Cascade Conference (MHSAA)

Last updated
Cascades Conference
Conference Michigan High School Athletic Association
Founded1954
Sports fielded
  • 8
No. of teams12
Region Jackson County
Official website Cascades Conference

The Cascade Conference is a Michigan high school athletic conference that was formed prior to the 1954 school year. The conference includes mostly Class C schools and one Class B school with the majority of its members being from Jackson County along with one member each from Calhoun, Hillsdale, Ingham, Lenawee, and Washtenaw counties.

Contents

History

Formation

The Cascades Conference was formed in 1954 with ten schools from the Jackson County League. The original members were: Brooklyn, Concord, East Jackson, Grass Lake, Hanover-Horton, Jackson Vandercook Lake, Michigan Center, Napoleon, Parma and Springport high schools.

Red and Blue

With the growth of suburbs, some Cascades Conference schools grew more rapidly than others. This led to the creation of the Red and Blue divisions. Between 1983 and 1996, four schools were listed as Cascades-Red Members: Jackson Lumen Christi, Jackson Northwest, Parma Jackson County Western and Brooklyn Columbia Central. In 1996, Jackson Northwest and Jackson Lumen Christi left the Cascades Red for the Capital-Circuit Conference. [1] Brooklyn Columbia Central left the Cascades Red after 1995 and competed as an independent for two years, before joining the Lenawee County Conference at the start of the 1997 school year. [2] Parma Jackson County Western left the Cascades Red after the 1995 school year and joined the Twin Valley Conference. [3]

Expansion

In 2022, the Cascades Conference was looking to expand from eight to twelve schools for the 2022–23 school year. On June 13, Brooklyn Columbia Central of the Lenawee County Athletic Association accepted their invite to join the Cascades, which they were previously a member of from 1968 to 1996. A little over a week later, Leslie, a member of the Greater Lansing Athletic Conference accepted their invitation as well. Within a few weeks after Columbia Central and Leslie joined, two Big "8" members, Jonesville and Homer accepted their invitations to join the conference as well. All four schools will be joining the conference for the 2022–23 school year. [4]

With the Cascades Conference expanding to twelve teams, the conference decided to split the league into two geographical divisions (East and West). [5]

Cascades Conference Divisions
EastWest
East Jackson Addison
Grass Lake Columbia Central
Leslie Hanover-Horton
ManchesterHomer
Michigan Center Jonesville
Napoleon Vandercook Lake

Member schools

Current members

The following institutions are full members of the Cascade Conference for the 2022–23 school year:

School NameLocationNicknameClassEnrollmentJoinedColorsPrevious Conference
Addison Addison, Lenawee County PanthersC2291988  Lenawee County Athletic Association
Brooklyn Columbia Central [lower-alpha 1] Columbia Township, Jackson County Golden EaglesB4101968
2023		  Lakeland "C" Conference
Lenawee County Athletic Association
East Jackson Jackson, Jackson County TrojansC2291954  Jackson County League
Grass Lake Grass Lake, Jackson County WarriorsC3541954 [lower-alpha 2]
1976		  Jackson County League
Southern Central Athletic Association
Hanover-Horton Horton, Jackson County CometsC2971954 [lower-alpha 3]
1960 (football) [lower-alpha 4]
1976		  Jackson County League
Independent
Southern Central Athletic Association
Homer Homer, Calhoun County TrojansC2772023   Big "8" Conference
Jonesville Jonesville, Hillsdale County CometsC3422023   Big "8" Conference
Leslie Leslie, Ingham County Black HawksC3322023   Greater Lansing Athletic Conference
Manchester Manchester, Washtenaw County Flying DutchmenC2811983  Lenawee County Athletic Association
Michigan Center Michigan Center, Jackson County CardinalsC3741954   Jackson County League
Napoleon Napoleon, Jackson County PiratesC3581954  Jackson County League
Vandercook Lake [lower-alpha 5] Jackson, Jackson County JayhawksC1941954  Jackson County League
Notes
  1. ↑ Columbia Central left the conference to join the Lenawee County Athletic Association in 1996.
  2. ↑ Grass Lake left the conference in 1964 to join the Lakeland "C" Conference.
  3. ↑ Hanover-Horton left the conference in 1965 to join the Mid-Southern Conference.
  4. ↑ Hanover-Horton did not start a football team until 1959.
  5. ↑ Vandercook Lake moved to 8-man football in 2020 and became a member of the Tri-River 8-man Football League in 2021. However, Vandercook Lake still remains a member of the Cascades in all other sports.

Former members

School NameLocationNicknameJoinedPrevious ConferenceLeftSuccessive ConferenceCurrent Conference
Brooklyn Brooklyn, Jackson County Golden Eagles1954Jackson County League1960Mid-Southern ConferenceClosed in 1967 [lower-alpha 1]
Concord Concord, Jackson County Yellowjackets1954Jackson County League1973 Big "8" Conference
Jackson Lumen Christi Summit Township, Jackson County Titans1983
1991 (football)		Independent1996Capital Circuit League Interstate 8 Conference [lower-alpha 2]
Jackson Northwest Blackman Charter Township, Jackson County Mounties1960
1983		Independent
Twin Valley Athletic Association		1976
1996		Independent
Capital Circuit League		 Interstate 8 Conference
Parma Parma, Jackson County Panthers1954Jackson County League1961Closed in 1961 [lower-alpha 3]
Parma Jackson County Western [lower-alpha 4] Spring Arbor Township, Jackson County Panthers1961
1983		New school [lower-alpha 3]
Southeastern Conference 		1976
1996		Independent
Twin Valley Athletic Association		 Interstate 8 Conference
Springport Springport, Jackson County Spartans1954Jackson County League1963Independent (football) [lower-alpha 5]
Cereal Center Conference		 Big "8" Conference
Notes
  1. ↑ Brooklyn and Cement City consolidated to form Columbia Central.
  2. ↑ Lumen Christi will be leaving the Interstate 8 to join the Catholic High School League (CHSL) for the 2023-24 school year.
  3. 1 2 Parma and Spring Arbor consolidated to form Jackson County Western.
  4. ↑ Also known as Parma Western
  5. ↑ Springport joined the Cereal Center Conference for football in 1964.

Membership timeline

Addison Community SchoolsLumen Christi Catholic High SchoolColumbia Central High School (Brooklyn, Michigan)Western High School (Parma, Michigan)Northwest High School (Michigan)Vandercook Lake High SchoolSpringport High SchoolNapoleon High School (Michigan)Michigan Center High SchoolHanover-Horton High SchoolGrass Lake High SchoolEast Jackson Secondary SchoolConcord High School (Michigan)Cascade Conference (MHSAA)

Full MembersFull Members (Blue Division)Full Members (Red Division)Full members (non-football)Non-football members (Red Division)Other Conference

Notes

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    References

    1. ↑ "Jackson Northwest Mounties All-Time Michigan High School Football Scores". Michigan-football.com. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
    2. ↑ "Brooklyn Columbia Central Golden Eagles All-Time Michigan High School Football Scores". Michigan-football.com. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
    3. ↑ "Parma Jackson County Western Panthers All-Time Michigan High School Football Scores". Michigan-football.com. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
    4. ↑ Ingles, Eric (July 11, 2022). "New era on the horizon for Cascades Conference". MLive. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
    5. ↑ Donnelly, Doug (September 1, 2022). "Cascades Conference to divide in 2023-24". The Daily Telegram. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
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