WIAA Conference Realignment Task Force Hears Feedback from HS Coaches

The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) convened its Conference Realignment Task Force last week. The organization has been discussing potential conference realignments for high school football, and they face an early March deadline for finalizing those plans.

In early December, the WIAA Conference Realignment Task Force met for the first time to propose initial plans for conference realignment. Then, in January, the group met to hear appeals from the affected schools.

According to Ozaukee County News Graphic, the affected conferences would include the North Shore Conference, the Glacier Trails Conference, and the Midwest Classic Conference. The moves would result in a total of seven divisions state-wide, but some coaches and athletic directors do not approve of all the moves. Including the decision allowing "Oak Creek to stay in the Southeast and essentially having a free ride to the playoffs every year, in comparison to the cut-throat nature of the Classic 8 and GMC." 

Certain realignments would bring with them crossover games, allowing schools to play non-conference matchups against schools from smaller divisions and other conferences. This would include Wauwatosa East and West High Schools which would move to the North Shore Conference but play crossover games with the Woodland Conference. 

The Ozaukee County New Graphic reported that, “there is still time for schools to appeal before March 11, but that must be done in person to the WIAA Board of Control, and that’s only for the schools that were affected by the most recent modifications.”