Timeline
| Sport | Football, baseball, basketball, golf, soccer, swimming, volleyball, wrestling |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1968 |
| Ceased | 2012 |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Country | United States |
The Big Nine Conference, formerly the Big Eight Conference, was a high school sports conference in Genesee County, Michigan, that ended with four high schools in 2012.
Formed in 1960 as the Big Eight Conference, the conference became the Big Nine Conference in 1962 with the addition of Mt. Morris High School. Ainsworth High School left in 1968, and Mt. Morris left in 1972. Powers Catholic High School joined in 1974. In 1976, Carman High School and Swartz Creek High School were added from the Flint Metro League, giving the conference its peak membership of 10. [1] Due to the collegiate Big Ten Conference, the conference's name remained the Big Nine Conference.
Membership in the Big Nine remained stable for the next 21 years, with only the newly merged Carman-Ainsworth taking Carman's place in the conference in 1986. Owosso High School left in 1997 for the Mid-Michigan Athletic Conference - A. [2] Beecher left the league after the 2002 season. [1] In 2003, the Owosso Trojans returned to the league after the Mid-Michigan Athletic Conference - A dispersed. [2]
Clio in 2005 and Swartz Creek in 2006 moved to the Flint Metro League as the conference was perceived as being overpowering to those schools. [3]
In 2006, the entire Big Nine Conference and Flint Northwestern applied for membership in the Flint Metro League to encourage discussion on a merger. As a result of that and Kearsley's interest back in 2005–2006, a membership invitation was extended to Kearsley. [4] In 2007, Owosso left for the Capital Area Activities Conference - Red. [2]
Grand Blanc Schools moved to the Kensington Lakes Activities Association starting in the 2009–2010 season. [5] In August 2011, the remaining Big Nine members applied together to join the Saginaw Valley League and were accepted to join starting in the 2012–2013 school year, forming Saginaw Valley's southern division with the other Flint City District High Schools. [6]
The conference had 13 different members over the course of its history. [1] [7] Of the 11 existing former members, four are in the Flint Metro League, three are in the Saginaw Valley League, two are in the Genesee Area Conference, one is in the Kensington Lakes Activities Association, and one is in the Capital Area Activities Conference.
Genesee County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 406,211, making it the fifth-most populous county in Michigan. The county seat and population center is Flint. Genesee County consists of 33 cities, townships, and villages. It is considered to be a part of the greater Mid Michigan area.
The Charter Township of Flint, also known as Flint Township, is a charter township of Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 31,447 at the 2020 census. The City of Flint is adjacent to the township, but the two are administered autonomously.
Swartz Creek is a city in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,897 at the 2020 census. The city is a suburb of Flint and has incorporated land formerly within Flint Charter Township, Gaines Township, and Clayton Township, but is administratively autonomous from all three.
Jake Edward Long is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, twice earning consensus All-American honors. Long was selected with the first overall pick by the Miami Dolphins in the 2008 NFL draft. He also played for the St. Louis Rams, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings.
The Flint River is a 78.3-mile-long (126.0 km) river in the Flint/Tri-Cities region of Michigan in the United States. The river's headwaters are in Columbiaville in Lapeer County and flows through the counties of Lapeer, Genesee, and Saginaw. The cities of Lapeer, Flint, Flushing, and Montrose are along its course.
Carman-Ainsworth High School is a high school in Flint Township, Michigan, United States. It is the only high school in the Carman-Ainsworth Community School district.
Fenton High School is a public high school located in Fenton, Michigan, United States. In 2008 the school received International Baccalaureate (IB) Authorization. The high school has over 1,200 students.
Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools is a Michigan public school district teaching kindergarten through 12th grade. The district covers parts of Flint Township, Flint (minor), Mundy Township and Burton.
Swartz Creek Community School District is a public school district in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan and in the Genesee Intermediate School District. The School District serves the City of Swartz Creek, parts of Flint, Flint Charter Township, Gaines Township, Clayton Township, Argentine Township and Village of Lennon even over into Shiawassee County.
The Kensington Lakes Activities Association (KLAA) is an athletic conference for high schools in Michigan. It was formed in the 2008-2009 school year as a result of the merger of the Kensington Valley Conference and the Western Lakes Activities Association, plus two other schools joining from the Oakland Activities Association and the newly built South Lyon East. The league started in 2008 with 23 teams. Howell Parker was to join the KLAA when the conference was first created, but closed after only one year of operation and later re-opened as a middle school. Grand Blanc joined in 2009 to give the league 24 teams.
The Saginaw Valley High School Association is a high school sports league formed in 1904 within the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), located in the Bay, Genesee, Isabella, Lapeer, Midland, and Saginaw counties in Michigan area.
Flint Metro League (FML) is a high school sports league in the Flint area of Michigan. It is composed of twelve high schools.
Oakland Activities Association is a Southeast Michigan high school athletics conference. It is made up of 23 schools located largely throughout Oakland County, with a single member located in Wayne County
Grand Blanc Community Schools, or Grand Blanc School District, is a school district that serves the city of Grand Blanc, most of Grand Blanc Township, parts of the City of Burton, Mundy Township, and Atlas Township in Genesee County, Michigan, and a part of Holly Township, Michigan in Oakland County, Michigan.
The Genesee County B League was a high school sport league in Genesee County Michigan that operated in the mid to late 20th century.
Genesee Intermediate School District is an Intermediate school district in Michigan serving the school districts that primarily lie within Genesee County.
Clio Area School District is a public school district in Genesee County in the U.S. state of Michigan and in the Genesee Intermediate School District. The district includes all of the city of Clio; the majorities of Vienna Township, and Thetford Township; and parts of Mount Morris Township, and Montrose Township, Michigan.
The Genesee Area Conference (GAC) is a high school athletic conference in Genesee County, Michigan. It was original called the Genesee Eight Athletic Conference. Since 2002, the GAC operates with two divisions: Blue and Red. In 2019, all members of the red division left to join the Flint Metro League conference, leaving the GAC with only four teams.
Water and Woods Field Service Council was a field service council of the Michigan Crossroads Council that served youth in the central and northeastern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The Council was headquartered in Flint, Michigan, with service centers located in Auburn, Lansing, and Port Huron. The Water and Woods Field Service Council was the result of a merger in 2012 of Lake Huron Area Council, Blue Water Council, Tall Pine Council and Chief Okemos Council.