Wolverine Conference

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Period = from:1952 till:2023

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id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a member in all sports

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bar:1 color:Full from:1952 till:2022 text: Allegan (1952-2022)

bar:2 color:Full from:1952 till:1966 text: State/University High (Kalamazoo) (1952-66)

bar:3 color:Full from:1952 till:end text: Otsego (1952-present)

bar:4 color:Full from:1952 till:end text: Plainwell (1952-present)

bar:5 color:Full from:1952 till:1958 text: Portage (1952-58)

bar:6 color:Full from:1952 till:2020 text: South Haven (1952-2020)

bar:7 color:Full from:1954 till:end text: Vicksburg (1954-present)

bar:8 color:Full from:1961 till:1982 text: Paw Paw (1961-1982)

bar:8 color:Full from:2006 till:end text: Paw Paw (2006-present)

bar:9 color:Full from:1966 till:2014 text: Comstock (1966-2014)

bar:10 color:Full from:1967 till:end text: Three Rivers (1967-present)

bar:11 color:Full from:1974 till:2011 text: Gull Lake (1974-2011)

bar:12 color:Full from:2006 till:2022 text: Dowagiac (2006-2022)

bar:13 color:Full from:2012 till:2015 text: Berrien Springs (2012-2015)

bar:14 color:Full from:2012 till:2015 text: Coloma (2012-2015)

bar:15 color:Full from:2012 till:end text: Edwardsburg (2012-present)

bar:16 color:Full from:2014 till:end text: Sturgis (2014-present)

bar:17 color:Full from:2021 till:end text: Niles (2021-present)

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text:"Wolverine Conference Membership History"

{{Font color||{{RGB|190|186|218}}|Full members}}

Early Days (1952-1960)

The Wolverine Conference was formed in 1952, consisting of Allegan, Western State High (Kalamazoo), Otsego, Plainwell, Portage, and South Haven.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlive.com/highschoolsports/article/growth-rivalries-help-define-wolverine-conference-see-a-historical-timeline-of-the-league/|title = Growth, rivalries help define Wolverine Conference; See a historical timeline of the league|date = 19 August 2014}} Five boys sports were sponsored by the league that first year: football, basketball, baseball, tennis and track. Girls sports were added in the 1973-74 year with basketball, tennis, softball and track being the sponsored sports. Portage left for the SMAC in 1958. The Wolverine expanded for the first time in 1954, adding Vicksburg to the conference. The Wolverine "B" Conference has always consisted of mostly Class B high schools, but there are bylaws in case a school is Class A for more than two years. In that instance, over 75% of schools must approve said school's membership and the school's case is reviewed every year.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsjmsports.com/the-enrollment-and-conference-carosel/|title = The Enrollment and Conference Carosel | WSJM Sports|date = 24 March 2015}}

Further Expansion (1960-2005)

The Wolverine began adding more schools beginning in the 1960s. Paw Paw High School was the first to join in this decade, moving from the Kalamazoo Valley Conference in 1961. Kalamazoo University High closed in 1966, with Comstock joining the same year from the Kalamazoo Valley Conference, and Three Rivers from the Twin Valley Conference a year after in 1967. Gull Lake High School joined the conference in 1974. This kicked off a long period of stability within the Wolverine, with the only exception being Paw Paw returning to the Kalamazoo Valley in 1982.

Major Realignment (2006–present)

The new millennium brought major changes to the Wolverine Conference. In 2006, Paw Paw left the Kalamazoo Valley and once again rejoined the Wolverine, while Dowagiac joined the conference from the SMAC.{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldpalladium.com/localnews/dowagiac-ready-for-wolverine-challenge/article_4b2e072e-485c-546e-96e7-5245ced01ffb.html|title = Dowagiac ready for Wolverine challenge}} Five years later, Gull Lake, dominant in many sports, left for the SMAC.{{cite web| url=https://www.mlive.com/sports/kalamazoo/2011/01/gull_lake_leaving_wolverine_co_1.html|title=Gull Lake leaving Wolverine Conference, headed for Southwestern Michigan Athletic Conference|access-date=2023-09-30}} Looking into expanding, the Wolverine raided the nearby Lakeland Conference, with Berrien Springs, Coloma, and Edwardsburg entering the conference.{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldpalladium.com/localsports/wolverine-issues-invitations-to-berrien-springs-coloma/article_fe610314-d426-5dc5-8fa8-1dedd64e04fd.html|title = Wolverine issues invitations to Berrien Springs, Coloma}} This, for the first time, created divisions within the Wolverine, with the alignment as follows from 2012 through 2014:

