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METRO DETROIT — Detroit Country Day School has been accepted as a member of the Catholic High School League beginning in the 2026-2027 school year, according to an announcement by the league on Feb 11.
The addition comes after a formal vote by the league’s executive athletic board and will end Detroit Country Day’s long-standing independent status of its athletic conference affiliation. The vote was unanimous, according to Catholic High School League Director Mike Evoy.
“We always kind of thought the advantages of being in a league like travel and playing for a (league) championship would be beneficial to us,” said Dan MacLean, Detroit Country Day School executive director of athletics and head football coach. “We think the values of (joining the league) outweighed maintaining our independent status.”
MacLean has been with Country Day for over 40 years and has seen attempts by the school to join a league before, but he said he feels as though this time is different for everyone involved.
“We actually did, quite a while ago when I first came, a little dalliance with the Catholic League on a temporary basis that just didn’t work out very well,” MacLean said. “I think both ourselves and the Catholic League that was looking to expand thought that it was mutually agreeable. So we made it happen.”
The Catholic High School League is widely recognized as one of the best leagues in Michigan and Detroit Country Day School has an athletic history that can go toe-to-toe with any of the programs in the league. The inclusion feels like a perfect fit for both parties.
“It’s a great league with a great history… We know how outstanding the league has been in many ways,” MacLean said. “The other thing is we, through our scheduling as an independent, have played many of these teams before and already have relationships with them.”
That Detroit Country Day will be joining the league is official, but which division the program will slide into is still being discussed. Currently, the school is planning on joining the AA division in football which includes Divine Child, Lumen Christi, U of D Jesuit and St. Frances De La Salles.
“At least from the onset, our standing is going to be in the AA division,” MacLean said. “We think that’s an excellent fit and I think that will carry over into a lot of our other sports.”
A Country Day inclusion into the AA division would make for an interesting landscape across both boys and girls athletics.
“A great example is going to be (girls) volleyball. Alignment hasn’t been decided yet… But (the AA division) would have the defending Division 1 state champs in Mercy and the defending Division 2 state champs in Country Day,” Evoy said. “They could potentially be in the same division, and that’s tough competition… We’ve really taken it to the next level.”
Another reason for students to be excited is the awards and honors that will come with the move. Now that Country Day is in a league, student-athletes will be eligible for all league honors, and the teams will be able to play for division and league titles.
“Their student athletes are going to be afforded individual honors. Being named to the Catholic League honor team, whether its All-Catholic or All-League,” Evoy said. “That league membership and that bond between all of us… That’s what we’ll start seeing at Country Day and we’re really excited about it.”
The Catholic League already had a case as the best in Michigan, and this addition will only strengthen that argument. The hope is that it will not only strengthen the league, but it will strengthen Detroit Country Day as well.
“We think it’s just going to make this league better,” Evoy said. “Not just internally but externally. We’ll be better during state playoffs because teams will be battle tested through league play.”
The move will not take effect immediately, but a plan is in place for all Detroit Country Day School sports to be included in the Catholic High School League beginning in the 2026-2027 season. For more information, go to chsl.com.
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