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 aspires to grow into a Southwest Michigan "super conference" with membership extending across all MHSAA classes but organized into divisions of schools with similar enrollments. Periodic realignment of divisions allows 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 has a unique scheduling philosophy that does not force members to play against conference opponents in different divisions but also respects the freedom of members to schedule rivals and other willing conference opponents regardless of size or division.[1][2]

Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph League
BCS League
Established2014
AssociationMichigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA)
Members5 Class B, 4 Class C, 8 Class D
RegionSouthwest Michigan
Locations

Boys

Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Swim and Dive, Tennis, Track and Field, Wrestling

Girls

Basketball, Bowling, Competitive Cheerleading, Cross Country, Soccer, Softball, Swim and Dive, Tennis, Track & Field, Volleyball

Member schools

There are currently 17 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 2020-21 season according to the MHSAA website.[3]

† 8-man football team that is a member of the Southwest Michigan 8-man Football League[4]

School Location Mascot Colors Enrollment Class Sports Division Football Division Affiliation Joined Previous Conference
Berrien SpringsBerrien SpringsShamrocksGreen & White513BRedBCSPublic2015[5]Wolverine Conference
BuchananBuchananBucksMaroon & White434BRedBCSPublic2014[6]Lakeland Athletic Conference
ComstockComstock TownshipColtsCarolina Blue & White394BRedBCSPublic2015[5]Kalamazoo Valley Association
NilesNilesVikingsNavy Blue & Vegas Gold821BRedIndependent[7]Public2020[8]Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference
Niles BrandywineNiles TownshipBobcatsMaroon & Gold386CRedBCSPublic2014[6]Lakeland Athletic Conference
South HavenSouth HavenRamsPurple & Gold530BRedBCSPublic2020[9]Wolverine Conference
BridgmanBridgmanBeesOrange & Navy254CRedn/a †Public2014[6]Lakeland Athletic Conference
Benton Harbor Countryside AcademyBenton TownshipCougarsBlue & White166DWhiten/aPrivate2016Red Arrow Conference
CovertCovert TownshipBulldogsNavy Blue & Gold115DWhiten/aPublic2017[10]Southwestern Athletic Conference
Eau ClaireLawrenceFighting BeaversMaroon & White189CWhiten/a †Public2020[11]Southwest 10 Conference
LawrenceLawrenceTigersPurple & White174DWhiten/a †Public2018[12]Southwestern Athletic Conference
Marcellus Howardsville ChristianFlowerfield TownshipEaglesRed & White34DWhiten/aPrivate2016Red Arrow Conference
New BuffaloNew BuffaloBisonsRoyal Blue & Gold187CWhiten/a †Public2014[6]Red Arrow Conference
St. Joseph Lake Michigan CatholicSt. Joseph TownshipLakersRoyal Blue, Gold & White84DWhiten/a †Private2014[6]Red Arrow Conference
St. Joseph Michigan LutheranRoyalton TownshipTitansPurple & White118DWhiten/a †Private2015[5]Red Arrow Conference
Three Oaks River ValleyChikaming TownshipMustangsNavy & White176DWhiteIndependentPublic2015[5]Red Arrow Conference
Watervliet Grace ChristianBainbridge TownshipPatriotsRoyal Blue, Gold & White17DWhiten/aPrivate2016Red Arrow Conference

Former members

School Location Joined Previous Conference Departed Successive Conference
Bronson VikingsBronson2014St. Joseph Valley League2017Big 8 Conference
Cassopolis RangersJefferson Township2014Lakeland Athletic Conference2017Southwest 10 Conference
Centreville BulldogsCentreville2014St. Joseph Valley League2017Southwest 10 Conference
Mendon HornetsMendon2014St. Joseph Valley League2017Southwest 10 Conference
Parchment PanthersParchment2015Kalamazoo Valley Association2020Southwestern Athletic Conference
White Pigeon ChiefsWhite Pigeon2014St. Joseph Valley League2017Southwest 10 Conference

[10][13][14]

Membership Timeline

League Championships

Boys Basketball

Red DivisionWhite DivisionBlue Division
Season 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

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
2017Comstock & Buchanan9-1St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran8-0Centreville10-0
2018Comstock10-0St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran12-0
2019Comstock10-0St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran9-1
2020Niles Brandywine10-0St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran13-1

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[15]

References

  1. "Berrien-Cass-St. Joe Conference Archives". Leader Publications. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  2. Tribune, Jack Walkden South Bend. "High school sports: A dream conference?". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  3. "Michigan High School Athletic Association". Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  4. Hafer, Val (15 November 2018). "New 8-Man Football Conference Formed In SW Michigan". 106.1 & 1400 WSJM Sports. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  5. "BCS expanding to 15 teams for 2015-16". Leader Publications. August 13, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  6. https://www.wsjmsports.com/a-summer-of-change/
  7. https://www.southbendtribune.com/sports/high_school/niles-move-to-wolverine-will-grow-rekindle-rivalries/article_5625c2cc-bbde-11ea-a80b-5b8d62d606bd.html
  8. "Niles leaving SMAC to join BCS Conference". Leader Publications. September 26, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  9. Editor, BEN SANDERS-HP Sports. "Niles, South Haven to join BCS". The Herald Palladium. Retrieved February 23, 2020.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  10. "Southwest 10 Conference prepares for its debut in Fall 2017". mlive. January 17, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  11. Correspondent, DEBRA HAIGHT-HP. "Eau Claire schools joins BCS Athletic Conference". The Herald Palladium. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  12. Editor, JASON MITCHELL-HP Sports. "Transparent Lawrence starts its move to BCS". The Herald Palladium. Retrieved February 23, 2020.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  13. "Southwest Schools Begin League Shuffle > SecondHalf". Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  14. "South Haven, Parchment to join new athletic conferences in 2020". mlive. September 30, 2019. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  15. https://www.southbendtribune.com/sports/high_school/football/michigan-football-roundup-historic-night-for-bcs-champion-bucks-as-they-beat-vikings-for-first/article_e61151d8-0f46-11eb-b4c0-77e759c08889.html
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