The Soo Line League is a former high school athletic conference with members located in north central Wisconsin. Founded in 1931 as the Little Seven, it existed from 1931 to 1943 and its members belonged to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
19miles
The Soo Line League was formed in 1931 as the Little Seven Conference by seven small high schools in a five-county area (Chippewa, Lincoln, Price, Rusk and Taylor) of north central Wisconsin: Gilman, Hawkins, Lake Holcombe, Prentice, Tony, Tripoli and Westboro.[1][2] Weyerhaeuser joined the conference in 1932, by which time it was referred to as the Little Eight by the local media.[3] In 1933, the Little Eight lost two members to the Cloverbelt Conference (Gilman and Lake Holcombe)[4] and one to the 3-C Conference (Westboro).[5] It was around this time that the conference began to refer to itself as the Soo Line League,[6] presumably due to the heavy presence of the Soo Line Railroad in the region. By the second half of the decade, the Soo Line League had whittled down to three schools following the exit of Weyerhaeuser to the Lakeland Conference in 1934[7] and Prentice to the 3-C Conference in 1935.[8] Aside from Phillips’s one-season stint in the league for the 1936-37 school year, the Soo Line League maintained a three-school membership roster of Hawkins, Tony and Tripoli. By 1940, the conference, which was now referred to as the T-Conference in most media outlets and yearbooks, had accepted Ingram-Glen Flora as members.[9] The addition of Hannibal the following year brought membership to five schools, which is where it would remain for the last two seasons of competition. The T-Conference suspended operations in 1943 due to the gasoline rationing imposed to support American operations in World War II. Three years, later, six former Soo Line League members (Hannibal, Hawkins, Ingram-Glen Flora, Lake Holcombe, Tony and Weyerhaeuser) formed the Flambeauland Conference to resume interscholastic league competition in the region.[10]
Conference membership history
Final members
| School | Location | Affiliation | Mascot | Colors | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hannibal | Hannibal, WI | Public | Unknown | 1941 | 1943 | Independent | Closed in 1956 (consolidated into Gilman) | |
| Hawkins | Hawkins, WI | Public | Hawkeyes | 1931[1][2] | 1943 | Independent | Closed in 1967 (consolidated into Ladysmith) | |
| Ingram-Glen Flora | Glen Flora, WI | Public | Bluejays | 1940[9] | 1943 | Independent | Closed in 1961 (merged into Flambeau High School) | |
| Tony | Tony, WI | Public | Tornadoes | 1931[1][2] | 1943 | Independent | Closed in 1961 (merged into Flambeau High School) | |
| Tripoli | Tripoli, WI | Public | Tornadoes | 1931[1][2] | 1943 | Independent | Closed in 1969 (portions merged into Prentice and Tomahawk) |
Former members
| School | Location | Affiliation | Mascot | Colors | Joined | Left | Conference Joined | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gilman | Gilman, WI | Public | Pirates | 1931[1][2] | 1933[4] | Cloverbelt | ||
| Lake Holcombe | Lake Holcombe, WI | Public | Chieftains | 1931[1][2] | 1933[4] | Cloverbelt | Lakeland | |
| Phillips | Phillips, WI | Public | Loggers | 1936 | 1937 | Upper Wisconsin | Marawood | |
| Prentice | Prentice, WI | Public | Buccaneers | 1931[1][2] | 1935[8] | 3-C | Marawood | |
| Westboro | Westboro, WI | Public | Trojans | 1931[1][2] | 1933[5] | 3-C | Closed in 1967 (merged into Rib Lake) | |
| Weyerhaeuser | Weyerhaeuser, WI | Public | Wildcats | 1932[3] | 1934[7] | Lakeland | Closed in 2010 (merged into Chetek-Weyerhaeuser) | |
Membership timeline
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h “The Lowdown (see Tripoli’s Answer)”. Rhinelander Daily News. p. 7. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g h “Holcombe Quint Leads High Loop”. Chippewa Herald Telegram. 11 January 1932. p. 7. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ^ a b “Holcombe High Five Loses to Weyerhaeuser”. Chippewa Herald-Telegram. 27 December 1932. p. 5. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ^ a b c “Clover Belt Conference Increased to Include Gilman and Holcombe”. Chippewa Herald-Telegram. 19 May 1933. p. 7. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ^ a b “Three-C Conference (Final)”. Wisconsin State Journal. 7 March 1934. p. 20. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ^ “Tri-County High School”. Merrill Daily Herald. 27 February 1935. p. 6.
- ^ a b “Chetek Cagers Beat New Auburn Five”. Chippewa Herald-Telegram. 22 December 1934. p. 5. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ^ a b “Three Unbeaten Teams in 3-C Cage Conference”. Wausau Daily Herald. 14 January 1936. p. 10. Retrieved 13 April 2026.
- ^ a b 1941 Hawkeye. Hawkins High School. 1941. p. 57.
- ^ “Flambeauland Cage Conference Is Ready To Begin Operations”. Chippewa Herald-Telegram. 29 October 1946. p. 5. Retrieved 13 April 2026.