The Fox River Valley Conference, or FRVC, is a former high school athletic conference in northeastern Wisconsin. Founded in 1923 and disbanding in 2007, the conference and its member schools were affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
Location of Original Fox River Valley Conference Members
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Location of Fox River Valley Conference Members (1968-1970)
The Fox River Valley Conference was established in 1923 by seven large high schools in northeastern Wisconsin: Appleton, Fond du Lac, Green Bay East, Green Bay West, Manitowoc, Oshkosh, and Sheboygan.[1][2] A year later, Marinette joined the conference and remain as its eighth member until 1936.[3] In 1938, Sheboygan renamed itself Sheboygan Central due to the upcoming 1939 opening of Sheboygan North. North joined the FRVC that year, bringing its membership back to eight. A minor change occurred in 1960 when Sheboygan Central (and its team name and records) changed its name to Sheboygan South due to the shift of population further from the center of Sheboygan. In 1964, Green Bay Southwest joined the conference followed by Green Bay Preble a year later, the latter having left the now-defunct NEW Conference after 1963.[4] This brought the FRVC membership up to 10 schools. Four years later in 1967, Appleton East incorporated and joined the conference, prompting Appleton to change its name to Appleton West. Nearby Neenah High School opened in 1968, and joined the conference that year, leading the FRVC to peak at 12 member schools.
Location of Final Fox River Valley Conference Members
A major conference realignment happened in 1970 when Appleton East, Appleton West, Oshkosh, and Neenah left the conference to join up with Kaukauna, Kimberly, and Menasha, forming the Fox Valley Association.[5][6] With the loss of four teams, the FRVC brought in Two Rivers, who would leave in 1977 to join the FVA.[5] The conference's schools remained the same until 1989, when Fond du Lac left the conference to join the Fox Valley Association for all sports except football, not leaving in full until the fall of 1993.[5] Notre Dame Academy moved over from the WISAA-affiliated Fox Valley Christian Conference, keeping membership at eight schools.[7] The FRVC ended at the conclusion of the 2006-07 school year, when the remaining schools joined Ashwaubenon, Bay Port, De Pere, and Pulaski to form the current Fox River Classic Conference.[8] Of the original seven charter members, the only ones that remained were Green Bay East, Green Bay West, Manitowoc, and Sheboygan (now Sheboygan South).
