The North Shore Conference is a high school athletic conference in Wisconsin. It was founded in 1985, and membership is concentrated in the northern suburbs of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. All member schools are affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.

History

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1985-1992

[edit]
Map
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
13km
8.1miles
Whitefish Bay
Wauwatosa West
Wauwatosa East
Shorewood
Port Washington
Nicolet
Homestead
Grafton
Germantown
Cedarburg
Location of Original North Shore Conference Members

The North Shore Conference was one of three conferences formed (along with the Big Nine and Suburban Park) during the realignment of high school athletic conferences in southeastern Wisconsin for the 1985-86 school year. Six members came from the Braveland Conference (Cedarburg, Germantown, Grafton, Homestead, Nicolet and Port Washington) and four came from the disbanded Suburban Conference (Shorewood, Wauwatosa East, Wauwatosa West and Whitefish Bay).[1] Other names considered for the conference were the Heritage Conference, Lakeshore Ten and North Suburban Conference.[2]

1992-2017

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Shorewood left the North Shore Conference in 1992 to take West Milwaukee's place in the Parkland Conference after the school closed its doors.[3] In 1993, Wauwatosa East and Wauwatosa West left to become charter members of the new Woodland Conference, with Menomonee Falls moving over from the defunct Braveland Conference as a replacement.[4] They would only last four years in the North Shore Conference and were replaced by Milwaukee Lutheran High School in 1997.[5] Milwaukee Lutheran was in the process of joining the WIAA as part of the merger with the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association, and was the first (and to date, only) private high school in the conference.

2017-present

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Membership would stay consistent for the next twenty years before further realignment occurred. In 2017, Germantown left to join the Greater Metro Conference and Milwaukee Lutheran became a member of the Woodland Conference. They were replaced by four schools who were displaced after the dissolution of the Wisconsin Little Ten Conference: Hartford Union, Slinger, West Bend East and West Bend West.[6] The North Shore Conference will become a seven-member loop in 2025 with the loss of Port Washington, West Bend East and West Bend West to the Glacier Trails Conference.[7]

Football-only alignment

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In February 2019, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association, the WIAA released a sweeping football-only realignment for Wisconsin to commence with the 2020 football season and run on a two-year cycle.[8] The North Shore Conference's original football group consisted of full conference members Cedarburg, Hartford Union Homestead, Nicolet, Slinger, West Bend East, West Bend West and Whitefish Bay.[9] This alignment is set to stay in place until the 2026-2027 cycle, when West Bend East and West Bend West move to their primary conference affiliation in the Glacier Trails Conference, which is set to begin competition next year as an all-sport conference before its first football season in 2026. The two schools currently slated to replace them are Pewaukee of the Classic 8 Conference and Wisconsin Lutheran of the Woodland Conference.[10][11]

List of conference members

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Current full members

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School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined
Cedarburg Cedarburg, WI Public 1,087 Bulldogs     1985[1]
Grafton Grafton, WI Public 713 Black Hawks     1985[1]
Hartford Union Hartford, WI Public 1,281 Orioles     2017[6]
Homestead Mequon, WI Public 1,261 Highlanders     1985[1]
Nicolet Glendale, WI Public 1,086 Knights       1985[1]
Slinger Slinger, WI Public 1,052 Owls       2017[6]
Whitefish Bay Whitefish Bay, WI Public 944 Blue Dukes     1985[1]

Current associate members

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School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Primary Conference Sport(s)
Plymouth Plymouth, WI Public 746 Panthers     Glacier Trails Girls Swim & Dive
Port Washington Port Washington, WI Public 815 Pirates     Glacier Trails Girls Swim & Dive, Boys Volleyball
University School River Hills, WI Private (Nonsectarian) 406 Wildcats     Midwest Classic Boys Lacrosse, Girls Lacrosse
West Bend East West Bend, WI Public 948 Suns       Glacier Trails Football
West Bend West West Bend, WI Public 1,077 Spartans       Glacier Trails Football, Girls Swim & Dive[a]

Notes

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  1. ^ Co-operative with West Bend East

