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 (OCR) 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 (Highland Park, Inkster, River Rouge, Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Willow Run) encompassing an athletic conference of twenty five schools.

2008 football alignments

Red

White

Blue

Gold

List of MEGA Conference state champions

Baseball

Year School Class/Division
1977 Carlson B
1984 Thurston B
1986 Ypsilanti A
1994 Trenton B

Boys' basketball

Year School Class/Division
1952 Highland Park A
1953 Fordson A
1954 River Rouge B
1955 River Rouge B
1959 River Rouge B
1961 River Rouge B
1962 River Rouge B
1963 River Rouge B
1964 River Rouge B
1965 River Rouge B
1968 Willow Run B
1969 River Rouge B
1970 River Rouge B
1971 River Rouge B
1972 River Rouge B
1975 Highland Park A
1980 Willow Run B
1986 Romulus A
1998 River Rouge B
1999 River Rouge B

Girls' basketball

Year School Class/Division
1984 River Rouge B
2002 Inkster C

Boys' bowling

Year School Class
2007 Annapolis B

Girls' competitive cheer

Year School Class/Division
1995 Carlson B
2008 Carlson 2
2009 Carlson 2

Boys' cross country

Year School Class/Division
1953 Trenton B
1954 River Rouge B
1955 River Rouge B
1957 River Rouge B
1960 Ypsilanti A
1981 Edsel Ford A
1987 Dearborn B
1988 Monroe A
1992 Monroe A

Girls' cross country

Year School Class/Division
1984 Edsel Ford A

Football

Year School Class/Division
1930 Fordson B
1943 Fordson A
1971 Fordson A
1990 Robichaud B
1993 Fordson AA

Boys' golf

Year School Class/Division
1954 Redford Union B
1956 Dearborn A
1963 Dearborn A
2004 Trenton II

Boys' gymnastics

Year School Class/Division
1970 Kennedy OPEN
1971 Kennedy OPEN
1972 Kennedy OPEN
1973 Kennedy OPEN
1976 Truman OPEN

Girls' gymnastics

Year School Class/Division
1972 Kennedy OPEN
1973 Kennedy OPEN

Boys' ice hockey

Year School Class/Division
1976 Trenton I
1979 Trenton A
1980 Trenton A
1982 Trenton A
1986 Trenton A
1989 Southgate Anderson A
1991 Trenton A
1996 Trenton A
1998 Trenton A
2003 Trenton II
2004 Trenton II
2008 Trenton II
2009 Trenton II
2010 Trenton II

Girls' soccer

Year School Class/Division
1989 Dearborn B-C-D

Softball

Year School Class/Division
1983 Belleville A
1984 Belleville A
2008 Garden City I

Boys' swimming

Year School Class/Division
1952 Fordson A
1953 Fordson A
1954 Fordson A
1967 Trenton A
1971 Dearborn A
1972 Dearborn A
1974 Dearborn A
1976 Dearborn A
1986 Dearborn B-C-D
1987 Dearborn B-C-D

Girls' swimming

Year School Class/Division
1995 Trenton B-C-D

Boys' tennis

Year School Class/Division
1975 Ypsilanti A

Girls' tennis

Year School Class/Division
1973 Dearborn OPEN

Boys' track

Year School Class/Division
1954 Inkster B
1955 Inkster B
1956 Inkster B
1954 Willow Run B
1960 Ecorse B
1963 River Rouge B
1964 Willow Run B
1965 River Rouge B
1967 Ecorse B
1969 Redford Union A
1969 Ecorse B
1970 Ecorse B
1973 Ecorse B
1974 Robichaud B
1975 Ecorse B
1979 Robichaud B
1980 Ecorse C
1981 Ecorse B
1985 Ecorse C
1990 Robichaud B
2000 Romulus II
2006 Ypsilanti II

Girls' track

Year School Class/Division
1973 Lincoln Park OPEN
1993 Inkster B
1994 River Rouge B
1996 Robichaud B
2004 Ypsilanti II
2009 Romulus I

Girls' volleyball

Year School Class/Division
1976 Fordson A

Wrestling

Year School Class/Division
1956 Ypsilanti OPEN
1961 Ypsilanti A
1962 Ypsilanti A
1964 Ypsilanti A
1964 River Rouge B-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 Conference Downriver League Southeastern Conference Independent
Fordson Melvindale Monroe Ecorse
Edsel Ford Roosevelt Ypsilanti Highland Park
Dearborn Carlson River Rouge
Belleville Southgate Anderson Willow Run
Romulus Woodhaven Inkster
Thurston Allen Park
Redford Union Trenton
Annapolis Kennedy
Crestwood Truman
Robichaud Lincoln Park
Garden City
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