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The Dual County Conference is a former high school athletic conference in Wisconsin, inaugurated in 1926 as the Columbia County Little Six Conference and ending competition in 2001. All conference members were affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

Beginnings (1926-1939)

The Dual County Conference opened competition in 1926 as the Columbia County Forensic League.^[1] It was started as a league for academic competition before branching out into athletics in 1928.^[2] Its membership consisted of six small high schools in south central Wisconsin: five in Columbia County (Cambria, Fall River, Pardeeville, Poynette and Rio) and one just across the county line in Dodge County (Randolph). The conference expanded to seven schools in 1934, adding Fox Lake High School to its membership roster.^[3] The name of the conference became the Columbia County Little Seven Conference, despite the fact that the conference now had two schools in Dodge County.^[4]

Name Change and Expansion (1939-1970)

In 1939, the conference added Reeseville High School and changed its name to the Dual County Conference,^[5] owing to the fact that the conference now had three member schools in Dodge County instead of one. Reeseville left the conference in 1942^[6]^[7] when they suspended their athletic program during World War II and were replaced by Markesan High School three years later.^[8] This marked the Dual County Conference's first foray into Green Lake County, but the name remained unchanged. Poynette, which had historically been the largest school in the conference, joined the Tri-County League in 1954 and were immediately replaced by Princeton (previously of the Little 7-C Conference).^[9] Fox Lake made its exit five years later to join the Fox Valley Tri-County League^[10] for its final three years before consolidating with Waupun in 1962.^[11] Montello, formerly a member of the Big 7-C Conference, joined the Dual County Conference in 1961.^[12] In 1970, Green Lake and Westfield joined the Dual County Conference from the Fox Valley Tri-County League and Vacationland Conference, respectively.^[13]

Final Years and Eastern Suburban Merger (1970-2001)

During the final three decades of the Dual County Conference, there were relatively few changes to membership. Markesan left in 1977 to join the Flyway Conference, and were replaced by Poynette, who were previously part of the Capitol Conference and making their return to the Dual County after a nearly quarter century absence.^[14] They rejoined the Capitol Conference in 1987,^[15] and membership in the Dual County Conference stayed consistent through the rest of the conference's history. The end of the Dual County Conference came in 2001, when they merged with another conference of small schools in south central Wisconsin (the Eastern Suburban Conference) to form the new Trailways Conference.^[16]

Conference Membership History

School	Location	Affiliation	Enrollment	Mascot	Joined	Left	Conference Joined	Current Conference
Cambria-Friesland	Cambria, WI	Public	100	Hilltoppers	1926^[1]	2001^[16]	Trailways
Fall River	Fall River, WI	Public	157	Pirates	1926^[1]	2001^[16]	Trailways
Pardeeville	Pardeeville, WI	Public	263	Bulldogs	1926^[1]	2001^[16]	Trailways
Poynette	Poynette, WI	Public	310	Indians	1926,^[1] 1977^[14]	1954,^[9] 1987^[15]	Tri-County, Capitol	Capitol
Randolph	Randolph, WI	Public	198	Rockets	1926^[1]	2001^[16]	Trailways
Rio	Rio, WI	Public	111	Vikings	1926^[1]	2001^[16]	Trailways
Fox Lake	Fox Lake, WI	Public	N/A	Lakers	1934^[3]	1959^[10]	Fox Valley Tri-County	Closed in 1962^[11]
Reeseville	Reeseville, WI	Public	N/A	Cardinals	1939^[5]	1942^[6]^[7]	Independent	Closed in 1970^[17]
Markesan	Markesan, WI	Public	254	Hornets	1945^[8]	1977^[14]	Flyway	Trailways
Princeton	Princeton, WI	Public	109	Tigers	1954^[9]	2001^[16]	Trailways
Montello	Montello, WI	Public	251	Hilltoppers	1961^[12]	2001^[16]	Trailways
Green Lake	Green Lake, WI	Public	101	Lakers	1970^[13]	2001^[16]	Trailways
Westfield	Westfield, WI	Public	295	Pioneers	1970^[13]	2001^[16]	South Central

List of State Champions

Fall Sports

None

Winter Sports

Boys Basketball
School	Year	Division
Pardeeville	1936	Class C
Randolph	1996	Division 4
Randolph	1998	Division 4

Curling
School	Year	Division
Pardeeville	1964	Single Division

Gymnastics
School	Year	Division
Fall River	1981	Class B
Fall River	1982	Class B

Spring Sports

Girls Track & Field
School	Year	Division
Pardeeville	1980	Class C
Poynette	1984	Class C

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Plan Oratory Circuit in Columbia County". Fox Lake Representative. 4 March 1926. p. 1. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ "Poynette H.S. Commencement Activities Will Start Friday". Wisconsin State Journal. 18 May 1928. p. 23. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Poynette Prep Five Trims Fox Lake, 16-13". Wisconsin State Journal. 26 November 1934. p. 9. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ "Pardeeville Tops Little 7 League". Wisconsin State Journal. 12 December 2024. p. 16. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Columbia-Little 7 Changes Name to Dual County Loop". The Capital Times. 16 September 1939. p. 7. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Rio, Cambria, Pardeeville Share Lead in Dual County League". Wisconsin State Journal. 14 January 1942. p. 16. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Suburban Cage Standings". The Capital Times. 17 January 1943. p. 14. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Prep Notes". Wisconsin State Journal. 22 November 1945. p. 29. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Dual County Loop Admits Princeton". Portage Daily Register. 17 February 1954. p. 6.
^ ^a ^b "High School Cage Standings". Wisconsin State Journal. 20 December 1959. p. 38. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Victim of Progress". Fox Lake Representative. 30 August 1962. p. 2. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Thrillers Played in Dual County". The Capital Times. 16 September 1961. p. 13. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Westfield, Green Lake join, Dual Conference slates program for changes". Portage Daily Register. 25 February 1970. p. 13. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Prep Conference Realignment: Madison area changes". The Capital Times. 17 August 1977. p. 69. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b Kitkowski, Dan (26 August 1987). "Poynette powerhouse moves to Capitol". Portage Daily Register. p. 18. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Hernandez, Rob. "Realignment falls right into place". Wisconsin State Journal. pp. 4B. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
^ Marolla, Ed (6 March 1969). "Hello Horicon". The Horicon Reporter. p. 1. Retrieved 9 December 2024.