Lakeland Conference

Last updated
Lakeland Conference
Lakeland Conference (Michigan) High School Sports League.jpg
Conference Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) [1] [ failed verification ]
Founded2022
No. of teams4 Class B, 1 Class C
RegionSouthwest Michigan

The Lakeland Conference is an athletic conference for high schools in southwest Michigan in the United States. Founded in 2022 with the inaugural season of play in 2022-2023, the conference is a reboot of the old Lakeland Athletic Conference to which it shares a similar geographic footprint, school membership and historic rivalries. [2] [3]

Contents

The league offers competition in nine boys' and eight girls' sports.

Boys

Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Tennis, Track and Field, Wrestling

Sports by school

SchoolBase­ballBasket­ballCross CountryFootballGolfSoccerTennisTrack & FieldWrest­ling
Benton HarborGreen check.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgRed x.svgRed x.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg
Berrien SpringsGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg
BuchananGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg
DowagiacGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg
Niles BrandywineGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg

Girls

Basketball, Competitive Cheerleading, Cross Country, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball

Sports by school

SchoolBasket­ballCompetitive CheerCross CountrySoccerSoftballTennisTrack & FieldVolleyball
Benton HarborGreen check.svgRed x.svgRed x.svgRed x.svgGreen check.svgRed x.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg
Berrien SpringsGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg
BuchananGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg
DowagiacGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg
Niles BrandywineGreen check.svgRed x.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svgGreen check.svg

Member schools

There are currently five member schools. The geographic footprint of the league includes Berrien and Cass counties in Michigan.

Current members

School data in the table below is current for the 2023-24 season according to the MHSAA website. [4]

SchoolLocationMascotColorsEnrollmentClassAffiliationJoinedPrevious Conference
Benton Harbor Benton Harbor TigersOrange & Black528BPublic2022Independent
Berrien Springs Berrien Springs ShamrocksGreen & White554BPublic2022 BCS League
Buchanan Buchanan BucksMaroon & White398BPublic2022 BCS League
Niles Brandywine Niles Township BobcatsMaroon & Gold348CPublic2022 BCS League
Dowagiac Dowagiac ChieftainsOrange & Black517BPublic2022 Wolverine Conference

Former members

SchoolLocationJoinedPrevious ConferenceDepartedSuccessive Conference
n/an/an/an/an/an/a

Membership Timeline

Lakeland Conference

Conference championships

Baseball

SeasonSchoolConference
Record
2023

Boys Basketball

SeasonSchoolConference
Record
2023Benton Harbor22-2 [5]

Girls Basketball

SeasonSchoolConference
Record
2023Buchanan8-0 [6]

Boys Cross Country

SeasonSchoolConference
Record
2022Berrien Springs [7] 4-0

Girls Cross Country

SeasonSchoolConference
Record
2022Buchanan [7] 4-0

Football

SeasonSchoolConference
Record
2022Buchanan [8] [9] 4-0

Boys Soccer

SeasonSchoolConference
Record
2022Dowagiac [10] 3-0

Girls Soccer

SeasonSchoolConference
Record
2023Berrien Springs [11] 4-0

Softball

SeasonSchoolConference
Record
2023Buchanan [12] 8-0

Volleyball

SeasonSchoolConference
Record
2022Buchanan [13] 4-0

Wrestling

SeasonSchoolConference
Record
2023Niles Brandywine5-0 [14]

State championships

Schools that have participated in MHSAA state championship finals while being members of the Lakeland Conference.

TBD
FinishYearSchoolDivision
n/an/an/an/a

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berrien County, Michigan</span> County in Michigan, United States

Berrien County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located at the southwest corner of the state's Lower Peninsula, located on the shore of Lake Michigan and sharing a land border with Indiana. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 154,316. The county seat is St. Joseph.

Detroit Catholic Central High School, commonly known as Catholic Central (CC), is a private, all-male college preparatory Catholic high school in Novi, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1928 in Detroit, Michigan by the Archdiocese of Detroit, the school is operated by the Congregation of St. Basil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Hill High School</span> Public high school in Saginaw, Michigan

Arthur Hill High School was a public high school in Saginaw, Michigan, United States. It served students in grades 9–12 as one of three high schools in the Saginaw Public School District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muskegon High School</span> High school in Muskegon, Michigan

Muskegon High School is a public high school located in Muskegon, Michigan, and was the first high school in Muskegon County, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marysville High School (Marysville, Michigan)</span>

Marysville High School is a public high school in Marysville, Michigan. The school building was constructed in 2010. The previous school, which stood one block west, was in service from 1942 until its demolition in 2010.

Detroit Collegiate Preparatory Academy at Northwestern is a public high school in Detroit, part of Detroit Public Schools, the re-named successor to Northwestern High School. The most recent enrollment figures for Northwestern indicate a student population of approximately 2,000.

The Lakeland Athletic Conference was a high school athletic conference created in 1980 and disbanded in 2014. Founding members were Buchanan Bucks, Berrien Springs Shamrocks, Brandywine Bobcats, Cassopolis Rangers, Edwardsburg Eddies, and River Valley Mustangs. Later, Dowagiac, Lakeshore, Lake Michigan Catholic were added before they all later departed.

The Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference is a high school athletic conference in Southwestern Michigan. It is composed of Class A schools from the MHSAA in Berrien, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, and Van Buren counties.

