The Cascade Conference is a Michigan high school athletic conference that was formed prior to the 1954 school year. The conference includes mostly Class C schools, two Class B schools, and one Class D school with the majority of its members being from Jackson County along with one member each from Hillsdale, Ingham, Lenawee, and Washtenaw counties.
History Formation The Cascades Conference was formed in 1954 with ten schools from the Jackson County League. The original members were: Brooklyn, Concord, East Jackson, Grass Lake, Hanover-Horton, Jackson Vandercook Lake, Michigan Center, Napoleon, Parma and Springport high schools.
Red and Blue With the growth of suburbs, some Cascades Conference schools grew more rapidly than others. This led to the creation of the Red and Blue divisions. Between 1983 and 1996, four schools were listed as Cascades-Red Members: Jackson Lumen Christi, Jackson Northwest, Parma Jackson County Western and Brooklyn Columbia Central. In 1996, Jackson Northwest and Jackson Lumen Christi left the Cascades Red for the Capital-Circuit Conference. Brooklyn Columbia Central left the Cascades Red after 1995 and competed as an independent for two years, before joining the Lenawee County Conference at the start of the 1997 school year. Parma Jackson County Western left the Cascades Red after the 1995 school year and joined the Twin Valley Conference.
Expansion In 2022, the Cascades Conference was looking to expand from eight to twelve schools for the 2022–23 school year. On June 13, Brooklyn Columbia Central of the Lenawee County Athletic Association accepted their invite to join the Cascades, which they were previously a member of from 1968 to 1996. A little over a week later, Leslie, a member of the Greater Lansing Athletic Conference accepted their invitation as well. Within a few weeks after Columbia Central and Leslie joined, two Big "8" members, Jonesville and Homer accepted their invitations to join the conference as well. All four schools will be joining the conference for the 2022–23 school year.
With the Cascades Conference expanding to twelve teams, the conference decided to split the league into two geographical divisions (East and West). + Divisions from 2022-2026 East WestEast JacksonAddisonGrass LakeColumbia CentralLeslieHanover-HortonManchesterHomerMichigan CenterJonesvilleNapoleonVandercook Lake
With both East Jackson and Homer leaving for the Big "8" Conference after the 2025-26 season (reducing the conference from twelve to ten teams), the division alignment changed with Napoleon and Vandercook Lake swapping divisions.
+ Divisions as of 2026-27 East WestGrass LakeAddisonLeslieColumbia CentralManchesterHanover-HortonMichigan CenterJonesvilleVandercook LakeNapoleon
Member schools Current members The following institutions are full members of the Cascade Conference for the 2026–27 school year: School name Location Nickname Class Enrollment Joined Colors Previous conference Addison Addison, Lenawee County PanthersC 1981988 Lenawee County Athletic Association Brooklyn Columbia Central Columbia Township, Jackson County Golden EaglesB37919682023 Lakeland "C" ConferenceLenawee County Athletic Association Grass Lake Grass Lake, Jackson County Warriors B37819541976 Jackson County LeagueSouthern Central Athletic Association Hanover-Horton Horton, Jackson County Comets C29019541960 1976 Jackson County LeagueIndependentSouthern Central Athletic Association Jonesville Jonesville, Hillsdale County CometsC3172023 Big "8" Conference Leslie Leslie, Ingham County Black HawksC2992023 Greater Lansing Athletic Conference Manchester Manchester, Washtenaw County Flying Dutchmen C1841983 Lenawee County Athletic Association Michigan Center Michigan Center, Jackson County Cardinals B492 1954 Jackson County League Napoleon Napoleon, Jackson County Pirates C3521954 Jackson County League Vandercook Lake Jackson, Jackson County Jayhawks D1591954 Jackson County League
Notes
Future member SchoolNicknameLocationClassEnrollmentJoiningCurrent Conference ColorsStockbridgePanthersStockbridge, Ingham CountyC3232027Big "8" Conference
Notes
Former members School name Location Nickname Joined Previous Conference Left Successive Conference Current Conference Brooklyn Brooklyn, Jackson County Golden Eagles1954 Jackson County League1960 Mid-Southern Conference Closed in 1967 Concord Concord, Jackson County Yellowjackets1954 Jackson County League1973Big "8" Conference East Jackson Jackson, Jackson County Trojans 1954 Jackson County League2026 Big "8" Conference Homer Homer, Calhoun County Trojans2023 Big "8" Conference2026Big "8" Conference Jackson Lumen Christi Summit Township, Jackson County Titans19831991 Independent1996 Capital Circuit League Catholic High School League Jackson Northwest Blackman Charter Township, Jackson County Mounties19601983 IndependentTwin Valley Athletic Association19761996 IndependentCapital Circuit League Interstate 8 Conference Parma Parma, Jackson County Panthers1954 Jackson County League1961Closed in 1961 Parma Jackson County Western Spring Arbor Township, Jackson County Panthers19611983 New schoolSoutheastern Conference19761996 IndependentTwin Valley Athletic Association Interstate 8 Conference Springport Springport, Jackson County Spartans1954 Jackson County League1963 Independent Cereal Center Conference Big "8" Conference
Notes
Membership timeline
Notes
References