Interstate 8 Athletic Conference
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2017) |
| Founded | 2014 |
|---|---|
| No. of teams | 7 |
| Country |  United States |
The Interstate 8 Athletic Conference is an athletic conference for high schools in Michigan formed in 2014 with eight schools in south central Michigan. The conference currently consists of seven Class A and B schools from Barry, Branch, Calhoun, and Jackson counties. The name of the conference derives from the I-69 and I-94 corridors.
History
[edit]The conference was founded in 2014 with the following charter members: Charlotte, Coldwater, Harper Creek, Jackson Lumen Christi, Jackson Northwest, Marshall, Parma Western, and Pennfield.
After the 2015-16 school year, Charlotte left the conference and eventually rejoin the Capital Area Activities Conference. Hastings from the Ottawa-Kent Conference was selected to replace Charlotte starting in the 2016-17 school year.[1]
In August 2022, it was announced that Lumen Christi, the smallest member and the only private school in the conference would depart the Interstate 8 to join the Catholic High School League beginning in the 2023-24 school year.[2] With Lumen Christi's departure, the remaining seven schools at some point or another participated in the old Twin Valley Conference that existed from 1931 to 2001.
Member schools
[edit]Current members
[edit]| School[3] | Nickname | Location | Class | Enrollment[a] | Joined | Previous Conference | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle Creek Harper Creek | Beavers | Emmett Township, Calhoun County | A | 793 | 2014 | Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference | |
| Battle Creek Pennfield | Panthers | Pennfield Township, Calhoun County | B | 634 | 2014 | Kalamazoo Valley Association | |
| Coldwater | Cardinals | Coldwater, Branch County | A | 900 | 2014 | Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference | |
| Hastings | Saxons | Hastings, Barry County | B | 766 | 2016 | Ottawa-Kent Conference | |
| Jackson Northwest | Mounties | Blackman Township, Jackson County | A | 935 | 2014 | Capital Area Activities Conference | |
| Marshall | Redhawks | Marshall, Calhoun County | B | 782 | 2014 | Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference | |
| Parma Western[b] | Panthers | Spring Arbor Township, Jackson County | B | 777 | 2014 | Capital Area Activities Conference |
- Notes
Former members
[edit]| School | Nickname | Location | Joined | Previous Conference | Departed | Successive Conference | Current Conference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | Orioles | Charlotte, Eaton County | 2014 | Capital Area Activities Conference | 2016 | Independent | Capital Area Activities Conference |
| Jackson Lumen Christi | Titans | Summit Township, Jackson County | 2023 | Catholic High School League | |||
Membership Timeline
[edit]
Full members Other Conference
Champions
[edit]Football
[edit]| Year | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Jackson Lumen Christi | 7–0 |
| 2015 | Coldwater | 7–0 |
| 2016 | Harper Creek Jackson Lumen Christi |
6–1 |
| 2017 | Harper Creek | 7–0 |
| 2018 | Jackson Lumen Christi | 7–0 |
| 2019 | Jackson Lumen Christi | 7–0 |
| 2020 | Hastings | 4–1 |
| 2021 | Harper Creek Hastings Jackson Lumen Christi |
6–1 |
| 2022 | Hastings | 7–0 |
| 2023 | Hastings | 6–0 |
| 2024 | Harper Creek | 6–0 |
References
[edit]- ^ Wenzel, Matt (6 October 2015). "Hastings picked over Jackson to replace Charlotte in Interstate-8 Athletic Conference". MLive. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- ^ Watson, Sean (August 13, 2022). "Lumen Christi announces plans to leave Interstate 8 in 2023-24". WTVB. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
- ^ "MHSAA > About the MHSAA > Leagues & Conferences > League Membership".