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 rejected schools alleged that this decision was based on their large Black student populations, claiming that the founding schools "discriminated in the formation and operation of the league."
Consequently, current member schools Dearborn Heights Robichaud and Romulus filed complaints with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) at the United States Department of Education regarding the denial of their admission.
The OCR determined that the athletic league had violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The schools declined a resolution offered by the OCR, and the matter was subsequently referred to the Justice Department in the summer of 1995.
A resolution was later reached between the eighteen founding members and the Justice Department to include the aforementioned schools along with five others—Highland Park, Inkster, River Rouge, Ypsilanti, and Ypsilanti Willow Run—resulting in an athletic conference of twenty-five schools.United States Department of Justice press release
2008 football alignments Red Allen Park Belleville Dearborn Fordson Monroe Southgate Anderson Truman
White Carlson Edsel Ford Kennedy Lincoln Park Redford Union Roosevelt Trenton Woodhaven
Blue Garden City Highland Park Inkster Melvindale Romulus Ypsilanti
Gold Annapolis Crestwood Ecorse River Rouge Robichaud Thurston Willow Run
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
References