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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE --July 28, 1999
Contact: John Johnson or Mike Clifford-- 517.332.5046

EAST LANSING, Mich. - July 28 - The Michigan High School Athletic Association will conduct a series of three meetings during August to examine the issues surrounding and opportunities that already exist for interscholastic athletic participation by students not enrolled on a full-time basis at its member schools conducting sports programs.

The three meetings will be approximately four hours in length and include an opportunity for public comment. The meeting schedule and moderators selected for those meetings are:
Ortonville-Brandon High School, August 25, moderator Larry Lamphere, athletic director; Rockford High School, August 26, moderator Dave Price, athletic director; and Gaylord School District administration building, August 26, moderator Karen Leinaar, athletic director. All meetings will begin at 1 p.m. (EDT)

There will be a panel of approximately 12 persons at each meeting. While the groups will have a common agenda, the participants will differ. A recorder for each group will provide a report to MHSAA Executive Director John E. "Jack" Roberts, who will attempt to discover common themes and present them to the more than 1,200 attendees at MHSAA Update Meetings in the fall and to obtain reactions through oral comment and written survey. The major concepts and constituent reactions will be presented to the Association's Representative Council at its next meeting on December 1.

The MHSAA Representative Council approved last May a motion to appoint an ad hoc committee to develop strategies for Representative Council consideration to promote greater awareness and use of options that currently exist for interscholastic athletic participation by students who are less than full-time enrolled students of the schools sponsoring the athletic program and to explore additional options that might be considered by the membership to expand such opportunities with appropriate oversight of attendance, behavior, curriculum and progress toward graduation and other fundamental requirements of educationally based athletics. In June, the MHSAA Executive Committee approved an action plan to implement the Council's directive.

Presently there are five ways in which students who attend non-public schools and public school academies may participate in athletics in the school setting. There are three ways in which home-schooled students may do so. Ideas will be explored for promoting better the opportunities that already exist and to expand opportunities in ways that would be supported by the membership.

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 conducted in 12 sports for girls and 12 sports for boys which attract approximately 1.3 million spectators each year.