Southeastern Conference (MHSAA)

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.

Member schools

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Current members

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School Nickname Location Joined Enrollment Class Colors Previous Conference
Red Division
Ann Arbor Huron River Rats Ann Arbor 2008 1,860 A Green and Gold Independent
Ann Arbor Pioneer Pioneers Ann Arbor 1996 2,185 A Purple and White Independent
Ann Arbor Skyline Eagles Ann Arbor 2009 1,588 A Columbia Blue and White None (school opened)
Dexter Dreadnaughts Scio Township 1964 1,188 A Maroon and Gold Washtenaw County League
Monroe Trojans Monroe 2009 1,838 A Red and White Michigan Mega Conference
Saline Hornets Pittsfield Township 1964 1,743 A Navy and Gold Washtenaw County League
Temperance Bedford Kicking Mules Bedford Township 2000 1,371 A Scarlet and Gray Great Lakes League
Ypsilanti Lincoln Railsplitters Augusta Township 1964 1,247 A Royal Blue and Grey Huron League
White Division
Adrian Maples Adrian 2000 759 B Royal Blue and White Independent
Chelsea Bulldogs Chelsea 1964 803 B Navy and Gold Washtenaw County League
Jackson Vikings Jackson 2018 1,195 A Black and Orange Capital Area Activities Conference
Pinckney Pirates Putnam Township 2017 837 A Red and Black Kensington Lakes Activities Association
Tecumseh Indians Tecumseh 1980 719 B Orange and Black Huron League
Ypsilanti Grizzlies Ypsilanti Township 2009 985 A Black and Gold Michigan Mega Conference

Former members

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School Nickname Location Colors Joined Previous Conference Departed Successive Conference
Brighton Bulldogs Brighton Orange and Black 1973 Independent 1979 Kensington Valley Conference
Dundee Vikings Dundee Blue and White 1965 Huron League 1972 Michigan-Ohio Border Conference
Milan Big Reds Milan Red and Black 1967 Huron League 2000 Huron League
Novi Wildcats Novi Green and White 1970 Independent 1979 Kensington Valley Conference
Parma Western Panthers Parma Maroon, white, and gold 1980 Independent 1983 Cascades Conference
South Lyon Lions South Lyon Blue and Gold 1964 Independent 1979 Kensington Valley Conference

Membership timeline

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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)

History

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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.

References

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