The Rock River Valley League is a former high school athletic conference with its membership concentrated in south central Wisconsin. Competing from 1922 to 1952, all conference members were affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

The Rock River Valley League was formed in 1922 by eight medium-sized high schools near the Rock River in south central Wisconsin: Cambridge, Edgerton, Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Lake Mills, Milton, Stoughton and Whitewater.[1] Member schools were located in Dane, Jefferson, Rock and Walworth Counties. The league would grow to nine schools in 1925 with the addition of Evansville to the loop.[2] Cambridge would leave the conference in 1927 after one season of dual membership with the Madison Suburban Conference.[3] In 1928, the Rock River Valley Conference lost three schools (Edgerton, Fort Atkinson and Stoughton) to the newly formed Southern Six Conference.[4] The league continued with five schools until Brodhead, who had recently left the smaller State Line League, joined in 1932.[5] Whitewater left the Rock River Valley League in 1937 to join the Southern Five Conference.[6] They were replaced by their crosstown rivals, College High School.[7] In 1944, Brodhead left the conference to rejoin the State Line League.[8] They were replaced by the "B" team from Janesville High School, whose varsity program belonged to the larger Big Eight Conference.[9] College High left the conference in 1945 to join the Southern Regional Conference,[10] leaving membership at five schools for the remainder of the conference's history. The Rock River Valley League was folded in 1952 when the four varsity members (Evansville, Jefferson, Lake Mills and Milton) would join with five former Southern Ten Conference schools (Edgerton, Fort Atkinson, Monroe, Stoughton and Wisconsin High) and Middleton (formerly of the Madison Suburban Conference) to form the new Badger Conference.[11]

Conference membership history

Final members

SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent Conference
EvansvilleEvansville, WIPublicBlue Devils1925[2]1952[11]BadgerRock Valley
Janesville "B"Janesville, WIPublicBluebirds1944[9]1952[11]Big EightSplit into Craig and Parker
JeffersonJefferson, WIPublicEagles1922[1]1952[11]BadgerRock Valley
Lake MillsLake Mills, WIPublicL-Cats1922[1]1952[11]BadgerCapitol
MiltonMilton, WIPublicRedmen1922[1]1952[11]Badger

Previous members

SchoolLocationAffiliationMascotColorsJoinedLeftConference JoinedCurrent Conference
BrodheadBrodhead, WIPublicCardinals1932[5]1944[8]State LineRock Valley
CambridgeCambridge, WIPublicBluejays1922[1]1927[3]Madison SuburbanCapitol
College HighWhitewater, WIPublicPreps1937[7]1945[10]Southern RegionalClosed in 1959
EdgertonEdgerton, WIPublicCrimson Tide1922[1]1928[4]Southern SixRock Valley
Fort AtkinsonFort Atkinson, WIPublicBlackhawks1922[1]1928[4]Southern SixBadger
StoughtonStoughton, WIPublicVikings1922[1]1928[4]Southern SixBadger
WhitewaterWhitewater, WIPublicQuakers1922[1]1937[6]Southern FiveRock Valley

List of state champions

Fall sports

None

Winter sports

None

Spring sports

Boys Track & Field
SchoolYearDivision
Fort Atkinson1927Class B
Fort Atkinson1928Class B

List of conference champions

Boys Basketball

SchoolQuantityYears
Lake Mills141931, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950
Evansville61930, 1932, 1934, 1938, 1951, 1952
Milton41927, 1933, 1935, 1952
Whitewater College31939, 1941, 1942
Jefferson21931, 1943
Edgerton11928
Stoughton11926
Whitewater11929
Brodhead0
Cambridge0
Fort Atkinson0
Janesville "B"0

Football

SchoolQuantityYears
Lake Mills141928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1945, 1946, 1948, 1949
Jefferson71928, 1935, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1946
Milton71932, 1934, 1941, 1944, 1947, 1950, 1951
Fort Atkinson21925, 1926
Edgerton11927
Evansville11950
Brodhead0
Cambridge0
Janesville "B"0
Stoughton0
Whitewater0
Whitewater College0

References

  1. ^ "Jeff Falls, 17-6, Before Lake Mills". Janesville Weekly Gazette. 3 March 1923. p. 13. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Jefferson Falls Before Dashing Local Attack". The Stoughton Courier. 6 February 1926. p. 1. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Four Games on Rock R. Cage Card This Week". The Capital Times. 25 January 1928. p. 12. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  4. ^ "11 Tilts Booked in New Circuit". The Stoughton Courier. 17 September 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  5. ^ "Rock Valley League Schedule is Completed". Wisconsin State Journal. 30 November 1932. p. 20. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  6. ^ Dommershausen, Joe (23 September 1937). "Three Rated Contenders in Rock Valley". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 22. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Evansville, Milton Still Unbeaten in Rock Valley Loop". Wisconsin State Journal. 17 December 1937. p. 20. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  8. ^ "Brodhead Enters State Line Loop". The Capital Times. 6 October 1944. p. 15. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  9. ^ "Janesville's B Teams to Compete in Rock Valley Loop". Wisconsin State Journal. 10 January 1944. p. 10. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  10. ^ "Quaker Preps Join Southern Regional". Wisconsin State Journal. 24 March 1945. p. 4. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  11. ^ "New Prep Loop Named Badger Conference". Wisconsin State Journal. 23 March 1952. p. 55. Retrieved 11 January 2025.