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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Sept. 25, 2001
Contact: John Johnson or Randy Allen-- 517.332.5046

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Sept.25 - Every year, the Michigan High School Athletic Association tracks the number of officials reports received by schools. In general, these reports usually record a concern an official had while working a contest involving a particular school, or they are used to report ejections.

For the 2000-01 school year, the number of schools receiving no negative officials reports hit a seven-year high, as 383 of the 749 member senior high schools in the MHSAA membership achieved that status. Since the MHSAA began tracking such statistics in 1990-91, the high mark of schools receiving no negative officials reports was 388 in 1993. The low was 327 schools in 1997.

This information is reported back to schools annually. Schools with an unusually high number of negative officials reports are reported three times yearly in the MHSAA Bulletin.

"When we report back to schools the number of officials reports they received in a given year, we ask the administration of those schools which receive no such reports to call it to the attention of their community," said John E. "Jack" Roberts, executive director of the MHSAA. "This kind of recognition is important as we continue to emphasize that one of the biggest differences between school sports and sports sponsored by other organizations is the role that good sportsmanship should play in our games.

"We applaud the efforts of those schools which did not receive officials reports, staying free of ejections of any kind, during the past school year."

Since the MHSAA began tracking such information in 1990-91, 15 schools have been completely free of negative officials reports. They are: Bessemer, Beaver Island, Bloomfield Hills Academy of the Sacred Heart, Custer-Mason County Eastern, Deerfield, Grand Marais-Burt Township, Hudsonville Unity Christian, Marenisco, Onekama, Paradise-Whitefish Township, Republic-Michigamme, St. Joseph Michigan Lutheran, Watervliet Grace Christian, Warren Macomb Christian and Watersmeet.

The increase in schools with no negative officials reports comes at a time when ejections of coaches, student-athletes and others hit an 11-year low during the 2000-01 school year, and a new report will be issued shortly by the MHSAA indicating that the occurrence of ejections in school sports is low given the high number of contests conducted.

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,300 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.

NOTE - A complete list of those schools which received no officials reports during the 2000-01 school year is attached. We hope you will point out the achievements of the schools from your coverage area on this list.
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MHSAA Member Senior High Schools Receiving No Negative Officials Reports
2000-01 School Year