Every student-athlete has become accustomed to playing the same teams in their division during the duration of their high school experience. This year, there will be an introduction of new conference foes.
Starting for some sports after the fall 2025 season–and the rest joining in the fall 2026 season– the LVC Conference will be welcoming Livonia Stevenson, Livonia Franklin, Livonia Churchill, Farmington, and Farmington North. Both Waterford Mott and Kettering have left the conference as of the winter season. “We had heard that some other schools might be interested in joining our league, “ Principal Kevin McKenna comments. “We reached out as a league, LVC, and we reached out to those schools, and they decided that they wanted to come on board with being a part of the LVC.”
As a result of the added teams, most Milford athletics teams will notice an increase in competition in their league games, starting in the 2026-2027 season. Contrary to the current formation of the league, the new LVC, will run a two-division system, with six teams in each conference.
The two divisions will be aligned geographically, with the schools closer to each other being in the same division. McKenna reveals that, ”From the moment we kind of put this conference together, we ended up with nine schools, but we wanted more because it makes it easier logistically with some sports.”
Having an even number of teams will make it much easier to manage on an administrative level.
Some sports, such as hockey and basketball, will see some immediate changes in the teams that they play. As a result of both Waterford Mott and Kettering leaving the conference after the fall season, most Milford teams will not play them this year.
Beginning in the winter season, the Milford Wrestling and Basketball Teams, along with the Huron Valley Titans Hockey team, will also play out-of-conference games against Livonia and Farmington schools. Senior Calvin Langolf, who is on the Huron Valley Titans Hockey team, notes, “We’re actually going to play them (referring to Livonia Stevenson) once this year.” Demonstrating how many Milford sports teams will start to play the new additions as out-of-conference games.
With the change of the schools included in the LVC Conference, the level of competition will also change. “Waterford Mott and Waterford Kettering were incredibly good wrestling schools. They usually had some of the top competitors in almost every weight class, almost every year,” Senior Wrestler Brody Mayville commented. “So having them removed now will give Milford more of a fighting chance.” As stated by Mayville, many Waterford school sports are very competitive and comparable to Milford’s. As a result, some sports might see an easier schedule, especially this year. For example, Waterford Mott was overwhelmingly the best school when it comes to boys’ Basketball last season, as they finished with a 14-2 conference record and a 22-3 overall record in the 2024-2025 season. As a result, the effect that Mott leaving the conference has on the current Milford basketball season is significant.
Although it can feel like a weight has been lifted off of Milford’s shoulders, in reality, it has not. Both the Livonia and Farmington Schools have sports teams that are very competitive and will be tough opponents for Milford. For example, Livonia Stevenson’s hockey team is consistently very good. In the 2024-2025 season, they finished with an impressive 25-10-3, and also won the MHSAA Division 2 state championship. As Langolf puts it, “Yeah, they will definitely be a huge challenge, like Livonia Stevenson is a very good team.”
For other sports such as Football and Volleyball, the competitiveness will also increase. Both Farmington’s and Farmington North’s football teams finished very well last year, along with Livonia Franklin having a solid season. Farmington ended the 2025 fall season with a record of 6-0 in their division and an overall 7-3 record. Farmington North had a 5-1 divisional record and a 6-4 overall record. Finally, Livonia Franklin finished 5-2 in their conference and 6-2 overall. With Farmington and North Farmington getting first and second place in their conference, respectively, they will be a great challenge for Milford’s football team down the road. As for Volleyball, Livonia Stevenson, Livonia Churchill, and North Farmington are very solid programs, and will be a challenge for our own Milford team. Livonia Stevenson finished first in their division with a very impressive 7-0 record in their division, and Livonia Churchill was right behind them with a 5-2 record. North Farmington also finished first in its division with a 6-1 record. With the addition of the five new schools in the LVC conference, there come many challenges with Milford’s best and most popular programs.
Over the next few years, the sports culture around Milford will definitely be shaken up, as the schools that Milford teams play will be different. For some sports, the conference will be much more competitive, and for others, much less.
The full effect of the new shaping of the conference will begin at the start of the fall 2026-2027 school year, with the schools Livonia Stevenson, Franklin, and Churchill, as well as Farmington and Farmington North, becoming fully integrated in the LVC Conference.