Nov. 12, 2025
VIROQUA, Wis. — The Viroqua Area School Board recently discussed a proposal to switch the district’s athletic conference, a move prompted by significant enrollment disparities in its current league that officials believe impact the student athletic experience.
Athletic Director Dan Brown presented the plan at the Oct. 20 regular monthly school board meeting, noting that the district is continuing to explore options to improve the overall student experience and community involvement around sports.
The central reason for seeking a change stems from competitive imbalance in the Viroqua Area Schools’ current league, the Coulee Conference.
“The largest school in the Coulee Conference as an enrollment twice of our size, and this leads to some pretty significant disparities of outcome,” Brown told the board, noting Viroqua currently has about 340 students.
The proposed alternative is to join the Southwest Conference, which Brown stated would be a “better fit”. He described the Southwest Conference as consisting predominantly of small rural Wisconsin towns with current enrollments similar to Viroqua’s, and projected to decline at a similar rate.
“The largest school in the Southwest Conference this year is about 470 students or so,” Brown explained, noting that after that school, almost all others are right around 400 students or less.
Brown also highlighted another competitive advantage for the Southwest Conference, noting “There’s also not any private schools in southwest which makes a material difference regard to competitive advantage”.
Brown noted that the conference switch being discussed applies to all sports aside from football. Football has a separate WIAA application process which is much more complicated, typically requiring a departing conference to find a replacement team.
The schools currently listed in the Southwest Conference include Platteville, Lancaster, River Valley, Richland Center, Prairie du Chien, and Dodgeville. The Athletic Director pointed out that Viroqua was previously part of the Southwest Conference years ago, prior to 1993.
Questions on Process and Approval
The discussion touched on the logistical process for conference realignment through the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA).
Board member Robert Nigh raised a question about the approval mechanism asking “Who makes the decision about yes or no?”.
Brown clarified that the decision rests with a WIAA subcommittee dedicated specifically to conference realignment.
The application window for conference realignment occurs every other year.
Timeline for Conference Switch
If the Viroqua Area School Board moves forward, the timeline for the non-football sports conference realignment is as follows:
- Application Submission: The district is considering filing its application with the WIAA by November 1.
- WIAA Decision: The Athletic Director estimated the WIAA realignment subcommittee would render a decision around their December meeting.
- Effective Date for Non-Football Sports: If approved, the move would become effective for the 2027-2028 school year.
- Football Consideration: The separate WIAA application cycle for football would be next year, affecting the 2028-2029 school year.
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