Scholar-Athlete Award

2023-24 Scholar-Athlete Award

Tracking the Award

For 35 years, the MHSAA and Farm Bureau Insurance have honored the best student-athletes in Michigan. Again, this year they will award 32 students with $2,000 scholarships based on achievement and leadership in athletics and activities, as well as responses to short-answer and essay questions. In many ways, this is the most prestigious honor of the MHSAA annual awards.

Frequently Asked Questions

Am I Eligible to Apply?

Seniors with an unrounded 3.50 or better GPA who have an earned a varsity letter in a MHSAA-sponsored sport are eligible to apply. For early or middle college students, you are eligible in your last year of athletic eligibility.

How Do I Apply?

Go to mhsaa.com/scholarship
Create an account. Be sure to verify your email address.
Ask your school athletic director for the Access Code
Click the blue “Check Eligibility” button, enter the Access Code and start the application

What Are the Different Parts of the Application?

Applicant information
List of athletic teams and extra-curricular activities, focusing on achievement and leadership positions
Two short-answer questions about how your experiences in high school sports and activities
500-word essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics
Two letters of recommendation

How Are Letters of Recommendation Submitted?

You have two options for submitting your two letters of recommendation.

You can upload the two letters yourself.
You can enter email addresses for the two recommenders, and they will be sent simple instructions for adding their letters to your account.

After you select how you would like your letters of recommendation to be submitted, click the "Mark As Complete" button. Another task will populate where you will be able to complete one of the two options above.

How Many Students Can Apply?

Schools are limited to the number of students who will be considered for the award. Class A schools can nominate 6 boys and 6 girls, Class B can nominate 4 boys and 4 girls, Class C can nominate 3 boys and 3 girls and Class D can nominate 2 boys and 2 girls.

However, more students can submit an application. After the deadline and prior to judging, we will look at the list of completed applications and search for schools which have more applicants than allowed. We will contact the athletic director and ask him/her which applications we should consider for the award. ALL applicants, even those who are not considered for the award, will be recognized with a certificate.

How Many Students Will Win?

We will select 32 total winners - 6 boys and 6 girls from Class A, 4 boys and 4 girls from Class B, 3 boys and 3 girls from Class C and 2 boys and 2 girls from Class D, as well as 2 at-large winners for minority applicants. The winners will be announced throughout February, and honored during the Boys Basketball Finals.

How Can I Find Out Who Has Applied?

View your current applicants here - 2024 Applicants.

When is the Deadline/Announcement Schedule?

The deadline is Friday, Dec. 1, at 4:00 p.m. 120 Finalists will be announced in late January and the 32 winners will be announced throughout February.

Helpful Hints for Applicants

This is an Online Application

Go to mhsaa.com/scholarship to create an account and start the process.
Contact your school’s athletic director to get an Access Code. You must have this code to continue the process. Please note the school is limited in the number of students that can apply for the award.
The online application and the process should seem very intuitive. Email notifications will be sent to you throughout the process.
You can start the application, fill out part of it, and then return later to pick up where you left off. Be sure you come back to submit the application prior to the deadline on Dec. 1. Decide if you are going to upload letters of recommendation yourself, or if you will invite recommenders to write a letter and upload themselves.
VERY IMPORTANT: If you have your recommenders upload themselves, you must log back into the system and click “Mark as Complete” under the “Request Letters of Recommendation” section.
When you are finished with the Application Form and Letters of Recommendation, click on the blue “Review and Submit” button. After reviewing, click “Submit Your Application” to finish the application process.

Don't Wait Until the Last Minute

There are multiple parts to the application, so don't get caught procrastinating.
Make contact with the two people who will write your letters of recommendation, and give them plenty of time to submit a great letter on your behalf.
Write, edit, and re-write your essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics. 500-words are the maximum for this essay.

Know How the Applications Are Judged

Essay (40%): Be creative in telling the judges why sportsmanship is important to educational athletics. VERY IMPORTANT: the judges will be reading dozens of essays - make yours stand out! Tell the judges a personal story about sportsmanship; don't give them the Webster's definition of sportsmanship.
Extra-Curricular Activities Form (30%): Focus on significant leadership experiences and significant athletic achievements and academic awards won. Judges are looking for quality of experiences, not quantity of experiences.
Short-Answer Questions (20%): Use this space to tell us more about your experiences in high school sports and activities. These are not throw-away questions, consider them mini-essays.
Letters of Recommendation (10%): Approach coaches, teachers, school administrators, youth group leaders or others in your community to have them write recommendation letters so the judges can learn a little bit more about you.

Who Wins the Award?

Thirty-two (32) student-athletes will win a $2,000 scholarship. A graduated scale based on MHSAA enrollment classification will be used to allocate the first 30 scholarships. In Class A, 6 boys and 6 girls will be selected as winners. 4 boys and 4 girls from Class B schools will be selected as scholarship recipients, while 3 boys and 3 girls in Class C and 2 boys and 2 girls from Class D schools will receive the $2,000 scholarship. The last 2 at-large scholarships are designated for minority candidates and will be chosen after the first 30 scholarship recipients have been selected.