BCS League

The Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph (BCS) League is an athletic conference for high schools in southwest Michigan. Founded in 2014 with the inaugural season of play in 2014-15, the conference aspired to grow into a Southwest Michigan "super conference" with membership extending across all MHSAA classes and organized into divisions of schools with similar enrollments. Periodic realignment of divisions allowed members to remain in competition with like-sized schools within the conference thereby avoiding the disruptive effects of conference switching due to changing enrollment. The conference had a unique scheduling philosophy that did not force members to play against conference opponents in different divisions and respected the freedom of members to schedule rivals and other willing conference opponents regardless of size or division.[1][2]

Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph League
ConferenceMichigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA)
Founded2014
No. of teams3 Class C, 6 Class D
RegionSouthwest Michigan
Locations
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Between 2017 and 2021, the BCS experienced frequent membership changes with eight schools departing & five schools joining. A final attempt to realize its "super-conference" aspiration was attempted in 2019, when membership invitations were extended to ten schools of diverse enrollments.[3] Niles and South Haven were the only two that accepted. However, Niles departed after only a single season and South Haven exited after two seasons. When expansion proved unsuccessful, the remaining larger schools decided to leave for other conferences.[4] Beginning with the 2022-2023 season, the BCS transitioned into being a league catering to small public and private schools in southwest Michigan.

Boys

Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Golf, Soccer, Tennis, Track and Field, Wrestling

Girls

Basketball, Cross Country, Soccer, Softball, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball

Member schools

There are currently 9 member schools. The geographic footprint of the league includes Berrien, Cass, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph and Van Buren counties in Michigan.

Current members

School data in the table below is current for the 2023-24 season according to the MHSAA website.[5]

School Location Mascot Colors Enrollment Class Sports Division Football Division Affiliation Joined Previous Conference
Benton Harbor Countryside AcademyBenton TownshipCougarsBlue & White179CBCSn/aPublic Charter2016Red Arrow Conference
CovertCovert TownshipBulldogsNavy Blue & Gold107DBCSn/aPublic2017[6]Southwestern Athletic Conference
Eau ClaireEau ClaireFighting BeaversMaroon & White175CBCSn/a †Public2020[7]Southwest 10 Conference
Marcellus Howardsville ChristianFlowerfield TownshipEaglesRed & White62DBCSn/aPrivate2016Red Arrow Conference
New BuffaloNew BuffaloBisonsRoyal Blue & Gold178CBCSn/a †Public2014[8]Red Arrow Conference
Our Lady of the Lake CatholicSt. Joseph TownshipLakersRoyal Blue, Gold & White61DBCSn/a †Private2014[8]Red Arrow Conference
St. Joseph Michigan LutheranRoyalton TownshipTitansPurple & White114DBCSn/a †Private2015[9]Red Arrow Conference
Three Oaks River ValleyChikaming TownshipMustangsNavy & White155DBCSn/aPublic2015[9]Red Arrow Conference
Watervliet Grace ChristianBainbridge TownshipPatriotsRoyal Blue, Gold & White19DBCSn/aPrivate2016Red Arrow Conference

† 8-man football team that is a member of the Southwest Michigan 8-man Football League[10]

Former members

School Location Joined Previous Conference Departed Successive Conference
Berrien Springs ShamrocksBerrien Springs2015Wolverine Conference2022Lakeland Conference
Bridgman BeesBridgman2014Lakeland Athletic Conference2022Southwestern Athletic Conference
Bronson VikingsBronson2014St. Joseph Valley League2017Big 8 Conference
Buchanan BucksBuchanan2014Lakeland Athletic Conference2022Lakeland Conference
Cassopolis RangersJefferson Township2014Lakeland Athletic Conference2017Southwest 10 Conference
Centreville BulldogsCentreville2014St. Joseph Valley League2017Southwest 10 Conference
Comstock ColtsComstock Township2015Kalamazoo Valley Association2021Southwest 10 Conference
Lawrence TigersLawrence2015Southwestern Athletic Conference2022Southwest 10 Conference
Mendon HornetsMendon2014St. Joseph Valley League2017Southwest 10 Conference
Niles VikingsNiles2020Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference2021Wolverine Conference
Brandywine BobcatsNiles Township2014Lakeland Athletic Conference2022Lakeland Conference
Parchment PanthersParchment2015Kalamazoo Valley Association2020Southwestern Athletic Conference
South Haven RamsSouth Haven2020Wolverine Conference2022Southwestern Athletic Conference
White Pigeon ChiefsWhite Pigeon2014St. Joseph Valley League2017Southwest 10 Conference

[6][11][12][13]

Membership Timeline

League championships

Baseball

Red DivisionWhite DivisionBlue Division
Season School Division
Record
School Division
Record
School Division
Record
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021BuchananBridgman[14]17-1
2022Buchanan[15]7-1

Boys Basketball

Red DivisionWhite DivisionBlue DivisionBCS Division
Season School Division
Record
School Division
Record
School Division
Record
School Division
Record
2015Bridgman7-1Cassopolis7-1
2016Bridgman & Niles Brandywine8-2Marcellus Howardsville Christian9-1Cassopolis9-1
2017Niles Brandywine9-1Marcellus Howardsville Christian7-1Cassopolis8-2
2018Parchment9-1Marcellus Howardsville Christian, New Buffalo & St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic10-2
2019Niles Brandywine9-1Marcellus Howardsville Christian13-0
2020Niles Brandywine8-2Three Oaks River Valley14-0
2021Niles Brandywine5-0Marcellus Howardsville Christian8-0
2022Niles Brandywine5-1New Buffalo9-0
2023Eau Claire13-1

Girls Basketball

Red DivisionWhite DivisionBlue Division
Season School Division
Record
School Division
Record
School Division
Record
2015Niles Brandywine8-0Bronson7-1
2016Niles Brandywine10-0St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran8-0Mendon9-1
2017Buchanan & Comstock9-1St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran8-0Centreville10-0
2018Comstock10-0St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran12-0
2019Comstock10-0St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran9-1
2020Niles Brandywine10-0St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran13-1
2021Buchanan6-0[16]St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran & New Buffalo8-1
2022Buchanan & Niles Brandywine5-1Bridgman6-0

Football

Blue DivisionRed DivisionWhite DivisionBCS Division
Season School Division
Record
School Division
Record
School Division
Record
School Division
Record
2014Mendon4-0Bridgman4-0
2015Bridgman4-0Cassopolis4-0Buchanan3-0
2016St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic4-0Cassopolis4-0Berrien Springs3-0
2017St. Joseph Lake Michigan Catholic4-0N/AN/ABerrien Springs3-0
2018Niles Brandywine3-0N/AN/ABerrien Springs3-0
2019N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ABerrien Springs3-0
2020N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ABuchanan4-0[17]
2021N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/ABerrien Springs3-0[18]

Softball

Red DivisionWhite DivisionBlue Division
Season School Division
Record
School Division
Record
School Division
Record
2014
2015
2016Bridgman[19]9-1
2017
2018Three Oaks River Valley
2019BridgmanThree Oaks River Valley
2020
2021Buchanan
2022Buchanan7-1

Volleyball

Red DivisionWhite DivisionBlue Division
Season School Division
Record
School Division
Record
School Division
Record
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019Bridgman[20]New Buffalo[20]
2020
2021Buchanan6-0[21]

State championships

Schools that have participated in MHSAA state championship finals while being members of the BCS League.

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