Mississippi Valley Conference (Wisconsin)

Mississippi Valley Conference
(MVC)
Established 1989
Association WIAA
Division Division 1
Members 7
Sports fielded 19 (men's: 10; women's: 9)
Region La Crosse Metropolitan
Headquarters La Crosse, Wisconsin
Commissioner Ryan Gannon
Website http://www.gomvc.org/

The Mississippi Valley Conference (MVC) is a high school athletic conference in southwest Wisconsin. All MVC schools are members of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA), and are located in the La Crosse, Wisconsin metropolitan area.

History

The MVC was formed in 1989. To accommodate for the growing attendance in schools in traditional rural-based conferences, and to accommodate for travel purposes, the MVC was formed originally by taking teams from three established conferences. Holmen and Onalaska were taken from the Coulee Conference, Tomah and Sparta from the South Central Conference, and La Crosse Central and La Crosse Logan from the Big Rivers Conference.

Shortly after, in 1997, La Crosse Aquinas joined from the Central Wisconsin Catholic Conference of the Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association, a private school athletic league, to become the seventh member.

Beginning in 2014, West Salem will compete in the Mississippi Valley Conference for football only. They remain in the Coulee Conference for all other sports.

Sports

The MVC sponsors 19 varsity sports. They are:

Schools

Institution Location Year Joined Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors
Aquinas La Crosse, WI 1997 Private (Catholic) 338 Blugolds Blue and Gold
Holmen Holmen, WI 1989 Public 1,160 Vikings Maroon and White
Central La Crosse, WI 1989 Public 1,111 Red Raiders Red and Black
Logan La Crosse, WI 1989 Public 869 Rangers Red and White
Onalaska Onalaska, WI 1989 Public 866 Hilltoppers Purple and White
Sparta Sparta, WI 1989 Public 704 Spartans Red and Gold
Tomah Tomah, WI 1989 Public 979 Timberwolves Gold and White

Affiliated Members

Institution Location Year Joined Affiliation Enrollment Mascot Colors Participating Sports
West Salem West Salem, WI 2014 Public 535 Panthers Black and Orange Football

[1]

All Sports

Nineteen varsity sports count towards the Mississippi Valley Conference "All Sports Award." Points are awarded based on a team's finish in a given sport (seven for the conference championship, six for second place and so on to one point for the seventh-place finisher). At the completion of each sport season (fall, winter and spring), updated standings are posted on the league's Web site, and at the end of the school year, the school with the most points is declared the winner of the "All Sports Award." [1]

Rivalries

The Mississippi Valley Conference has a number of intense rivalries, both based on proximity, and performance.

City

Other Main Rivalries

Additionally to these main rivalries, many other rivalries have developed based on different sports and success. In the early 2000s, Holmen and Aquinas had fierce competitions in boys basketball in which tickets were sold out days after going on sale. Additionally, in the early 1990s, Onalaska Vs. Central was a heated matchup in Boys Basketball. In wrestling, Holmen Vs. Sparta and Holmen Vs. Tomah have come and gone. In Ice Hockey, Onalaska and Aquinas/Holmen/G-E-T/C-FC hold a battle for the Omni Center rivalry, as both teams play in the same venue.

Many non-conference rivalries are also in the MVC. Onalaska Vs. West Salem, Logan and Central Vs. Eau Claire Memorial and North, Tomah Vs. Black River Falls, and Holmen Vs. G-E-T are all annual football games. Aquinas maintains matchups with old conference members from their WISAA days.

Rivalry Week

In many different sports, particularly but not limited to football basketball and wrestling, the three big rivalries will frequently be played on the same days, coining the phrase Rivalry Week in football and Rivalry Night in other sports. These rivalries are Central Vs. Logan, Holmen Vs. Onalaska, and Sparta Vs. Tomah. Occasionally, Aquinas will be inserted into a city match up or against Holmen or Onalaska on a Rivalry Night.

References

External links

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