Northwest to Join SEC; Two New Schools Joining Cascades Conference

David Rice | JTV Sports

Tuesday February 10th

(2-10-2026, 4:15PM): We have yet another shakeup in our area’s high school athletic conferences. A new member will be joining the SEC-White, while two new members join the Cascades Conference and two will exit for the Big 8.

On Tuesday, Northwest High School announced they are leaving the Interstate 8 Conference to join the SEC-White. Northwest has competed in the I-8 since the conference was founded in 2014. The I-8 was originally composed of eight schools, but went down to seven after Lumen Christi left just a couple years ago to join the Catholic High School League. The SEC is split into red and white divisions within southeast Michigan. The white division includes schools like Jackson, Adrian, Tecumseh, Chelsea, Ypsilanti Lincoln, Ypsilanti Community, and Pinckney. Northwest will be competing in the new conference effective for the 2027-28 school year.

Also recently, two new schools will be joining the Cascades Conference. Voted on and approved by member schools, Stockbridge and Hillsdale will join the Cascades effective next school year (2026-27). Stockbridge will be making the move after just two years in the Big 8 conference, and a member of the Greater Lansing Activities Conference (GLAC) before that. Hillsdale will be moving to the Cascades after longtime participation with the Lenawee County Athletic Association (LCAA).

Two new schools also come with two schools exiting the Cascades. East Jackson and Homer are leaving and will join the Big 8 Conference. Homer was formerly one of the Big 8’s staples and a long time member, but left to join the Cascades for just two years. East Jackson’s move comes after being one of the founding members in 1954.

The Cascades Conference will also now realign their two divisions, making North and South rather than the current East-West.

The Big 8 now includes Concord, Springport, Reading, Vermontville Maple Valley, Bronson, Union City, East Jackson, and Homer. The Cascades now includes Addison, Brooklyn Columbia Central, Hanover Horton, Vandercook Lake, Grass Lake, Michigan Center, Napoleon, Leslie, Manchester, Jonesville, Stockbridge, and Hillsdale.