Written Friday June 12th at 1:50 PM
Updated Sunday June 14th at 1:28 PM
The OAA is coming to Mid-Michigan.
Stations like WNEM TV-5, WJRT ABC-12, and WEYI NBC-25 are going to get a taste to what the OAA is all about.
Novi, Northville, and Clawson decided to join the league in March and is coming in for the 2027-2028 school year.
The site visits are done and the principals voted on it.
The OAA has accepted Davison and Grand Blanc to join their ranks. Like Novi, Northville, and Clawson they will be coming into the league for the 2027-2028 school year.
Hometown Life's Brandon Folsom along with multiple sources have confirmed the news. WJRT ABC-12 confirmed that Davison Athletic Director Dave Beamer and Grand Blanc Athletic Director Jerrod Dohm received official acceptance letters to join the league on Friday afternoon.
Davison and Grand Blanc are in Genesee County and are archrivals. They are two of the biggest schools in Mid-Michigan. Grand Blanc has 2,350 students while Davison has 1,701 students.
Beamer said to WNEM TV-5 that the move for Davison to leave the Saginaw Valley League for the OAA was not made lightly. "This is a strategic move that reflects our commitment to excellence and provides tremendous opportunities for our students, student-athletes, and community" he said.
Grand Blanc Community Schools sent out a letter to parents explaining the move to the OAA which was signed by Dohm, Principal Mike Fray, and Superintendent Trevor Alward.
"Dear Grand Blanc Schools Community, We've recently been informed by the board of directors of the Oakland Activities Association (OAA) that Grand Blanc High School's application for membership for the 2027-2028 school year has been accepted. GBHS Athletics will officially make the transition to the new conference for the 2027-2028 school year. GBHS will continue in the Saginaw Valley League (SVL) for the 2026-2027 school year and very much appreciates their continued support and partnership. Our athletes and coaches have greatly enjoyed working with the athletes, coaches, Athletic Directors, and organizers of the SVL and look forward to more exciting matchups over the coming school year. The OAA will work with our Athletic Department over the next year to ensure a smooth transition. The OAA provides leadership opportunities through the collaboration of students, Athletic Directors, and Principals. We believe this move will have a far impact beyond the athletic fields and courts with wonderful new opportunities for growth for our students and staff from athletic competitions to the classroom. Thank you for your continued support of our student-athletes and athletic programs. Go Bobcats!" the letter said.
Grand Blanc's Athletic Page on X confirmed that they were leaving the Saginaw Valley League as well. "In the fall of 2027, the Bobcats are moving out" with the Bobcats and OAA logo on the right side with Grand Blanc High School X Oakland Activities Association on the bottom right side which is also pinned on their X page.
The Cardinals and Bobcats were members of the Saginaw Valley League which is the oldest league in the State that was formed in 1904. Davison and Grand Blanc were original members of the Big Nine Conference which began its league in 1960. The Cardinals got incorporated into the Saginaw Valley League when the Big Nine Conference dissolved in 2012. The Bobcats left the Big Nine Conference in 2009 for the Kensington Lakes Activities Association. Grand Blanc was kicked out of the league in 2017 which opened the door for the Bobcats to join the Saginaw Valley League. Both schools have applied to the OAA multiple times but were turned down but this time it was different.
Grand Blanc has been known for multiple sports particularly in football, cheerleading, soccer, track and field, and boys basketball.
Davison is known for football, wrestling, and has started to emerge as a girls basketball power. What makes the Cardinals unique is that they have DTV (Davison Television) which is a student produced television station that also covers Davison home games along with news stories around the school community. It's very similar to Lake Orion with WDBC-Dragon Broadcasting which does Lake Orion games and covers everything surrounding the Dragons within the school community.
Davison and Grand Blanc have gone up against OAA schools in the past. The Cardinals and Bobcats have had rivalries with Oxford, Clarkston, and Lake Orion but both schools have played West Bloomfield, Adams, among others who are in the league in different sports.
The biggest impact the two schools will bring is football.
Davison and Grand Blanc have been the top two schools in the Saginaw Valley League (as a whole and in the Red which is technically the South,) but the postseason has been where they have run into trouble. Davison and Grand Blanc usually get sent south to play an OAA school in the districts but there have been times the Cardinals and Bobcats have avoided playing against the OAA in the postseason. When Davison won the Division One State crown in 2019, they didn't see an OAA school. The Cardinals were in the Division One State Finals the following season (2020) falling to Coach Ron Bellamy and West Bloomfield 41-0 (West Bloomfield is an OAA school.) Davison is 2-10 against the OAA since 2010. The Cardinals have done an excellent job under former Lapeer East Coach Jacob Weingartz in building their program into a powerhouse they are today. Grand Blanc has fared a bit better against the OAA in the past but has run into Clarkston who has knocked them out of the postseason the last two years including when they were unbeaten falling 44-22 in the district finals last season. The Bobcats have been very consistent and have been building their program under Coach Kaleb Forr. Davison and Grand Blanc have had very strong youth levels, very competitive middle schools, and their freshman and junior varsity programs which has kept both schools very competitive. What also helps both schools is the OAA has multiple schools that are in Division One and other schools that are in the league are in Division's Two and Three are powerhouse programs. The Saginaw Valley League have only Davison and Grand Blanc as their only schools in Division One while schools like Lapeer, Midland, Midland Dow, Saginaw, Flint Carman Ainsworth, Saginaw Heritage, Bay City Western, Bay City Central, and Mount Pleasant are in Division Two or lower.
There are other sports beside football that the Cardinals and Bobcats bring that are going to be very impactful to the league.
Grand Blanc is a boys basketball State powerhouse. They have had battles with Clarkston and Ferndale in the past and have played some of the top-notch programs in the State under Coach Doreace Martin. The Bobcats were upset 45-43 by Oxford in the district semifinals last season. Grand Blanc is a cheerleading power which would fit in with the likes of Lake Orion, Rochester, Adams, Stoney Creek, and Troy Athens. The Bobcats have powerhouse programs in soccer, baseball, track and field, and softball as well.
Davison has been a boys basketball power, but they had a really tough start despite winning ten games, they fell 56-52 to Oxford in the district finals last season. The Cardinals will have a new coach in Tyler Thompson taking over for Coach Mike Williams this offseason. Thompson played at Davison and has coached at Clio. It's going to be very interesting to see how Thompson does handling two leagues in two years. Davison is a wrestling powerhouse which fits in with the likes of Clarkston and Oxford as State powers. The Cardinals have suddenly started to become a power in girls basketball and volleyball. Davison won districts in both sports last season.
There is an academic component with both schools. Grand Blanc is one of the top schools academically along with Davison. Both are top notch schools like the rest of the league when it comes to academics. It will be interesting to see how both schools interact when it comes to DECA, Leadership, Band, Theater, among other events.
It will be very interesting to see how the league is with 28 schools and 27 football schools, but we'll see how it goes.
Stay tuned to OAA Now for the latest on this developing story.
