Willow Run High School is one of 11 schools that will compete in the newly-formed Michigan Metro Athletic Conference.

Athletic director Von Acker said the spring track and field season will be the first under the new league umbrella and that a championship meet has already been scheduled. Acker said it remains to be seen if the schools would be able to coordinate a baseball and softball championship this spring because of prior scheduling commitments.

Formerly a member of the now-defunct Michigan Mega Conference, Willow Run has competed as an independent for the past two years in all sports. The MMAC will have East and West divisions in all sports and that football will host a two-week playoff (held in Week 7 and Week 8 of the season) to determine an overall champion.

Willow Run is one of five former Mega Conference schools in the newly-formed league, along with Inkster, Ecorse, River Rouge and Highland Park. Other members include Dearborn Henry Ford Academy, Detroit Allen Academy, Detroit Community, Detroit Consortium, Detroit Westside Christian Academy and Taylor Trillium.

Willow Run will be in the East Division for the 2011 football season. That division will include Ecorse and Detroit Westside Christian, with Inkster joining in 2012 after fulfilling current scheduling obligations. The West Division will include Detroit Allen Academy, Detroit Consortium, Detroit Community and River Rouge with Highland Park joining in 2012.

Dearborn Henry Ford and Taylor Trillium do not have football teams, but will compete in league play in all other sports offered at the schools.

Acker said the athletic directors from the respective schools agreed to seek a 12th school, but would likely stop growth there in order to prevent the fate of the Mega, which had four divisions and 28 schools competing in football in its final year of existence.

The league has a variety of school sizes. Class D Detroit Westside Christian is the smallest with an enrollment of 81 students. Class A Inkster will be the largest with 1,347 students. Willow Run is a Class C school with an enrollment of 445 students.

River Rouge, Ecorse and Willow Run all qualified for the state football playoffs in 2010 and Inkster has made the state finals in 2006 (Division 6), 2008 (Division 3) and 2009 (Division 2).

“It’s going to be competitive,” said Willow Run football coach Rufus Pipkins. “It’ll be good to get back to some traditional rivalry games and if we can come out and make the playoffs, we’ll be stronger with that strength of schedule.”

League director Dan Edmunds said that he dropped off the necessary paperwork to register as a league with the MHSAA on Wednesday.