North Central 8-Player Football Conference

The North Central 8-Player Football Conference is a high school football conference consisting of small high schools in northern Wisconsin. Founded in 2024, the conference sponsors eight-player football and is affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

The North Central 8-Player Football Conference was formed in 2024 as part of the 2024-2025 Wisconsin high school football realignment overseen by the WIAA and the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association.[1] Nine of its fourteen member schools formerly belonged to the CWC 8-Player Football Conference (Alma Center Lincoln, Cornell, Gilman, Lake Holcombe, McDonell Central Catholic in Chippewa Falls, New Auburn, Owen-Withee, Prairie Farm and Thorp) and the other five came from the Lakeland Conference's eight-player football division (Clayton, Frederic, Luck, Siren and Valley Christian School in Osceola). The fourteen member schools were aligned into East and West Divisions:

North Central-8 East North Central-8 West
Alma Center Lincoln Clayton
Cornell Frederic
Gilman Luck
Lake Holcombe New Auburn
McDonell Central Catholic Prairie Farm
Owen-Withee Siren
Thorp Valley Christian School

For the 2026-2027 competition cycle, the North Central-8 lost McDonell Central Catholic to eleven-player football[2] and the Dunn-St. Croix Conference, Clayton and Prairie Farm as individual programs and Valley Christian to the loss of football as a varsity sport. Six programs joined the conference to replace them: two from the small schools division of the Heart O'North Conference (Clear Lake and Turtle Lake), two from the Central Wisconsin Conference (Assumption from the small schools division and Newman Catholic from the eight-player division), one from the Northwoods Football Conference's eight-player division (Athens) and the new Clayton-Prairie Farm football cooperative.[3] Lake Holcombe switched to the West Division to accommodate the net gain of two schools to its sixteen-member roster:[4]

North Central-8 East North Central-8 West
Alma Center Lincoln Clayton/Praire Farm
Assumption Clear Lake
Athens Frederic
Cornell Lake Holcombe
Gilman Luck
Newman Catholic New Auburn
Owen-Withee Siren
Thorp Turtle Lake

List of conference members

Current members

School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Primary Conference
Alma Center Lincoln Alma Center, WI Public 165[5] Hornets     2024 Dairyland
Clayton Clayton, WI Public 86[6] Bears     2024 Lakeland
Cornell Cornell, WI Public 100[7] Chiefs     2024 Lakeland
Frederic Frederic, WI Public 120[8] Vikings     2024 Lakeland
Gilman Gilman, WI Public 108[9] Pirates       2024 Cloverbelt
Lake Holcombe Lake Holcombe, WI Public 86[10] Chieftains       2024 Lakeland
Luck Luck, WI Public 102[11] Cardinals     2024 Lakeland
McDonell Central Catholic Chippewa Falls, WI Private (Catholic) 207[12] Macks     2024 Cloverbelt
New Auburn New Auburn, WI Public 99[13] Trojans     2024 Lakeland
Owen-Withee Owen, WI Public 144[14] Blackhawks     2024 Cloverbelt
Prairie Farm Prairie Farm, WI Public 127[15] Panthers     2024 Lakeland
Siren Siren, WI Public 113[16] Dragons     2024 Lakeland
Thorp Thorp, WI Public 183[17] Cardinals     2024 Cloverbelt
Valley Christian Osceola, WI Private (Christian) 34[18] Jaguars     2024 Independent

Future members

School Location Affiliation Mascot Colors Joining Primary Conference
Assumption Wisconsin Rapids, WI Private (Catholic) Royals     2026 Marawood
Athens Athens, WI Public Bluejays     2026 Marawood
Clayton/Prairie Farm Prairie Farm, WI Public Bearcats       2026 Lakeland
Clear Lake Clear Lake, WI Public Warriors     2026 Dunn-St. Croix
Newman Catholic Wausau, WI Private (Catholic) Cardinals     2026 Marawood
Turtle Lake Turtle Lake, WI Public Lakers     2026 Lakeland

Membership timeline

 Eastern Division  Western Division

List of state champions

Source:[19]

School Year
Owen-Withee 2024
McDonell Central Catholic 2025

List of conference champions

School Quantity Years
Clayton 2 2024, 2025
Gilman 1 2025
Owen-Withee 1 2024
Siren 1 2024
Alma Center Lincoln 0
Cornell 0
Frederic 0
Lake Holcombe 0
Luck 0
McDonell Central Catholic 0
New Auburn 0
Prairie Farm 0
Thorp 0
Valley Christian 0

References

  1. ^ "2024-25 Conference Realignment Plan – 8-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  2. ^ Bott, Zachary (15 November 2025). "McDonell gets revenge on Gilman, wins 8-man state title". Eau Claire Leader-Telegram (via Yahoo! Sports). Retrieved 14 January 2025.
  3. ^ Runberg, Justin (7 August 2025). "Clayton enters last year as Bears before co-op with Prairie Farm". Amery Free Press. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  4. ^ "2026 - 27 Conference Realignment – 8-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. 10 December 2024. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  5. ^ "Alma Center Lincoln". WIAA School Database. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  6. ^ "Clayton". WIAA School Database. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  7. ^ "Cornell". WIAA School Database. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  8. ^ "Frederic". WIAA School Database. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  9. ^ "Gilman". WIAA School Database. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  10. ^ "Lake Holcombe". WIAA School Database. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  11. ^ "Luck". WIAA School Database. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  12. ^ "McDonell Central Catholic". WIAA School Database. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  13. ^ "New Auburn". WIAA School Database. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  14. ^ "Owen-Withee". WIAA School Database. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  15. ^ "Prairie Farm". WIAA School Database. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  16. ^ "Siren". WIAA School Database. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  17. ^ "Thorp". WIAA School Database. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  18. ^ "Valley Christian School". U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 24 January 2026.
  19. ^ "Football Championship Games (thru 2025)" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. Retrieved 13 January 2026.
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