Michigan Mega Conference


The Michigan Mega Conference was a large high school athletic league comprising twenty-eight schools which disbanded in mid-2009, with its former members either becoming independent or forming their own leagues. Member schools were predominantly located in suburban Wayne County, Michigan, mainly in Downriver. The other schools were located in neighboring Monroe and Washtenaw Counties. The schools were also members of the Michigan High School Athletic Association and compete in the organization's post-season state championships. Depending on the sport, the schools were divided into three or four divisions.

Controversies

When the MEGA conference was formed in 1993, many schools were denied entry into the conference. The repudiated schools alleged that this was because of their large black student population, the founding schools "discriminated in the formation and operation of the league." Consequently, current member schools Dearborn Heights Robichaud and Romulus filed complaints against the conference for denying their admission as members to the Office of Civil Rights at the United States Department of Education. OCR determined that the athletic league violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The schools declined a resolution offered by the OCR and subsequently sent the subject to the Justice Department in the summer of 1995. A resolution was succeeded by the eighteen founding members and the Justice Department to include the aforementioned schools and five others encompassing an athletic conference of twenty five schools.

2008 football alignments

Red

Baseball
YearSchoolClass/Division
1977CarlsonB
1984ThurstonB
1986YpsilantiA
1994TrentonB

Boys' basketball
YearSchoolClass/Division
1952Highland ParkA
1953FordsonA
1954River RougeB
1955River RougeB
1959River RougeB
1961River RougeB
1962River RougeB
1963River RougeB
1964River RougeB
1965River RougeB
1968Willow RunB
1969River RougeB
1970River RougeB
1971River RougeB
1972River RougeB
1975Highland ParkA
1980Willow RunB
1986RomulusA
1998River RougeB
1999River RougeB

Girls' basketball
YearSchoolClass/Division
1984River RougeB
2002InksterC

Boys' bowling
YearSchoolClass
2007AnnapolisB

Girls' competitive cheer
YearSchoolClass/Division
1995CarlsonB
2008Carlson2
2009Carlson2

Boys' cross country
YearSchoolClass/Division
1953TrentonB
1954River RougeB
1955River RougeB
1957River RougeB
1960YpsilantiA
1981Edsel FordA
1987DearbornB
1988MonroeA
1992MonroeA

Girls' cross country
YearSchoolClass/Division
1984Edsel FordA

Football
YearSchoolClass/Division
1930FordsonB
1943FordsonA
1971FordsonA
1990RobichaudB
1993FordsonAA

Boys' golf
YearSchoolClass/Division
1954Redford UnionB
1956DearbornA
1963DearbornA
2004TrentonII

Boys' gymnastics
YearSchoolClass/Division
1970KennedyOPEN
1971KennedyOPEN
1972KennedyOPEN
1973KennedyOPEN
1976TrumanOPEN

Girls' gymnastics
YearSchoolClass/Division
1972KennedyOPEN
1973KennedyOPEN

Boys' ice hockey
YearSchoolClass/Division
1976TrentonI
1979TrentonA
1980TrentonA
1982TrentonA
1986TrentonA
1989Southgate AndersonA
1991TrentonA
1996TrentonA
1998TrentonA
2003TrentonII
2004TrentonII
2008TrentonII
2009TrentonII
2010TrentonII

Girls' soccer
YearSchoolClass/Division
1989DearbornB-C-D

Softball
YearSchoolClass/Division
1983BellevilleA
1984BellevilleA
2008Garden CityI

Boys' swimming
YearSchoolClass/Division
1952FordsonA
1953FordsonA
1954FordsonA
1967TrentonA
1971DearbornA
1972DearbornA
1974DearbornA
1976DearbornA
1986DearbornB-C-D
1987DearbornB-C-D

Girls' swimming
YearSchoolClass/Division
1995TrentonB-C-D

Boys' tennis
YearSchoolClass/Division
1975YpsilantiA

Girls' tennis
YearSchoolClass/Division
1973DearbornOPEN

Boys' track
YearSchoolClass/Division
1954InksterB
1955InksterB
1956InksterB
1954Willow RunB
1960EcorseB
1963River RougeB
1964Willow RunB
1965River RougeB
1967EcorseB
1969Redford UnionA
1969EcorseB
1970EcorseB
1973EcorseB
1974RobichaudB
1975EcorseB
1979RobichaudB
1980EcorseC
1981EcorseB
1985EcorseC
1990RobichaudB
2000RomulusII
2006YpsilantiII

Girls' track
YearSchoolClass/Division
1973Lincoln ParkOPEN
1993InksterB
1994River RougeB
1996RobichaudB
2004YpsilantiII
2009RomulusI

Girls' volleyball
YearSchoolClass/Division
1976FordsonA

Wrestling
YearSchoolClass/Division
1956YpsilantiOPEN
1961YpsilantiA
1962YpsilantiA
1964YpsilantiA
1964River RougeB-C-D

Disbanding

The Mega Conference officially disbanded after the 2008 season after members of the league began to fracture off and form their own conferences, citing a desire to have more geographically centered leagues, as opposed to leagues more focused around the schools' athletic strength.
There were 2 main conferences formed from the ashes of the Mega Conference, with those being the Western Wayne Athletic Conference and the Downriver League. However, a couple of schools chose instead to join the Southeastern Conference, while a few others chose to run an independent schedule.
Western Wayne Athletic ConferenceDownriver LeagueSoutheastern ConferenceIndependent
FordsonMelvindaleMonroeEcorse
Edsel FordRooseveltYpsilantiHighland Park
DearbornCarlsonRiver Rouge
BellevilleSouthgate AndersonWillow Run
RomulusWoodhavenInkster
ThurstonAllen Park
Redford UnionTrenton
AnnapolisKennedy
CrestwoodTruman
RobichaudLincoln Park
Garden City