Current co-operative members

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Team Colors Host School Co-operative Members Sport(s)
West Bend Rush     West Bend West West Bend East, Hartford Union, Kettle Moraine Lutheran, Living Word Lutheran, Slinger, Grafton (boys only) Boys Lacrosse, Girls Lacrosse
WNS Wolfpack     Whitefish Bay Nicolet, Shorewood, Dominican, Grafton (girls only) Boys Lacrosse, Girls Lacrosse

Former full members

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School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joined Left Conference Joined Current Conference
Germantown Germantown Public 1,295 Warhawks     1985[1] 2017[6] Greater Metro
Menomonee Falls Menomonee Falls, WI Public 1,292 Indians     1993[4] 1997[5] Greater Metro
Milwaukee Lutheran Milwaukee, WI Private (Lutheran, LCMS) 908 Red Knights     1997[5] 2017[6] Woodland
Port Washington Port Washington, WI Public 815 Pirates     1985[1] 2025[7] Glacier Trails
Shorewood Shorewood, WI Public 662 Greyhounds     1985[1] 1992[3] Parkland Woodland
Wauwatosa East Wauwatosa, WI Public 1,047 Red Raiders     1985[1] 1993[4] Woodland Greater Metro
Wauwatosa West Wauwatosa, WI Public 1,028 Trojans     1985[1] 1993[4] Woodland Greater Metro
West Bend East West Bend, WI Public 948 Suns       2017[6] 2025[7] Glacier Trails
West Bend West West Bend, WI Public 1,077 Spartans       2017[6] 2025[7] Glacier Trails

Future football-only members

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School Location Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Joining Former Conference Primary Conference
Pewaukee Pewaukee, WI Public 874 Pirates     2026[11] Classic 8 Woodland
Wisconsin Lutheran Milwaukee, WI Private (Lutheran, WELS) 938 Vikings       2026[11] Woodland Woodland

Membership timeline

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Full members

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Football members (since 2020)

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Membership map

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North Shore Conference
Map
About OpenStreetMaps
Maps: terms of use
7km
4.3miles
7
7 Whitefish Bay
7 Whitefish Bay
6
6 Slinger
6 Slinger
5
5 Nicolet
5 Nicolet
4
4 Homestead
4 Homestead
3
3 Hartford Union
3 Hartford Union
2
2 Grafton
2 Grafton
1
1 Cedarburg
1 Cedarburg
Location of North Shore Conference full members:

Sanctioned sports

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Baseball
Boys Basketball
Girls Basketball
Boys Cross Country
Girls Cross Country
Football
Boys Golf
Girls Golf
Gymnastics
Boys Lacrosse
Girls Lacrosse
Boys Soccer
Girls Soccer
Softball
Boys Swim & Dive
Girls Swim & Dive
Boys Tennis
Girls Tennis
Boys Track & Field
Girls Track & Field
Boys Volleyball
Girls Volleyball
Boys Wrestling
Girls Wrestling
Cedarburg X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Grafton X X X X X X X[a] X X X X X X X X X X X X
Hartford Union X X X X X X X X X X[b] X[b] X X X X X X X X
Homestead X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Nicolet X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Slinger X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Whitefish Bay X X X X X X X X X X[c] X[c] X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Notes

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  1. ^ Co-operative with Cedarburg
  2. ^ a b Co-operative with Slinger
  3. ^ a b WNS Wolfpack co-operative

