Lake Michigan Conference

The Lake Michigan Conference was an interscholastic athletic conference affiliated with the Michigan High School Athletic Association. It was located in Northern Michigan and contained eight teams that encompasses six counties: Antrim County, Charlevoix County, Crawford County, Emmet County, Grand Traverse County, and Kalkaska County.

History The Lake Michigan Conference traces it origins to the Great Northern Conference, which began play in 1990. The conference was split into four divisions, by geography and school size. The Lake Michigan Division consisted of Class C schools; East Jordan, Boyne City, Charlevoix, Elk Rapids, Kalkaska, Mancelona, Traverse City St. Francis and Harbor Springs. Kalkaska played in the Lake Huron Division for football only with: Lincoln-Alcona, Grayling, Whittemore-Prescott, Onaway and Rogers City.

In 1993, Mancelona dropped to the smaller Ski-Valley for all sports. The Great Northern Conference dissolved in 1997, with most of the divisions retaining all their league memberships. The Lake Michigan Division, re-branded as the Lake Michigan Conference, with Kalkaska joining for football. The membership stayed the same until 2003, when Grayling, a former Lake Huron Division Rival of Kalkaska, left the Northeast Michigan Conference. This gave the conference the 8 teams that it has today. In 2010, conference athletic directors voted to eliminate St. Francis from participating in football effective in 2012. Elk Rapids and Grayling agreed to continue their series, while St. Francis will play two other LMC teams on a three-year rotation. The LMC also extended an invitation to St. Ignace High School to join. On January 14, 2011, it was announced that St. Ignace would join the Ski-Valley Conference.

Following the 2013 season the LMC and the neighboring Northwest Conference merged for football only, creating the Northern Michigan Football League. The league was split into two divisions based on enrollment and competitiveness. The Leader division consisted of the larger and more accomplished programs including, St. Francis, Maple City-Glen Lake, Elk Rapids, Boyne City, Kingsley, Benzie Central and Grayling. The Legacy Division consisted of Frankfort, Charlevoix, Kalkaska, East Jordan, Suttons Bay and Harbor Springs. Mesick, an original member of the Northwest Conference, opted against joining the NMFL and instead joined the five schools of the Mid-State North Conference, creating the Northwestern Six Football League.

In 2023, amidst discussion of removing St. Francis from the conference for competitive balancing purposes, or Kalkaska possibly leaving the conference, East Jordan announced it would be joining the Ski-Valley Conference, citing its low enrollment being better suited amongst the smaller schools of the Ski-Valley. In April 2023 the Northern Shores Conference was announced, with Boyne City, Charlevoix, Elk Rapids, Grayling, Harbor Springs, and Kalkaska leaving the Lake Michigan Conference to form this new league with Cheboygan from the Straits Area Conference and Kingsley from the Northwest Conference.

Members Full member institutions include: Departing Members are highlighted in pink.

Team & MascotSchoolLocationJoinedEnrollmentClassBoys ChampGirls ChampTotal ChampBoyne City RamblersBoyne City High SchoolBoyne City, Michigan1997424B111223Charlevoix RaydersCharlevoix High SchoolCharlevoix, Michigan1997282C463480East Jordan Red DevilsEast Jordan High SchoolEast Jordan, Michigan1997226C13821Elk Rapids ElksElk Rapids High SchoolElk Rapids, Michigan1997369B422567Grayling VikingsGrayling High SchoolGrayling, Michigan2003432B17017Harbor Springs RamsHarbor Springs High SchoolHarbor Springs, Michigan1997246C415899Kalkaska BlazersKalkaska High SchoolKalkaska, Michigan1997432B111526St. Francis GladiatorsSt. Francis High SchoolTraverse City, Michigan1997356C7677154

Former members Team & MascotHigh SchoolLocationJoinedDepartedSuccessive ConferenceBoyne City RamblersBoyne City High SchoolBoyne City, Michigan19972024Northern Shores ConferenceCharlevoix RaydersCharlevoix High SchoolCharlevoix, Michigan19972024Northern Shores ConferenceElk Rapids ElksElk Rapids High SchoolElk Rapids, Michigan19972024Northern Shores ConferenceGrayling VikingsGrayling High SchoolGrayling, Michigan20032024Northern Shores ConferenceHarbor Springs RamsHarbor Springs High SchoolHarbor Springs, Michigan19972024Northern Shores ConferenceKalkaska BlazersKalkaska High SchoolKalkaska, Michigan19972024Northern Shores ConferenceMancelona IronmenMancelona High SchoolMancelona, Michigan19901993Ski-Valley ConferenceEast Jordan Red DevilsEast Jordan High SchoolEast Jordan, Michigan19972024Ski-Valley Conference

Membership timeline

Lake Michigan stopped sponsoring football in 2014.

