The Dairyland Conference was formed by six small high schools in west central Wisconsin in 1959. Three members came from the original Mississippi Valley Conference (Augusta, Osseo and Whitehall) and the other three from the disbanded Trempealeau Valley Conference (Blair, Eleva-Strum and Independence).[1] The membership roster soon increased to eight schools, with Lincoln High School in Alma Center joining from the West Central Conference in 1961[2] and Cochrane-Fountain City moving over from the Mississippi Valley Conference in 1963.[3][4] Alma High School joined the Dairyland Conference in 1971 from the West Central Conference.[5] They replaced Cochrane-Fountain City, who was moved to the Coulee Conference that year.[6]
1977–2000
In 1977, the Dairyland Conference added four schools: two from the Coulee Conference (Cochrane-Fountain City and Melrose-Mindoro) and two from the defunct West Central Conference (Gilmanton and Taylor).[7] The membership roster would remain the same for eight years, until the league realigned into divisions based on enrollment size in 1985:[8]
Large Schools
Small Schools
Augusta
Alma
Cochrane-Fountain City
Alma Center Lincoln
Eleva-Strum
Blair
Melrose-Mindoro
Gilmanton
Osseo-Fairchild
Independence
Whitehall
Taylor
Osseo-Fairchild left for membership in the Cloverbelt Conference after the first season of this alignment.[9] In 1989, Blair and Taylor merged to form Blair-Taylor High School, inheriting both predecessors' Dairyland membership in the process.[10][11] The Dairyland Conference also consolidated into a single division that year. Augusta's departure to the Cloverbelt Conference in 1990 would bring membership down to nine schools.[12]Luther High School in Onalaska entered the Dairyland Conference in 1991, bringing the roster back up to ten schools.[13] The next year, the conference reinstated the Large School/Small School divisional alignment:[14]
Large Schools
Small Schools
Blair-Taylor
Alma
Cochrane-Fountain City
Alma Center Lincoln
Luther
Eleva-Strum
Melrose-Mindoro
Gilmanton
Whitehall
Independence
Luther was voted out of the conference in 1996, with members citing issues with travel distances and competition level disparity.[15] Soon after Luther left the conference in 1997, they were invited to become members of the Coulee Conference.[16]
In 2006, Alma Center Lincoln and Eleva-Strum swapped divisions,[19] and in 2009, Alma High School entered into a cooperative agreement for most sports with nearby Pepin High School. The Pepin/Alma cooperative inherited Alma's place in the Dairyland Conference's Small Schools division.[20] Augusta reentered the Dairyland in 2014 and was added to the conference's Large Schools division.[21] Blair-Taylor and Eleva-Strum switched divisions in 2016,[22][23] with the latter making their return to the Large Schools division. Blair-Taylor returned to the Large Schools division in 2021,[24] with Alma Center Lincoln moving back to the Small Schools division.[25] Two years later, Independence and Gilmanton became a cooperative program and remained in the Small Schools division. Cochrane-Fountain City moved over to the Small Schools division to balance the alignment at five schools per division:[26]
Large Schools
Small Schools
Augusta
Alma Center Lincoln
Blair-Taylor
Cochrane-Fountain City
Eleva-Strum
Immanuel Lutheran
Melrose-Mindoro
Independence/Gilmanton
Whitehall
Pepin/Alma
In 2024, Osseo-Fairchild left the Cloverbelt Conference to rejoin the Dairyland, and they were placed in the Large Schools division.[27]