Berrien Springs High School is a public, magnet high school in Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States. It serves grades 9-12 for the Berrien Springs Public Schools.

Benton Harbor High School is a high school in Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States, and is part of the Benton Harbor Area Schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dexter High School (Michigan)</span> Public school in Dexter, Michigan, United States

Dexter High School (DHS) is a public high school located in Dexter, Michigan, serving grades 9-12. Melanie Nowak is the school's current principal. Dexter High School is one of only two schools in the United States with a dreadnaught as a mascot, the other being Lakeland Senior High School in Florida.

The Little Ten Conference is the oldest continuous high school athletic conference in the state of Illinois. Founded in 1919, it comprised the following small high schools in northern Illinois: Earlville, Hinckley, Leland, Paw Paw, Plano, Rollo, Sandwich, Shabbona, Somonauk, and Waterman. The conference is still in operation and currently consists of the following members: DePue, Earlville, Hinckley-Big Rock, Indian Creek, Kirkland Hiawatha, LaMoille, Leland, Newark, Serena, Somonauk, and the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA). Over the years, there have been a number of other area schools in the conference, including Malta.

Paw Paw High School is a public secondary school in Antwerp Township, Michigan, United States. It serves grades 9-12 for Paw Paw Public Schools.

Southeastern High School of Technology and Law is a public coeducational secondary school in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is operated by the Detroit Public Schools. DPS will resume control of Southeastern High in fall 2017.

Edwardsburg High School is a public high school, serving grades 9–12 in Edwardsburg, Michigan, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BCS League</span> Sports league

The Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph (BCS) League is an athletic conference for high schools in southwest Michigan. Founded in 2014 with the inaugural season of play in 2014-15, the conference aspired to grow into a Southwest Michigan "super conference" with membership extending across all MHSAA classes and organized into divisions of schools with similar enrollments. Periodic realignment of divisions allowed members to remain in competition with like-sized schools within the conference thereby avoiding the disruptive effects of conference switching due to changing enrollment. The conference had a unique scheduling philosophy that did not force members to play against conference opponents in different divisions and respected the freedom of members to schedule rivals and other willing conference opponents regardless of size or division.

Niles High School is a public high school located in Niles, Michigan. It is part of the Niles Community Schools district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buchanan High School (Michigan)</span> High school in Michigan, USA

Buchanan High School is a comprehensive public high school located in Buchanan, Michigan, United States. The school serves grades 8-12 and is part of the Buchanan Community Schools district. The school and the community it serves is named after James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States. Between 2012 and 2014, the school received local and national recognition for its student-led anti-bullying efforts and was named "Nicest School in America" in 2014 by Procter & Gamble as a part of its "Mean Stinks!" anti-bullying campaign. Since the class of 2017, all graduates residing within the school district are eligible for the Buchanan Promise scholarship which grants financial assistance towards the cost of attending a college, university or trade school. The amount was initially a maximum of $10,000 per graduate, but increased to a maximum of $15,000 per graduate beginning with the class of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolverine Conference</span> Sports league

The Wolverine "B" Conference is a high school athletic conference in southwestern Michigan. It is composed of 8 Class A and B schools from the MHSAA in Allegan, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and Van Buren counties. Current members include: Edwardsburg, Niles, Otsego, Paw Paw, Plainwell, Sturgis, Three Rivers and Vicksburg.

Brandywine Middle/Senior High School is a public high school in Niles Charter Township, Berrien County, Michigan, United States. It is part of the Brandywine Community Schools district.

References

  1. "About". Michigan High School Athletic Association.
  2. "New athletic conference gets the go-ahead from school boards". 17 December 2021.
  3. Walkden, Jack. "Dowagiac to leave Wolverine Conference". South Bend Tribune.
  4. https://www.mhsaa.com/sites/default/files/Enrollment%20and%20Classification/2324enroll.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  5. https://www.leaderpub.com/2023/02/19/benton-harbor-edges-brandywine-bobcat-girls-rout-tigers/ [ bare URL ]
  6. https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/sports/2023/02/03/michigan-high-school-girls-basketball-buchanan-beats-niles-brandywine-mhsaa-faith-carson/69868774007/ [ bare URL ]
  7. 1 2 Staff Report (October 23, 2022). "Buchanan, Berrien wins Lakeland crowns". Leader Publications.
  8. STAFF, HP. "High school football: Buchanan tops Benton Harbor, clinches Lakeland title". The Herald Palladium.
  9. Staff Report (October 15, 2022). "Roundup: Bucks win Lakeland Conference title; Bobcats fall to Shamrocks". Leader Publications.
  10. Novak, Scott (October 6, 2022). "UPDATED: Roundup: Dowagiac, Edwardsburg wins conference championships". Leader Publications.
  11. https://www.leaderpub.com/2023/05/05/roundup-chieftains-eddies-fall-in-conference-matches/ [ bare URL ]
  12. https://www.leaderpub.com/2023/05/05/roundup-bucks-win-lakeland-championship-baseball-falls-in-11-innings/ [ bare URL ]
  13. Novak, Scott (October 24, 2022). "Buchanan tops Dowagiac for Lakeland crown". Leader Publications.
  14. https://www.leaderpub.com/2023/02/06/roundup-bobcats-win-lakeland-title-eddies-have-pair-of-wolverine-champs/ [ bare URL ]