The Tri-County League began in 1923 as an oratorical and forensics conference between five small high schools in south central Wisconsin: Arena, Black Earth, Mazomanie, Prairie du Sac and Sauk City.
[1] These five schools were concentrated in the lower Wisconsin River Valley across three counties: Dane, Iowa and Sauk.
The loop began sponsorship of athletic competition in 1926,[2] and in 1928 added two new members: Spring Green and Waunakee.
Over the next decade, consolidation of rural school districts in south central Wisconsin hit Tri-County League membership hard, leading to its eventual demise.
Because of the decline in member schools, the Tri-County League merged with the Madison Suburban Conference, with all six schools (Lodi, Poynette, River Valley, Verona, Waunakee, and Wisconsin Heights) comprising the Western Section of the conference.