The Great, Historic Suburban Conference

The Suburban Conference was founded in 1924 with seven schools.  Years indicate the first year of WIAA membership, which other than Waukesha and maybe Wauwatosa, should be about the year they opened.

• Cudahy (1921-1922)
• Milwaukee County School of Agriculture (1923-1924; located in Wauwatosa and known as the County Aggies)
• Shorewood (1923-1924)
• South Milwaukee (1910-1911)
• Waukesha (1896 – charter WIAA member)
• Wauwatosa (1897-1898)
• West Allis (1910-1911)

At the time the Suburban Conference formed, the City Conference was the only other Milwaukee area conference of WIAA schools and it would remain that way for over 30 years.

The first Suburban Conference basketball season was 1924-1925, the first track and field season was 1925 and the first football season followed in the fall of 1925.

Subsequent changes to the Suburban Conference membership through the 1970’s:

• 1928:  MCSA closes
• 1928-1929:  West Milwaukee
• 1933-1934:  Whitefish Bay
• 1941-1942:  West Allis Hale; West Allis becomes West Allis Central
• 1949-1950:  Greendale
• 1960-1961:  Greendale’s last year
• 1961-1962:  Wauwatosa West; Wauwatosa becomes Wauwatosa East
• 1974-1975:  Waukesha North; Waukesha becomes Waukesha South

Milwaukee area conference realignment was first discussed in the 1960’s when the Braveland and Parkland conferences were forming, but nothing happened.  Discussions heated up again in the mid-1970’s and lasted through the mid-1980’s with the WIAA becoming involved and laying down the law.  The result was the Suburban Conference expanding to 16 teams in the early 1980’s with the addition of Racine Horlick and four former City Conference schools — Juneau, King, Riverside and West.  That was the beginning of the end.  The great, historic Suburban Conference finally died a shabby, sloppy death in 1985.  It deserved better.