#TBT: Making Hoops History

October 9, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

With nearly 90 years of our own to recall, we enjoy history quite a bit at the Michigan High School Athletic Association. 

And we also enjoy when those who have been part of our events send us a souvenir like this 1939 Boys Basketball Regional program from March 9-11, 1939, at what became known as Western Michigan University. 

Regionals for Class A, C and D were played at the then-Western State Teachers College, with Kalamazoo St. Augustine, Watervliet and Burr Oak emerging as champions, respectively. 

Also participating were Battle Creek, Holland, Benton Harbor and Kalamazoo Central in Class A; Bangor, Decatur, Eau Claire, Constantine and Kellogg in Class C; and Augusta and St. Joseph Catholic in Class D. 

Of note:

  • The cover of the program included a list of Regional champions at the site dating to 1920. The MHSAA began in 1925 from a previous body.

  • "Rules Changes to Watch" listed on the inside pages included the lane violation and a rule for overtime in which the first team scoring two points was declared the winner. 

  • The back cover showed an artist's sketch of the football/track and field and baseball stadiums then under construction at a cost of $270,000. 

Below is the inside pages in full, including filled-in brackets for all three tournaments. 

Coming Sunday: Girls & Boys District Basketball Brackets

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

March 12, 2021

District brackets for girls and boys basketball will be drawn Sunday and posted to the MHSAA Website. 

The top two teams in each District, based on their Michigan Power Rating (MPR), will be placed on opposite sides of those brackets so the earliest they may face each other will be the District Final. 

Games through Saturday will be counted toward MPR, and teams must have at least eight results to be seeded. Only the top two teams receive seeds; the remaining teams in each District are placed using a predetermined order. 

The MPR listings on MHSAA.com allow users to see all teams in one list, or teams by Division, or teams by District. Click to see the Girls MPR and Boys MPR lists. 

District play begins March 22 for girls basketball and March 23 for boys.

PHOTO: Saginaw Arthur Hill, right, and Flint Carman-Ainsworth are among hopefuls again entering this postseason. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)