Northern Michigan Football League

The Northern Michigan Football League is an interscholastic athletic conference affiliated with the Michigan High School Athletic Association. It is located in Northern Michigan and contains nineteen teams that encompasses twelve counties: Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, Luce, Mackinac, and Otsego.

Northern Michigan Football League
NMFL
Established2014
DivisionMHSAA
Members15 (22 in 2016)
RegionNorthern Michigan
Locations

History

The League formed from the merger of the Lake Michigan Conference and the Northwest Conference, for football only. The schools were then split up based on enrollment and competitiveness, with the larger schools forming the Legends Division, and the smaller ones forming the Legacy Division. Mesick, who was a member of the Northwest Conference, declined to join the league, leaving the Legacy Division with one school less than the Legend Division. Before the 2015 season, it was announced that the six members of the Ski Valley Conference not dropping to Eight-man Football as well as Cheboygan, Onekema and Traverse City Christian High Schools would join the league during the 2016 season, causing the league to expand to three divisions; the Leaders, Legends, and Legacy divisions.[1][2] The league is also considering the applications of several other schools, and the possibility of further divisions to help with travel costs. On October 6, 2015, Traverse City Christian announced that it would not be joining the NMFL and that Mesick would be replacing them in the conference on a two-year trial basis.

For the 2017 season, more changes will be happening, as four schools will be making the move to eight-man football. In the last few months of 2016, Central Lake,[3][4] Mesick,[5][6] Onekama,[7] and Suttons Bay[8] all announced moves to the eight-man game. However, for the 2018 season, Newberry, from the former Mid Eastern Football Conference, was brought into the league.[9] This did not last long, however, as for the 2019 season, Newberry, along with Gaylord St. Mary announced their own move to the 8 man game as well. Starting in 2020, the league will welcome Sault Ste. Marie and West Branch-Ogemaw Heights, who both previously were independent. In corresponding moved Kalkaska and Boyne city will move from the Legends Division to the Leaders Division, and Frankfort will move from the Leaders Division to the Legacy Division. This aligns the league, with the exception of Traverse City St. Francis, to divisions based on enrollment sizes, with the Legends being the largest, Leaders being the middle, and Legacy being the smallest schools.[10]

Member schools

Current members
School Location Joined Type Enrollment Nickname Colors All-Sports Conference
Legends Division
Benzie Central Benzonia Township 2014 Public 421 Huskies           Northwest Conference
Cheboygan Cheboygan 2016 Public 594 Chiefs           Independent
Grayling Frederic Township 2014 Public 431 Vikings           Lake Michigan Conference
Kingsley Kingsley 2014 Public 473 Stags           Northwest Conference
Sault Ste. Marie Sault Ste. Marie 2020 Public 678 Blue Devils           Straits Area Conference
Traverse City St. Francis Traverse City 2014 Private 341 Gladiators           Lake Michigan Conference
West Branch Ogemaw Heights West Branch 2020 Public 594 Falcons           Independent
Leaders Division
Boyne City Boyne City 2014 Public 432 Ramblers           Lake Michigan Conference
Charlevoix Marion Township 2014 Public 280 Red Rayders           Lake Michigan Conference
Elk Rapids Elk Rapids 2014 Public 384 Elks           Lake Michigan Conference
Kalkaska Kalkaska 2014 Public 425 Blue Blazers           Lake Michigan Conference
Maple City Glen Lake Kasson Township 2014 Public 375* Lakers           Northwest Conference
Mancelona Mancelona Township 2016 Public 283 Ironmen           Ski Valley Conference
Legacy Division
East Jordan East Jordan 2014 Public 263 Red Devils           Lake Michigan Conference
Frankfort Frankfort 2014 Public 156 Panthers           Northwest Conference
Harbor Springs Harbor Springs 2014 Public 277 Rams           Lake Michigan Conference
Johannesburg-Lewiston Charlton Township 2016 Public 215 Cardinals           Ski Valley Conference
Saint Ignace St. Ignace Township 2016 Public 205 Saints           Ski Valley Conference

Future members
School Location Joining Type Enrollment Nickname Colors All-Sports Conference
Tawas Area Tawas City 2021 Public 421 Braves           North Star League
Lincoln Alcona Lincoln 2021 Public 225 Tigers           North Star League
Rogers City Rogers City 2021 Public 232 Hurons           North Star League

Former members
Team Location Joined Departed Enrollment Type Nickname Colors Current Conference
Central Lake Central Lake 2016 2017 83 Public Trojans           Ski Valley Conference (8-Man)
Gaylord St. Mary Gaylord 2016 2019 75 Private Snowbirds           Ski Valley Conference (8-Man)
Inland Lakes Tuscarora Township 2016 2020 217 Public Bulldogs           Ski Valley Conference (8-Man)
Mesick Mesick 2016 2017 193 Public Bulldogs           West Michigan 8-Man Football League
Newberry Newberry 2018 2019 186 Public Indians           Independent (8-Man)
Onekama Onekama 2016 2017 142 Public Portagers           Independent (8-Man)
Suttons Bay Suttons Bay 2014 2017 139 Public Norsemen           Independent (8-Man)

Football Champions
Year NMFL I NMFL II
2014 Boyne City 12-1 (6-0) Suttons Bay 9-2 (5-0)
Year Legends Leaders
2015 St. Francis 12-1 (6-0) Frankfort 9-3 (5-0)
Year Legends Leaders Legacy
2016 St. Francis 11-1 (6-0) Frankfort 11-1 (5-0) St. Ignace 11-2 (6-0)
2017 Boyne City 9-1 (7-0) Maple City Glen Lake 7-3 (5-0) Gaylord St. Mary 10-1 (5-0)
2018 St. Francis 12-1 (6-0) Maple City Glen Lake 5-5 (4-0) Johannesburg-Lewiston 9-2 (6-0)
2019 Kingsley 12-1 (6-0) Maple City Glen Lake 12-2 (4-0) Johannesburg-Lewiston 10-1 (4-0)

State Championship Appearances
Season NMFL Non-NMFL Site Division
2019 Maple City Glen Lake (12-2) 0 Monroe Saint Mary Catholic (12-1) 7 Ford Field • Detroit, MI C [11]

References
  1. http://www.record-eagle.com/sports/local_sports/onekama-cheboygan-join-nmfl-more-on-the-way/article_2d333bde-3e18-5d63-a86d-cc2cbc8a4bb4.html
  2. http://www.record-eagle.com/sports/local_sports/conference-up-to-teams-divisions/article_3e22c4c3-1125-5aa2-8b7e-d9be547a8dc8.html
  3. http://www.misportsnow.com/story/33784100/mesick-football-drops-to-8-man
  4. http://upnorthlive.com/sports/hometown-highlights/suttons-bay-football-program-moving-to-8-man-division
  5. http://www.misportsnow.com/story/33784100/mesick-football-drops-to-8-man
  6. http://upnorthlive.com/sports/hometown-highlights/suttons-bay-football-program-moving-to-8-man-division
  7. http://news.pioneergroup.com/manisteenews/2016/12/12/onekama-makes-switch-8-player-football/
  8. http://upnorthlive.com/sports/hometown-highlights/suttons-bay-football-program-moving-to-8-man-division
  9. http://www.miningjournal.net/sports/prep-sports/2017/06/west-pac-to-add-three-football-teams-in-2018-newberry-to-join-nmfl/
  10. https://www.petoskeynews.com/sports/northern-michigan-football-league-changes-coming-at-start-of-season/article_d0ad593f-831f-59f3-a605-f2ed029a6598.html
  11. "2019 Class 6 Championship" (PDF).
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