There will be some new names in the conference, but whether the conference itself will have a new name is still to be determined.
Under the plan put forth by the conference realignment task force and initially approved by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Board of Control, the 8-player football conference known as the Lakeland West will expand to seven teams for the 2024-25 school year. Whether it will go forward as the Lakeland West, North Central West, or another name will be decided by those schools competing in it.
According to WIAA, it is confirmed that Prairie Farm and New Auburn are joining the conference for the 2024 season while Shell Lake is departing.
“Shell Lake is a good team, but Prairie Farm is good too, so we’ll still remain one of the top conferences in the state,” Siren football coach Ryan Karsten said. “We’ll still have a lot of high-quality teams.”
And as Luck coach Matt Dunlap points out, the conference loss of Shell Lake doesn’t eliminate it as a potential opponent.
“Prairie Farm is traditionally one of the best 8-player teams around but losing Shell Lake is definitely losing talent and it’s one of the best-coached teams I’ve coached against,” Dunlap said. “They’ll be successful anywhere they play and if we get to the playoffs, we’ll still have to go through them.”
The conference – listed as the North Central West in the task force’s proposal – consists of Clayton, Frederic, Luck, New Auburn, Prairie Farm, Siren and Valley Christian. Starting with the 2024 season, the North Central West would have a mandatory crossover seventh regular-season game with an opponent from the North Central East, which consists of Alma Center Lincoln, Cornell, Gilman, Lake Holcombe, McDonell Catholic, Owen-Withee and Thorp.
“With the crossover, we’ll get to play some of those teams that are the higher-quality 8-player teams, instead of playing Washburn, Mellen or South Shore,” Karsten said. “It’s better for us to play better conference teams.”
But whether the conference will remain the Lakeland West isn’t determined by the task force or WIAA. Todd Clark, WIAA’s director of communications, said conference names listed on the initial realignment plan are for unofficial purposes and that the conference commissioners and the athletic directors determine whether their conference name changes or remains the same.
“It’s not necessarily true (that the Lakeland West will be changed to the North Central West),” Clark said. “(WIAA) goes with whatever the conferences want to be named.”
Frederic coach Andrew Erickson said he’s indifferent to any potential name change but is more focused on the quality of play in the conference.
“I grew up in St. Croix Falls and we were part of the original Lakeland (conference) and then moved to the Heart O’ North and it has changed so many times since I’ve graduated,” Erickson said. “I don’t have an opinion on that. There is great football to be played and I’m excited to get into conference play a little bit quicker.”
The task force will present its realignment plans for both 8-player and 11-player football to WIAA’s board of control for final consideration on April 25.