List of state champions

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Fall sports

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Boys Cross Country
School Year Division
Whitefish Bay 2005 Division 1
Port Washington 2007 Division 2
Girls Cross Country
School Year Division
Homestead 1986 Class A
Whitefish Bay 2008 Division 1
Slinger 2023 Division 1
Football
School Year Division
Port Washington 1985 Division 2
Germantown 1998 Division 2
Homestead 1999 Division 1
Germantown 2003 Division 2
Homestead 2006 Division 1
Homestead 2008 Division 1
Homestead 2012 Division 2
Homestead 2015 Division 2
Homestead 2018 Division 2
Slinger 2024 Division 2
Girls Golf
School Year Division
Homestead 1987 Single Division
Homestead 1999 Single Division
Homestead 2011 Division 1
Homestead 2012 Division 1
Boys Soccer
School Year Division
Cedarburg 1989 Single Division
Wauwatosa East 1990 Single Division
Cedarburg 1991 Single Division
Homestead 1993 Division 1
Whitefish Bay 1994 Division 1
Whitefish Bay 1995 Division 2
Cedarburg 1996 Division 1
Homestead 1999 Division 1
Whitefish Bay 2015 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2016 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2017 Division 2
Girls Swimming & Diving
School Year Division
Germantown 1992 Division 2
Germantown 1993 Division 2
Grafton 2004 Division 2
Grafton 2005 Division 2
Grafton 2013 Division 2
Grafton 2014 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2024 Division 2
Girls Tennis
School Year Division
Nicolet 1989 Single Division
Nicolet 1990 Single Division
Nicolet 1992 Single Division
Nicolet 1993 Single Division
Nicolet 1994 Division 1
Nicolet 1995 Division 1
Whitefish Bay 1995 Division 2
Nicolet 1996 Division 1
Whitefish Bay 1996 Division 2
Nicolet 1998 Division 1
Whitefish Bay 1998 Division 2
Nicolet 1999 Division 1
Nicolet 2000 Division 1
Whitefish Bay 2005 Division 1
Whitefish Bay 2007 Division 1
Homestead 2008 Division 1
Homestead 2009 Division 1
Homestead 2010 Division 1
Homestead 2011 Division 1
Homestead 2012 Division 1
Homestead 2016 Division 1
Homestead 2017 Division 1
Homestead 2018 Division 1
Homestead 2019 Division 1
Girls Volleyball
School Year Division
Wauwatosa East 1985 Class A
Wauwatosa East 1992 Division 1

Winter sports

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Boys Basketball
School Year Division
Wauwatosa East 1989 Class A
Whitefish Bay 1996 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 1998 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2011 Division 2
Germantown 2012 Division 1
Germantown 2013 Division 1
Germantown 2014 Division 1
Nicolet 2019 Division 2
Girls Basketball
School Year Division
Grafton 2007 Division 2
Grafton 2009 Division 2
Nicolet 2011 Division 1
Gymnastics
School Year Division
Whitefish Bay 1989 Class A
Homestead 1993 Division 1
Whitefish Bay/
Shorewood
1995 Division 1
Whitefish Bay/
Shorewood
1996 Division 1
Homestead 2002 Division 1
Whitefish Bay 2001 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2009 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2011 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2012 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2014 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2016 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2017 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2018 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2019 Division 2
Hartford Union 2020 Division 1
Whitefish Bay 2021 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2022 Division 2
Nicolet 2023 Division 2
Boys Swimming & Diving
School Year Division
Whitefish Bay 1997 Division 2
Homestead 1998 Division 1
Whitefish Bay 1998 Division 2
Homestead 1999 Division 1
Homestead 2000 Division 1
Homestead 2001 Division 1
Cedarburg 2021 Division 2

Spring sports

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Baseball
School Year Division
Milwaukee Lutheran 2002 Division 2
Milwaukee Lutheran 2003 Division 2
Milwaukee Lutheran 2015 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2023 Division 1
Boys Golf
School Year Division
Homestead 1996 Division 1
Homestead 2006 Division 1
Cedarburg 2013 Division 1
Homestead 2014 Division 1
Girls Soccer
School Year Division
Homestead 1992 Single Division
Whitefish Bay 1994 Single Division
Homestead 1995 Single Division
Grafton 1997 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 1998 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 1999 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2000 Division 2
Homestead 2007 Division 1
Cedarburg 2013 Division 1
Homestead 2016 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2017 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2021 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2023 Division 2
Softball
School Year Division
Germantown 1996 Division 1
Boys Tennis
School Year Division
Nicolet 1986 Single Division
Nicolet 1987 Single Division
Nicolet 1988 Single Division
Nicolet 1989 Single Division
Nicolet 1990 Single Division
Nicolet 1997 Division 1
Whitefish Bay 1997 Division 2
Nicolet 1998 Division 1
Whitefish Bay 1998 Division 2
Nicolet 1999 Division 1
Whitefish Bay 1999 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2000 Division 2
Whitefish Bay 2002 Division 2
Nicolet 2004 Division 1
Nicolet 2005 Division 1
Nicolet 2006 Division 1
Boys Track & Field
School Year Division
Nicolet 1990 Class A
Grafton 2000 Division 2
Germantown 2006 Division 1
Homestead 2010 Division 1
Girls Track & Field
School Year Division
Whitefish Bay 2015 Division 1

