In early August 1982, a scant two months before the Milwaukee Brewers would advance to their first and only World Series appearance, a hockey aficionado from southeastern Wisconsin was waging a letter writing campaign to the WIAA in order to sponsor a high school hockey tournament.
That letter writer was Mike Cowan, then of the Hockey Exchange, "Wisconsin's Exchange of Hockey Information." The newsletter was the forerunner of George Baumann's "High School Hockey Report," which preceded Wisconsin Prep Hockey as the publication that Wisconsin high school hockey fans would go to get their 'hockey fix.'
That first tournament would be held in March just after the state tournament, and would feature six teams. Four teams would be selected from try-outs, plus one team from WAHA and one from the private schools, which at that time were not part of the WIAA group.
Cowan corresponded with then-WIAA Associate Director Matt Otte, attempting to sell his idea to the athletic organization. The WIAA was initially hesitant, indicating that the 'tournament [would] not be well-received by some people.'
Who those 'people' were was never expounded upon, but due to Cowan's persistence, the two parties were able to come to an agreement and the Senior Class Tournament became a reality in March 1983.
The opening game of the SCT took place on Friday, March 18 and featured the Madison sectional team taking on the squad from WAHA, who won 8-2.
The inaugural champion was the private school team, who defeated the Northwest sectional team 9-4.
Then-Stevens Point Pacelli coach Jack Stoskopf guided the private school team to victory. The list of coaches from that first tournament include some remarkable names: Pete Susens, Steve Freeman, Steve Kirley, Gary Harker, Vic Levine, Joe Baldarotta, and current University of Denver head coach George Gwozdecky.
The format was expanded to eight teams in 1994, but the current format of teams being chosen by section did not occur until 1997.
The Waupun Community Center has been home to the tournament since the beginning.
This year, 40+ players will be invited to a try-out camp in Wisconsin Rapids and from that group, 20 players will be selected to represent Team Wisconsin in the Minnesota CCM tournament that will be held in mid-April in Plymouth, MN.
championship game results
| Year | Champion | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Private Schools 9 | Northwest 4 |
| 1984 | Madison Section 6 | Private Schools 5 |
| 1985 | Madison Section 4 | Private Schools 3 (ot) |
| 1986 | WAHA 5 | Janesville Section 1 |
| 1987 | Private Schools 7 | North Central 5 |
| 1988 | Northwest 4 | Janesville Section 3 (ot) |
| 1989 | North Central 4 | Private Schools 3 |
| 1990 | Private Schools 8 | North Central 4 |
| 1991 | Madison Section 9 | Private Schools 6 |
| 1992 | Private Schools 4 | Janesville Section 2 |
| 1993 | Northwest 6 | WAHA 2 |
| 1994 | Big Eight 7 | Fox Valley 0 |
| 1995 | Big Eight 6 | Private Schools 3 |
| 1996 | Northwest 5 | Badgerland 2 |
| 1997 | Section Five 2 | Section Six 1 (ot) |
| 1998 | Section Five 4 | Section Eight 3 |
| 1999 | Section Two 4 | Section Seven 3 (ot) |
| 2000 | Section One 6 | Section Three 5 (ot) |
| 2001 | Section Five 4 | Section Seven 2 |
| 2002 | Section Three 3 | Section Five 2 (ot) |
| 2003 | Section Seven 5 | Section One 1 |
| 2004 | Section One 5 | Section Two 1 |
| 2005 | Section Eight 6 | Section One 4 |
| 2006 | Section Two 5 | Section Eight 2 |
| 2007 | Section Four 6 | Section Five 2 |
| 2008 | Section Two 3 | Section Eight 2 |
| 2009 | Section Three 6 | Section Eight 3 |
| 2010 | Section Seven 5 | Section One 2 |
| 2011 | Section Eight 7 | Section One 2 |
