Southeastern Conference (MHSAA)

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The Michigan High School Athletic Association Southeastern Conference (MHSAA SEC) is a high school sports conference composed of schools (all public) in four different counties in the state of Michigan. The SEC is split into two divisions, Red and White, based on enrollment. Currently, there are 14 members of the SEC.

Contents

Member schools

Current members

SchoolNicknameLocationJoinedEnrollmentClassColorsPrevious Conference
Red Division
Ann Arbor Huron River Rats Ann Arbor 20081,860AGreen and GoldIndependent
Ann Arbor Pioneer Pioneers Ann Arbor 19962,185APurple and WhiteIndependent
Ann Arbor Skyline Eagles Ann Arbor 20091,588AColumbia Blue and WhiteNone (school opened)
Dexter Dreadnaughts Scio Township 19641,188AMaroon and GoldWashtenaw County League
Monroe Trojans Monroe 20091,838ARed and White Michigan Mega Conference
Saline Hornets Pittsfield Township 19641,743ANavy and GoldWashtenaw County League
Temperance Bedford Kicking Mules Bedford Township 20001,371AScarlet and GrayGreat Lakes League
Ypsilanti Lincoln Railsplitters Augusta Township 19641,247ARoyal Blue and Grey Huron League
White Division
Adrian Maples Adrian 2000759BRoyal Blue and WhiteIndependent
Chelsea Bulldogs Chelsea 1964803BNavy and GoldWashtenaw County League
Jackson Vikings Jackson 20181,195ABlack and Orange Capital Area Activities Conference
Pinckney Pirates Putnam Township 2017837ARed and Black Kensington Lakes Activities Association
Tecumseh Indians Tecumseh 1980719BOrange and Black Huron League
Ypsilanti Grizzlies Ypsilanti Township 2009985ABlack and Gold Michigan Mega Conference

Former members

SchoolNicknameLocationColorsJoinedPrevious ConferenceDepartedSuccessive Conference
Brighton Bulldogs Brighton Orange and Black1973Independent1979 Kensington Valley Conference
Dundee Vikings Dundee Blue and White1965 Huron League 1972Michigan-Ohio Border Conference
Milan Big Reds Milan Red and Black1967 Huron League 2000 Huron League
Novi Wildcats Novi Green and White1970Independent1979 Kensington Valley Conference
Parma Western Panthers Parma Maroon, white, and gold1980Independent1983 Cascades Conference
South Lyon Lions South Lyon Blue and Gold1964Independent1979 Kensington Valley Conference

Membership timeline

Jackson High School (Michigan)Ypsilanti High SchoolMonroe High School (Michigan)Skyline High School (Michigan)Huron High School (Ann Arbor, Michigan)Pioneer High School (Ann Arbor, Michigan)Bedford Senior High SchoolAdrian High School (Michigan)Pinckney High SchoolTecumseh High School (Michigan)Western High School (Parma, Michigan)Brighton High School (Michigan)Novi High School (Michigan)Milan High School (Michigan)Dundee High School (Michigan)South Lyon High SchoolLincoln High School (Ypsilanti, MichiganSaline High School (Michigan)Dexter High School (Michigan)Chelsea High School (Michigan)Southeastern Conference (MHSAA)

History

Locations of the members of the Southeastern Conference based on divisional setup. SoutheasternConferenceMImap.png
Locations of the members of the Southeastern Conference based on divisional setup.

The SEC was formed by three schools from the disbanding Washtenaw County League (Chelsea, Dexter, and Saline), two from the Huron League (Dundee and Ypsilanti Lincoln), and independent South Lyon. The league expanded to eight by 1969, with Novi joining from the Lakeland Conference that year, and Milan joining from the Huron in 1967. In 1973 Dundee left for the Michigan-Ohio Border Conference, and was replaced by Brighton, joining from the Wayne-Oakland League. 1979 also brought major change to the conference, as Brighton, Novi, and South Lyon left for the Kensington Valley Conference. Parma Western joined that year, having been independent since leaving the Cascades Conference in 1976. Tecumseh left the Huron League to join the Southeastern in 1980, bringing the conference to seven members. Western returned to the Cascades Conference in 1983, as their replacement, Pinckney, left the Kensington Valley Conference in 1984.

The league was stable until 2000, when Milan and Pinckney left for the Huron League and Kensington Valley Conference, respectively. Bedford joined from the Great Lakes League, and were joined by two schools that had been independent since the South Central Conference folded in 1996 (Adrian and Ann Arbor Pioneer). The conference now split into Red and White divisions: Adrian, Bedford, Pioneer, and Saline made up the Red, and the White consisted of Chelsea, Dexter, Lincoln, and Tecumseh. The Southeastern scrapped the divisional format in 2006 in anticipation of another former South Central school joining that next year, Ann Arbor Huron. The conference reintroduced divisions in 2009, the Red being formed by Bedford, Huron, Pioneer, Saline, and two new members, new school Ann Arbor Skyline and Monroe, who left the Michigan Mega Conference. The White Division consisted of Adrian, Chelsea, Dexter, Lincoln, Tecumseh, and another school leaving the Michigan Mega, Ypsilanti.

Ypsilanti had changed their name from Braves to Phoenix in 2010, after phasing out Native American mascots since the 1990s. The school district consolidated with Ypsilanti Willow Run in 2013, resulting in not only another mascot change (Grizzlies), but a color change from Purple and Gold to Black and Gold. Pinckney rejoined the conference in 2017 after leaving the Kensington Lakes Activities Association, while Jackson joined in 2018 coming from the Capital Area Activities Conference. Both schools were put into the White division; however, this has left an imbalance in the number of schools in each division. In 2020 Ypsi moved to the red division. In 2021 Ypsi moved back to the white, and Dexter and Lincoln moved to the red. This has left another imbalance in the divisions, this time with the red having 2 more members than the white.

The 2025-2026 school year will see the conference return to balanced divisions with Lincoln moving from the SEC Red to the SEC White division.

The 2026-2027 school year is expected to see additional changes as Monroe is expected, but not confirmed to be leaving the conference. There are additional rumors of other schools potentially joining the conference but those schools have not released anything definitive.

References