Date For Oral Arguments Set In Sports Seasons Case

EAST LANSING, Mich. – April 13 – June 17 has been set as the date for oral arguments in the sports seasons litigation which is on appeal by the Michigan High School Athletic Association to the Sixth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio.

A three-judge panel will be assigned to hear the oral arguments, which will be limited to approximately 15 minutes for each side.  After oral presentations are heard by the Court, it can take from one to 12 months or longer for a decision to be announced, with an announcement typically made in three to six months.  With a schedule now known, it assures that there will be no changes to the sports seasons schedule for the 2004-05 school year, and even if the decision of the U.S. District Court in Kalamazoo is upheld, the sports seasons changes that are unwanted by Michigan schools may not be made until 2005-06 or later, pending additional judicial review.

Nearly two years ago when agreeing to consider the appeal and granting the MHSAA's motion to stay the action of the District Court, which had ordered changes in high school sports seasons in Michigan, the Court of Appeals stated:  "...it is clear the stay motion raises serious appellate issues concerning liability under Title IX and the Equal Protection Clause."

Briefs from both sides were completed and filed with the Court during the Summer of 2003. Filing amicus briefs on behalf of the MHSAA were the Michigan High School Coaches Associations, representing coaches of all sports; the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association; the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals; and the Michigan Association of School Boards. Not a single amicus brief filed on behalf of the plaintiffs was from a Michigan group representing any segment of the interscholastic athletic or educational community.

Additional information will be posted to the MHSAA Web site ( http://www.mhsaa.com/ ) as it becomes available. For your review a compilation of links to documents related to this case is provided at http://www.mhsaa.com/news/gesuit.html .