Summer sports

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Baseball
School Year
Homestead 1994
Nicolet 1998

List of conference champions

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Source:[12]

Boys Basketball

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School Quantity Years
Nicolet 12 1992, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2019, 2020, 2024
Germantown 9 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
Homestead 7 1987, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2022, 2023
Whitefish Bay 7 1987, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2006, 2009, 2021
Wauwatosa East 6 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993
Cedarburg 4 2003, 2017, 2018, 2021
Port Washington 1 2010
Slinger 1 2025
Grafton 0
Hartford Union 0
Menomonee Falls 0
Milwaukee Lutheran 0
Shorewood 0
Wauwatosa West 0
West Bend East 0
West Bend West 0

Girls Basketball

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School Quantity Years
Nicolet 12 1989, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Grafton 8 1987, 1988, 1991, 1994, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012
Homestead 7 1994, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2022, 2023, 2024
Cedarburg 4 2005, 2006, 2007, 2013
Germantown 4 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Port Washington 3 1990, 1999, 2000
Slinger 3 2018, 2019, 2021
Whitefish Bay 3 1986, 2006, 2012
Milwaukee Lutheran 2 2001, 2003
Wauwatosa East 2 1992, 1993
Hartford Union 2 2024, 2025
West Bend West 2 2020, 2021
Menomonee Falls 0
Shorewood 0
Wauwatosa West 0
West Bend East 0

Football

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School Quantity Years
Homestead 25 1988, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023
Whitefish Bay 8 1986, 1989, 1993, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2020, 2021
Port Washington 6 1985, 1987, 1990, 1992, 1993, 2000
Cedarburg 5 1986, 1997, 2002, 2011, 2014
Germantown 4 1997, 1999, 2000, 2014
Hartford Union 2 2019, 2022
Grafton 1 1995
Nicolet 1 1989
Slinger 1 2024
Wauwatosa East 1 1986
Menomonee Falls 0
Milwaukee Lutheran 0
Shorewood 0
Wauwatosa West 0
West Bend East 0
West Bend West 0

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Fensin, Lee (August 27, 1985). "Waukesha teams begin play in new conference". Waukesha County Freeman. p. 19. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  2. ^ "Contest winners finally chosen". Ozaukee County News Graphic. October 10, 1984. p. 17. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  3. ^ a b Harlow, Judy (February 18, 1992). "Parkland moves OK with Slinger High athletic boss". West Bend Daily News. p. 10. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d Steinbach, Paul (August 26, 1993). "Blackhawk backfields tough to beat?". Ozaukee County News Graphic. p. 12. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Cebulski, Mark (June 6, 1986). "Realignment twist has 'em guessing". Ozaukee County News Graphic. p. 5. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Conference Realignment (see Conference C)". Waukesha Freeman. July 26, 2016. pp. b3. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d "Board Approves Remanded Conference Realignment Plans at April Meeting". Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. April 23, 2024. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  8. ^ "Revised Football-Only Conference Plan Released". Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 9, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2025.
  9. ^ "WFCA/WIAA Football-Only Realignment Proposal" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. February 6, 2019. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  10. ^ "2024-25 Conference Realignment Plan – 11-Player Football" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. December 14, 2023. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c "2026 - 27 Conference Realignment – 11-Player Football (" (PDF). Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association. December 10, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  12. ^ "All-Time Conference Champions". North Shore Conference (official website). Retrieved May 29, 2025.
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