Lakeland Conference

Lakeland Conference

Conference	Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) [1] [ failed verification ]
Founded	2022
No. of teams	4 Class B, 1 Class C
Region	Southwest 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]}

Sponsored sports

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

School	Base­ball	Basket­ball	Cross Country	Football	Golf	Soccer	Tennis	Track & Field	Wrest­ling
Benton Harbor	Y	Y	N	Y	N	N	N	Y	Y
Berrien Springs	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Buchanan	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Dowagiac	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Niles Brandywine	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

Girls

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

Sports by school

School	Basket­ball	Competitive Cheer	Cross Country	Soccer	Softball	Tennis	Track & Field	Volleyball
Benton Harbor	Y	N	N	N	Y	N	Y	Y
Berrien Springs	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Buchanan	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Dowagiac	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Niles Brandywine	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y

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]

School	Location	Mascot	Colors	Enrollment	Class	Affiliation	Joined	Previous Conference
Benton Harbor	Benton Harbor	Tigers	Orange & Black	528	B	Public	2022	Independent
Berrien Springs	Berrien Springs	Shamrocks	Green & White	554	B	Public	2022	BCS League
Buchanan	Buchanan	Bucks	Maroon & White	398	B	Public	2022	BCS League
Niles Brandywine	Niles Township	Bobcats	Maroon & Gold	348	C	Public	2022	BCS League
Dowagiac	Dowagiac	Chieftains	Orange & Black	517	B	Public	2022	Wolverine Conference

Former members

School	Location	Joined	Previous Conference	Departed	Successive Conference
n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

Membership Timeline

Conference championships

Baseball

Season	School	Conference Record
2023

Boys Basketball

Season	School	Conference Record
2023	Benton Harbor	22-2 [5]

Girls Basketball

Season	School	Conference Record
2023	Buchanan	8-0 [6]

Boys Cross Country

Season	School	Conference Record
2022	Berrien Springs [7]	4-0

Girls Cross Country

Season	School	Conference Record
2022	Buchanan [7]	4-0

Football

Season	School	Conference Record
2022	Buchanan [8] [9]	4-0

Boys Soccer

Season	School	Conference Record
2022	Dowagiac [10]	3-0

Girls Soccer

Season	School	Conference Record
2023	Berrien Springs [11]	4-0

Softball

Season	School	Conference Record
2023	Buchanan [12]	8-0

Volleyball

Season	School	Conference Record
2022	Buchanan [13]	4-0

Wrestling

Season	School	Conference Record
2023	Niles Brandywine	5-0 [14]

State championships

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

TBD
Finish	Year	School	Division
n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a

References

1. "About". Michigan High School Athletic Association.
2. "New athletic conference gets the go-ahead from school boards". December 17, 2021.
3. Walkden, Jack. "Dowagiac to leave Wolverine Conference". South Bend Tribune.
4. "2023-24 MHSAA Enrollment List. Procedures for determining classification are outlined on pages 104 - 105 of the MHSAA Handbook" (PDF). www.mhsaa.com. Retrieved March 18, 2025.
5. "Benton Harbor edges Brandywine; Bobcat girls rout Tigers". February 19, 2023.
6. "Faith Carson carries No. 7 Buchanan girls past No. 9 Brandywine Thursday night".
7. 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. "Roundup: Chieftains, Eddies fall in conference matches". May 5, 2023.
12. "Roundup: Bucks win Lakeland championship; baseball falls in 11 innings". May 5, 2023.
13. Novak, Scott (October 24, 2022). "Buchanan tops Dowagiac for Lakeland crown". Leader Publications.
14. "Roundup: Bobcats win Lakeland title; Eddies have pair of Wolverine champs". February 6, 2023.