Football Conference champions YearChampionRecord1997St. Francis11-1 (6–0)1998St. Francis11-2 (6–0)1999St. Francis13-1 (6–0)*2000Charlevoix6-4 (5–1)2001Boyne City12-1 (6–0)2002St. Francis10-2 (6–0)2003St. Francis14-0 (7–0)*2004St. Francis8-2 (7–0)2005St. Francis13-1 (7–0)*2006St. Francis10-2 (7–0)2007St. Francis12-2 (7–0)2008St. Francis13-1 (7–0)*2009St. Francis14-0 (7–0)*2010Elk Rapids9-1 (7–0)2011St. Francis11-2 (7–0)2012Grayling9-1 (6–0)2013Grayling9-2 (6–0)

*State champion

Teams in the final regular-season rankings

Year Team Division Rank 2023 Charlevoix 7 7th2022 Boyne City 6 6th2022 St. Francis 7 1st2022 Charlevoix 7 9th2021 Boyne City 6 6th2021 Grayling 6 10th2021 St. Francis 7 1st2020 Charlevoix 7 6th2018 St. Francis 6 2nd2017 Boyne City 5 5th2017 St. Francis 7 2nd2016 St. Francis 7 1st 2015 Boyne City 6 7th2014 Boyne City 6 5th2012 Grayling 5 8th2011 Grayling 5 8th2011 St. Francis 8 4th2010 Elk Rapids 5 2nd 2010 Grayling 5 10th2010 St. Francis 7 7th2009 St. Francis 7 1st2008 St. Francis 7 6th2007 St. Francis 7 4th2006 St. Francis 7 5th2005 Boyne City 6 6th2005 St. Francis 7 5th2004 St. Francis 7 3rd2003 St. Francis 7 1st2002 St. Francis 7 7th2001 Boyne City 5 4th1999 St. Francis C 10th1998 St. Francis C 4th1997 St. Francis C 1st

Conference records Team LMC record Pct. NMFL record NMFL% Conference championship State championships St. Francis 94-5 .949 52-7 .881 12 5Grayling 56-19 .747 27-32 .458 2 0Boyne City 76-35 .685 44-13 .772 1 0Charlevoix 53-58 .478 32-14 .696 1 0 Kalkaska 43-68 .387 12-37 .245 0 0Elk Rapids 40-71 .360 19-34 .358 1 0East Jordan 31-80 .279 20-31 .392 0 0Harbor Springs 27-84 .243 25-26 .490 0 0

State championship results SeasonLMCNon-LMCSiteDivision1998St. Francis (11–2)8Unionville-Sebawing (13–0)23Pontiac Silverdome • Pontiac, MIC1999St. Francis (13–1)23Gobles (13–1)6Pontiac Silverdome • Pontiac, MI72003St. Francis (14–0)28Hudson (11–3)13Pontiac Silverdome • Pontiac, MI72005St. Francis (13–1)28Unionville-Sebawing (13–1)14Ford Field • Detroit, MI72007St. Francis (12–2)0Mendon (14–0)20Ford Field • Detroit, MI72008St. Francis (13–1)42Ubly (13–1)8Ford Field • Detroit, MI72009St. Francis (14–0)42Hudson (13–1)7Ford Field • Detroit, MI72020St. Francis (9–3)35New Lothrop (11–0)42Ford Field • Detroit, MI72022St. Francis (13–1)12Jackson Lumen Christi (11–3)15Ford Field • Detroit, MI7

Results by team AppearancesSchoolWinsLossesPct.Championship years 7 St. Francis 5 4 1999, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009

All-time playoff appearances

Traverse City St. Francis:(36) 1983, 85–87, 1990–2011, 2013–23

Boyne City:(22) 1993–94, 96, 2001–09, 2012–17, 2020–23

Grayling:(17) 1990, 92, 2003–05, 2007, 2009–13, 2015–17, 2020–22

Charlevoix:(13) 1992, 2000, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2014,16, 2019–23

Elk Rapids:(10) 2006–10, 2013–14, 2017–18, 2020, 2022

East Jordan:(9) 1993–94, 1999–2000, 2003, 2020–23

Harbor Springs: (8) 1986, 1999–2000, 2015–16, 2018–20

Kalkaska:(5) 2002, 2012–13, 2016, 2020

Girls volleyball Conference champions YearChampionRecord1998Charlevoix & Elk Rapids10-21999Elk Rapids12-02000Elk Rapids11-12001Elk Rapids11-12002Kalkaska12-02003Harbor Springs12-02004Charlevoix13-12005Charlevoix13-12006Kalkaska13-12007 Feb.Charlevoix14-02007 Nov.Charlevoix14-02008Charlevoix13-12009St. Francis13-12010Charlevoix13-12011Charlevoix13-12012St. Francis14-02013St. Francis12-1 2014St. Francis14-02015St. Francis14-02016St. Francis14-02017St. Francis5-12018St. Francis11-12019St. Francis4-02020Charlevoix7-02021Elk Rapids7-02022St. Francis7-02023St. Francis7-0

