The Lake Michigan Conference traces it origins to the Great Northern Conference, which began play in 1990. The conference was split into four divisions, by geography and school size. The Lake Michigan Division consisted of Class C schools; East Jordan, Boyne City, Charlevoix, Elk Rapids, Kalkaska, Mancelona, Traverse City St. Francis and Harbor Springs. Kalkaska played in the Lake Huron Division for football only with: Lincoln-Alcona, Grayling, Whittemore-Prescott, Onaway and Rogers City.[1]
In 1993, Mancelona dropped to the smaller Ski-Valley for all sports. The Great Northern Conference dissolved in 1997, with most of the divisions retaining all their league memberships. The Lake Michigan Division, re-branded as the Lake Michigan Conference, with Kalkaska joining for football. The membership stayed the same until 2003, when Grayling, a former Lake Huron Division Rival of Kalkaska, left the Northeast Michigan Conference.[2] This gave the conference the 8 teams that it has today. In 2010, conference athletic directors voted to eliminate St. Francis from participating in football effective in 2012. Elk Rapids and Grayling agreed to continue their series, while St. Francis will play two other LMC teams on a three-year rotation. The LMC also extended an invitation to St. Ignace High School to join. On January 14, 2011, it was announced that St. Ignace would join the Ski-Valley Conference.
Following the 2013 season the LMC and the neighboring Northwest Conference merged for football only, creating the Northern Michigan Football League. The league was split into two divisions based on enrollment and competitiveness. The Leader division consisted of the larger and more accomplished programs including, St. Francis, Maple City-Glen Lake, Elk Rapids, Boyne City, Kingsley, Benzie Central and Grayling. The Legacy Division consisted of Frankfort, Charlevoix, Kalkaska, East Jordan, Suttons Bay and Harbor Springs. Mesick, an original member of the Northwest Conference, opted against joining the NMFL and instead joined the five schools of the Mid-State North Conference, creating the Northwestern Six Football League.
In 2023, amidst discussion of removing St. Francis from the conference for competitive balancing purposes, or Kalkaska possibly leaving the conference,[3] East Jordan announced it would be joining the Ski-Valley Conference, citing its low enrollment being better suited amongst the smaller schools of the Ski-Valley.[4] In April 2023 the Northern Shores Conference was announced, with Boyne City, Charlevoix, Elk Rapids, Grayling, Harbor Springs, and Kalkaska leaving the Lake Michigan Conference to form this new league with Cheboygan from the Straits Area Conference and Kingsley from the Northwest Conference.[5][6][7]
Members
Full member institutions include: Departing Members are highlighted in pink.
St. Francis and Elk Rapids were a co-op for their 2014,2016 & 2017 championships. Great North Alpine was a co-op between St. Francis, Elk Rapids, Central Lake and Grand Traverse Academy.
Boyne City: boys track and field, 1957,1958; girls skiing, 2007 (3)
Charlevoix: boys cross country 1982,1983,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991 (7)
East Jordan: boys tennis 1955; boys cross country, 1998,2000 (3)
Elk Rapids: boys soccer, 1997–98; girls skiing, 2016; boys skiing, 2019 (4)
Grayling: boys basketball, 1917 (1)
Harbor Springs: boys basketball, 1929; boys cross country, 2002,2003,2004; girls cross country, 2008,2009; boys skiing, 1996,2003,2005–06,2010; girls skiing, 1987,1988,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2012; girls track 2015; girls golf 2017,2018 (22)
Kalkaska: Boys Basketball, 1916 (1)
Traverse City St. Francis: baseball, 1990; boys bowling, 2004; girls cross country, 2003,2015,2016,2022; football, 1992,1999,2003,2005,2008,2009; boys golf, 2004,2008; girls skiing, 2005, 2016; boys skiing, 2019; girls track and field 2013, boys tennis 2021 (19)
Athletes who participated In NCAA Division I athletics
Grand Traverse County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,238, making it the largest county in Northern Michigan. Its county seat is Traverse City. The county is part of the Traverse City metropolitan area, which also includes neighboring Benzie, Kalkaska, and Leelanau counties.
Charlevoix County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. The county seat is Charlevoix, and the largest city is Boyne City. Located in the Northern Lower Peninsula, Charlevoix County is bisected by Lake Charlevoix, Michigan's third largest inland lake. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 26,054.
Antrim County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,431. The county seat is Bellaire. The name is taken from County Antrim in Northern Ireland.
Charlevoix is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Charlevoix County. Part of Northern Michigan, Charlevoix is located on an isthmus between Lake Michigan and Lake Charlevoix, bisected by the short Pine River. Charlevoix serves as the main access point for Beaver Island, the largest island in Lake Michigan, which can be accessed by Island Airways or carferry. The population of Charlevoix was 2,348 at the 2020 census. Charlevoix is mostly surrounded by Charlevoix Township, but the two are administered autonomously.
Petoskey is the largest city and the county seat of Emmet County, Michigan, and is the largest settlement within the county. Petoskey has a population of 5,877 at the 2020 census, up from 5,670 at the 2010 census.
Kalkaska is a village in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 2,132 at the 2020 census, an increase from 2,020 at the 2010 census.
Kalkaska Township is a civil township of Kalkaska County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,895 at the 2020 census. The township contains the village of Kalkaska, which serves as the county seat. The western half of the township was formerly a separate township, known as Wilson Township.
Acme is an unincorporated community in Grand Traverse County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located on the shore of the East Arm of Grand Traverse Bay, located within Acme Township. It is part of the urban area of Traverse City. Acme is home to the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa.
Williamsburg is an unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Michigan. The community is located in Whitewater Township, Grand Traverse County. The community is home to Turtle Creek Casino and Hotel.
Northern Michigan, also known as Northern Lower Michigan, is a region of the U.S. state of Michigan. A popular tourist destination, it is home to several small- to medium-sized cities, extensive state and national forests, lakes and rivers, and a large portion of Great Lakes shoreline. The region has a significant seasonal population much like other regions that depend on tourism as their main industry. Northern Lower Michigan is distinct from the more northerly Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale, which are also located in "northern" Michigan. In the northernmost 21 counties in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, the total population of the region is 506,658 people.
Munson Medical Center (MMC) is a 442-bed regional referral hospital in Traverse City, Michigan Its primary service area includes Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau counties.
Elk Rapids High School is a public high school located in Elk Rapids, Michigan. It serves grades 9-12 for the Elk Rapids School District.
Area code 231 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the northwestern portion of the Lower Peninsula in the U.S. state of Michigan,
St. Francis High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Traverse City, Michigan. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gaylord.
The Northwest Educational Services is a coordinating School District in Michigan, USA.
The Northern Michigan Football League is an interscholastic athletic conference affiliated with the Michigan High School Athletic Association. It is located in Northern Michigan and contains seveenteen teams that encompasses fourteen counties: Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Chippewa, Crawford, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Iosco, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Mackinac, Ogemaw and Otsego.
The Northern Shores Conference (NSC) is an interscholastic athletic conference affiliated with the Michigan High School Athletic Association. It began play during the 2024–2025 school year. It is located in Northern Michigan and contains eight teams that encompasses seven counties: Antrim County, Charlevoix County, Cheboygan County, Crawford County, Emmet County, Grand Traverse County, and Kalkaska County.
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