The Big East Conference is a high school athletic conference comprising small high schools in east central Wisconsin. Formed in 2015, all members are affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
The Big East Conference was formed in 2015 from the merger of two previously established conferences for small high schools in east central Wisconsin. Nine schools in the Central Lakeshore Conference (Cedar Grove-Belgium, Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, Howards Grove, Kohler, Oostburg, Ozaukee, Random Lake, Sheboygan Christian and Sheboygan Lutheran) joined with five smallest schools in the former Olympian Conference (Hilbert, Manitowoc Lutheran, Mishicot, Reedsville and St. Mary Catholic) to form the current fourteen-member circuit. For most sports, the Big East Conference is subdivided into North and South Divisions:
The Big East Conference's initial football lineup featured two cooperative programs due to the small size of its member schools. Hilbert and Stockbridge joined forces for football until the 2017 season, and three programs (Kohler, Sheboygan Christian and Sheboygan Lutheran) combined to form KLC Football. The only full member to have never participated in football is Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, who has sponsored eight-player football since 2012. When St. Mary Catholic entered into a cooperative with Valley Christian in Oshkosh in 2017, they transitioned into eight-player football and left the conference the year after.
In February 2019, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association, the WIAA released a sweeping football-only realignment for Wisconsin to commence with the 2020 football season and run on a two-year cycle. The Big East Conference lost two of its ten football members to realignment: KLC to the Eastern Wisconsin Conference and Mishicot to the Packerland Conference . The eight remaining schools (Cedar Grove-Belgium, Hilbert, Howards Grove, Manitowoc Lutheran, Oostburg, Ozaukee, Random Lake and Reedsville) continued on and maintained this alignment through the 2022-2023 realignment cycle. In 2024, Ozaukee and Random Lake entered into a cooperative agreement to run a joint football program, leaving the Big East Conference with seven football-playing members. That number will increase back to eight for the 2026-2027 cycle, with full members Mishicot rejoining from the Packerland Conference.