Team Conference championship District championships Regional championshipsSt. Francis 11 11 6 Charlevoix 9 12 1 Elk Rapids 5 3 0 Kalkaska 2 1 0 Harbor Springs 1 0 0Boyne City 0 4 0 Grayling 0 2 0 East Jordan 0 0 0

State championship appearances SeasonLMCNon-LMCSiteClass/DivRef2012St. Francis (42–8–3)14-26-10-9Monroe St. Mary Catholic (49–6)25-24-25-25Kellogg Arena • Battle Creek, MIC2023St. Francis (38–10–1)24-25-23-20Kalamazoo Christian (43–6–3)26-16-25-25Kellogg Arena • Battle Creek, MI3

Boys cross country Conference champions YearChampion1997 East Jordan1998East Jordan1999 East Jordan2000East Jordan2001Charlevoix2002 Harbor Springs2003Harbor Springs2004Harbor Springs2005Charlevoix2006Kalkaska2007Elk Rapids2008Harbor Springs2009Harbor Springs2010Harbor Springs2011Charlevoix2012Harbor Springs2013Charlevoix2014Harbor Springs2015Harbor Springs2016Harbor Springs2017Harbor Springs2018St. Francis2019Charlevoix2020St. Francis2021St. Francis2022St. Francis2023St. Francis

Team Conference championships Final appearances State championships Best finish Harbor Springs 11 21 3 1st East Jordan 4 8 2 1st St. Francis 5 9 1 1st Charlevoix 5 13 0 3rd Kalkaska 1 4 0 4th Elk Rapids 1 5 0 8th Boyne City 0 1 0 20th Grayling 0 0 0 -

State-final finishes Year School Place Division1997 East Jordan 7th C1998 East Jordan 1st C1999 East Jordan 2nd C2000 Charlevoix 5th 32000 East Jordan 1st 4 2000 Harbor Springs 15th 42001 Charlevoix 3rd 32001 Elk Rapids 8th 32001 Harbor Springs 3rd 42001 East Jordan 11th 42002 Kalkaska 17th 32002 Harbor Springs 1st 42003 Kalkaska 23rd 32003 Harbor Springs 1st 42003 St. Francis 7th 42004 Harbor Springs 1st 32005 Kalkaska 6th 32006 Kalkaska 4th 32006 Elk Rapids 10th 32006 Harbor Springs 11th 42007 Elk Rapids 9th 32007 Harbor Springs 7th 42007 St. Francis 23rd 42008 Elk Rapids 11th 32008 Charlevoix 14th 32008 Harbor Springs 3rd 42008 St. Francis 19th 42009 Charlevoix 13th 32009 Harbor Springs 8th 42010 Harbor Springs 3rd 42011 Charlevoix 16th 32012 Harbor Springs 11th 42013 Charlevoix 12th 32014 Boyne City 20th 32014 Harbor Springs 8th 42015 Charlevoix 10th 32015 Harbor Springs 3rd 42016 Charlevoix 14th 32016 St. Francis 18th 32016 Harbor Springs 2nd 42017 Harbor Springs 5th 32017 Charlevoix 24th 32017 St. Francis 27th 32017 East Jordan 6th 42018 Charlevoix 10th 32018 Harbor Springs 13th 32018 St. Francis 22nd 32018 East Jordan 3rd 42019 Charlevoix 3rd 32019 St. Francis 4th 32019 Harbor Springs 8th 32019 East Jordan 3rd 42020 St. Francis 3rd 32020 Harbor Springs 20th 32020 Charlevoix 21st 32021 St. Francis 6th 32021 Charlevoix 12th 32021 Harbor Springs 15th 32022 St. Francis 2nd 32022 Elk Rapids 20th 32022 Harbor Springs 9th 42023 St. Francis 1st 32023 Charlevoix 15th 32023 Harbor Springs 8th 4

Individual state champions Year Champion School Division Time2004 Josh Hofbauer Harbor Springs 3 15:48.12008 Tec Adams Harbor Springs 4 15:22.4

Girls cross country Conference champions YearChampion1997Charlevoix1998Elk Rapids1999Boyne City2000East Jordan2001Boyne City2002Harbor Springs2003Elk Rapids2004Elk Rapids2005Elk Rapids2006Elk Rapids2007Harbor Springs2008Harbor Springs2009Harbor Springs2010Harbor Springs2011Charlevoix2012Harbor Springs2013Harbor Springs2014Harbor Springs2015St. Francis2016St. Francis2017St. Francis2018St. Francis2019St. Francis2020St. Francis2021St. Francis2022St. Francis2023St. Francis

Team Conference championships Final apps State championships Best finish St. Francis 9 21 4 1st Harbor Springs 8 21 2 1st Elk Rapids 5 11 0 3rd Charlevoix 2 13 0 6th Boyne City 2 3 0 5th East Jordan 1 7 0 4th Kalkaska 0 0 0 - Grayling 0 0 0 -

State-final finishes