Interstate 8 Athletic Conference

Interstate 8 Athletic Conference
Founded2014
No. of teams7
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

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

Current members

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
  1. ^ Updated for the 2024-25 school year
  2. ^ Also known as Jackson County Western

Former members

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

Western High School (Parma, Michigan)Marshall High School (Michigan)Northwest High School (Michigan)Catholic High School LeagueLumen Christi Catholic High SchoolHastings High School (Michigan)Ottawa-Kent ConferenceColdwater High School (Michigan)Capital Area Activities ConferenceCharlotte High School (Michigan)Pennfield Senior High SchoolHarper Creek High School

Full members Other Conference

Champions

Football

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

  1. ^ Wenzel, Matt (6 October 2015). "Hastings picked over Jackson to replace Charlotte in Interstate-8 Athletic Conference". MLive. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  2. ^ Watson, Sean (August 13, 2022). "Lumen Christi announces plans to leave Interstate 8 in 2023-24". WTVB. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  3. ^ "MHSAA > About the MHSAA > Leagues & Conferences > League Membership".