Final snap of Orchard Lake St. Mary’s MHSAA Division 2 state finals win
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s celebrates its MHSAA Division 2 state finals win at Ford Field over Byron Center, 35-19, with kneeldown Friday, Nov. 29, 2024.
There can be a lot of moving parts from one high school football season to the next.
One of those variables is schools changing divisions. The Michigan High School Athletic Association separates schools into eight divisions based on enrollment size, pitting schools with a similar number of students against each other in the playoffs. Schools are broken up to put approximately 63 teams in all eight divisions.
That leaves 64 schools to change divisions for the upcoming 2025 Michigan high school football season, according to the MHSAA. The list includes seven schools from Detroit, plus a traditional power from the Catholic High School League, Warren De La Salle.
Schools can also opt-up to remain in a higher division. Four schools are opting to play in a higher division in 2025 for football: Three-time defending state champion Jackson Lumen Christi will play in Division 6, as it did in 2024; defending Division 2 champion Orchard Lake St. Mary’s opted to play in Division 2 rather than sliding to Division 3; Linden opted up to Division 3 from Division 4; Oak Park opted up to Division 2 from Division 3, as it did in 2024.
Here are the schools changing divisions for the 2025 football season.
MHSAA football teams changing divisions
- Adrian High School: Moving up to Division 3.
- Alpena: Moving up to Division 2.
- Arts and Technologies Academy of Pontiac: Moving up to Division 7.
- Battle Creek Pennfield: Moving down to Division 5.
- Belding Area: Moving down to Division 6.
- Birmingham Detroit Country Day: Moving up to Division 4.
- Caledonia: Moving up to Division 1.
- Cassopolis Ross Beatty: Moving up to Division 7.
- Center Line Prep Academy: Moving up to Division 7.
- Constantine: Moving down to Division 7.
- Detroit Communication Media Arts: Moving up to Division 6.
- Detroit East English Village Prep Academy: Moving down to Division 4.
- Detroit Lincoln King Academy: Moving up to Division 4.
- Detroit Loyola: Moving up to Division 7.
- Detroit Southeastern: Moving down to Division 5.
- Detroit Community: Moving up to Division 7.
- Detroit Leadership Academy: Moving up to Division 7.
- Evart: Moving down to Division 8.
- Farmington: Moving up to Division 1.
- Flint Hamady: Moving down to Division 6.
- Flint New Standard Academy: Moving up to Division 6.
- Fraser: Moving up to Division 1.
- Fremont: Moving down to Division 5.
- Fruitport: Moving up to Division 3.
- Gladstone: Moving up to Division 5.
- Grayling: Moving up to Division 5.
- Hamtramck: Moving up to Division 2.
- Harbor Springs: Moving up to Division 6.
- Hastings: Moving up to Division 3.
- Homer: Moving down to Division 8.
- Hudson Area: Moving down to Division 8.
- Lapeer: Moving up to Division 1.
- Marquette: Moving down to Division 3.
- Marysville: Moving up to Division 3.
- Michigan Center: Moving up to Division 5.
- Montrose Hill-McCloy: Moving up to Division 6.
- Napoleon: Moving up to Division 6.
- Negaunee: Moving up to Division 5.
- New Boston Huron: Moving up to Division 3.
- New Lothrop: Moving down to Division 8.
- Niles: Moving up to Division 3.
- Owosso: Moving up to Division 3.
- Quincy: Moving down to Division 7.
- Remus Chippewa Hills: Moving up to Division 5.
- Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest: Moving up to Division 7.
- Saugatuck: Moving up to Division 7.
- Sault Ste. Marie Sault Area: Moving down to Division 4.
- Southfield Arts & Technology: Moving to Division 2.
- Southgate Anderson: Moving up to Division 2.
- Sparta: Moving down to Division 4.
- St. Clair Shores Lakeview: Moving down to Division 2.
- St. Clair Shores South Lake: Moving down to Division 6.
- St. Johns: Moving down to Division 4.
- St. Louis: Moving down to Division 8.
- Standish-Sterling: Moving up to Division 5.
- Stockbridge: Moving down to Division 7.
- Traverse City St. Francis: Moving up to Division 6.
- Walled Lake Western: Moving up to Division 2.
- Warren De La Salle: Moving down to Division 3.
- Wayland Union: Moving down to Division 4.
- Wayne Memorial: Moving up to Division 1.
- Whitehall: Moving up to Division 4.
- Williamston: Moving up to Division 4.
- Ypsilanti Lincoln: Moving down to Division 3.
Jared Ramsey covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jramsey@freepress.com; Follow Jared on X or Bluesky.
