Founded in 1979, its members are small schools concentrated in the southern part of the state's Driftless Area.
All conference members belong to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
The Ridge & Valley Conference was formed in 1979 when the larger Scenic Central Conference split into two smaller conferences from its existing Northern and Southern divisions.
[1] All seven schools in the Northern Division (De Soto, Ithaca, Kickapoo, La Farge, North Crawford, Seneca and Wauzeka-Steuben) plus Weston from the Southern Division formed the Ridge & Valley Conference's membership roster.
[2] Membership has not experienced any changes over the history of the conference.