class="wikitable sortable" border="1"
West Division ! East Division
Berrien Springs | Allegan
Coloma | Comstock
Dowagiac | Otsego
Edwardsburg | Paw Paw
South Haven | Plainwell
Three Rivers | Vicksburg

Then, after the 2014 school year, Comstock left the Wolverine for the Kalamazoo Valley, replaced by Sturgis from the SMAC.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlive.com/highschoolsports/article/wolverine-conference-officially-extends-invite-to-sturgis-to-join-league-beginning-in-2014-15//|title = Wolverine Conference officially extends invite to Sturgis to join league beginning in 2014-15|date = August 2013}} To accommodate these changes, Paw Paw and Three Rivers switched divisions, making new divisions for the 2014-15 year as follows:

class="wikitable sortable" border="1"
West Division ! East Division
Berrien Springs | Allegan
Coloma | Otsego
Dowagiac | Plainwell
Edwardsburg | Sturgis
Paw Paw | Three Rivers
South Haven | Vicksburg

After the 2014–15 school year, Coloma and Berrien Springs, two of the smaller schools in the Wolverine, left for the Southwestern Athletic Conference and the BCS Conference, respectively, after only three seasons in the conference. This created a full 9-game football schedule for the conference, eliminating the need to have divisions after only three seasons. For the next five years, the conference remained the same, until South Haven, one of the founding members of the Wolverine, announced it will leave after 68 years for the BCS after the 2019–20 school year, leaving the conference at 9 teams in 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.mlive.com/highschoolsports/2019/09/south-haven-parchment-to-join-new-athletic-conferences-in-2020.html|title=South Haven, Parchment to join new athletic conferences in 2020|date=30 September 2019}} Niles became a member in 2021-22 returning the league membership to ten.{{Cite web|url=https://www.leaderpub.com/2020/06/16/niles-to-join-wolverine-conference-in-2021/|title = Niles to join Wolverine Conference in 2021|date = 16 June 2020}} This arrangement lasted one year, as Dowagiac decided to leave the conference after the 2021–22 school year, citing its significant enrollment gap with other conference schools.{{Cite web|url=https://www.southbendtribune.com/story/sports/2021/12/17/dowagiac-high-school-leave-wolverine-conference/8938859002/|title = Dowagiac High School to leave Wolverine Conference|date = 17 December 2021}}

class="wikitable"
Season	Sport	Champion {{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/pg/WolverineConference/posts/|title=Wolverine Conference |website=facebook.com|access-date=2023-09-30}}{{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}
rowspan = "7" | Fall 2024 | Cross Country (boys)	Three Rivers
Cross Country (girls)	Otsego
Football	Niles
Golf (girls)	Vicksburg
Soccer (boys)	Plainwell
Tennis (boys)	Vicksburg
Volleyball	Three Rivers
rowspan = "6" | Winter 2024-25 | Basketball (boys)	Plainwell
Basketball (girls)	Undecided
Bowling (boys)	Undecided
Bowling (girls)	Undecided
Competitive Cheer	Undecided
Wrestling	Plainwell
rowspan = "7" | Spring 2025 | Baseball	Undecided
Golf (boys)	Plainwell
Soccer (girls)	Otsego
Softball	Paw Paw
Tennis (girls)	Plainwell
Track and Field (boys)	Plainwell
Track and Field (girls)	Plainwell

‡ Denotes state champion

† All spring 2020 sports were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic{{Cite web|url=https://www.mhsaa.com/News/Press-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/9062/MHSAA-Cancels-Remainder-of-2019-20-Winter-Spring-Seasons|title = MHSAA Cancels Remainder of 2019-20 Winter & Spring Seasons}}

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Category:Michigan high school sports conferences