Sun Prairie) East 19 1986, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021 Beloit Memorial 17 1931, 1933, 1936, 1938, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1953, 1962, 1963, 1965, 1972, 1980, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994 Madison West 16 1938, 1943, 1944, 1946, 1954, 1957, 1961, 1962, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1990, 2005 (Kenosha) Bradford 11 1925, 1929, 1932, 1934, 1942, 1945, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1956, 1959 Madison East 11 1935, 1937, 1941, 1944, 1949, 1960, 1962, 1968, 1973, 1985, 2003 Vel Phillips Memorial 11 1970, 1971, 1973, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1984, 2003, 2009, 2018, 2019 Middleton 9 1997, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2025 Verona 8 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2016, 2022, 2023, 2024 Janesville Parker 6 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009 Janesville Craig 5 1970, 1974, 1979, 1983, 1990 Madison Central 5 1926, 1927, 1928, 1940, 1941 Racine Horlick 5 1953, 1954, 1964, 1966, 1967 Madison La Follette 4 1967, 1969, 1976, 2007 Racine Park 4 1930, 1939, 1958, 1960 Janesville 2 1937, 1942 Sun Prairie West 0 Kenosha Tremper 0 Racine 0 Racine Case 0
See also External links