Olivet, Lakewood joining CAAC for 2023-24 school year
The Capital Area Activities Conference is adding a pair of schools.
The league announced Wednesday evening the additions of Lakewood and Olivet. The two schools had their letters of application unanimously approved and will join the CAAC White starting next fall.
In a release, CAAC commissioner Tom Hunt said the league is pleased to "welcome two fine schools and their rich athletic traditions to the conference."
Olivet and Lakewood are joining the CAAC after spending the last several years as part of the Greater Lansing Activities Conference. They were founding members of a league that formed in 2014. Lakewood was part of the CAAC prior to joining the GLAC and previously competed in the White division. Olivet will be part of the conference for the first time.
The additions of Olivet and Lakewood will bring the CAAC membership to 21 schools. They are the first new additions to the league since Charlotte joined in 2017 after spending three years away.
“(The CAAC is) going to bring us some stability," Lakewood athletic director Mike Quinn said. "It’s a league that’s been around a long time. The schools in the league are really established and they are really not looking to go anyplace. From my standpoint, it’s exciting and I think it is going to be good for Lakewood.”
Olivet and Lakewood will be part of a CAAC White that also features Charlotte, Eaton Rapids, Ionia, Lansing Catholic, Portland and Sexton. The CAAC Blue will remain at seven teams and the CAAC Red will remain at six schools.
"The travel and the natural rivalries – that just adds to kind of the excitement," Olivet athletic director and boys basketball coach Matt Seidl said. "We’re going to be traveling less now. Everything is right in front of us. Charlotte and Eaton Rapids, who we play in a lot of non-league events and so forth – those are nice easy rides. Now they’re going to be league rides. It’s kind of nice.
"I think our community overall is going to be fired up about it. That’s not any disrespect to the GLAC. I think going to Lansing is a big deal for us, too. "
Lakewood and Olivet are the latest schools to depart the GLAC, which has seven member schools. Leslie is leaving the league for the Cascades Conference next school year. Maple Valley is departing and slated to join the Big 8.
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @brian_calloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: High school sports: CAAC adds Olivet, Lakewood
