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]

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

edit

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

Boys edit

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

Sports by school edit

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 edit

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

Sports by school edit

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 edit

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

Current members edit

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 edit

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

Membership Timeline edit

Conference championships edit

Baseball edit

Season School Conference
Record
2023

Boys Basketball edit

Season School Conference
Record
2023 Benton Harbor 7-1[5]

Girls Basketball edit

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

Boys Cross Country edit

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

Girls Cross Country edit

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

Football edit

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

Boys Soccer edit

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

Girls Soccer edit

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

Softball edit

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

Volleyball edit

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

Wrestling edit

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

State championships edit

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 edit

  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
  5. ^ https://www.leaderpub.com/2023/02/19/benton-harbor-edges-brandywine-bobcat-girls-rout-tigers/
  6. ^ https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/sports/2023/02/03/michigan-high-school-girls-basketball-buchanan-beats-niles-brandywine-mhsaa-faith-carson/69868774007/
  7. ^ a b 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/
  12. ^ https://www.leaderpub.com/2023/05/05/roundup-bucks-win-lakeland-championship-baseball-falls-in-11-innings/
  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/