Logo

UPDATE Meeting Series In 37th Year

September 15, 2014

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

The Michigan High School Athletic Association will conduct its 37th annual Update Meeting series in the coming weeks, and this year’s schedule will again offer in-service programming for athletic directors at six of the seven locations.  

The Update series is annually attended by more than 800 school administrators. During the meetings, information about current MHSAA activities is disseminated, issues affecting interscholastic athletics are discussed, and attendees are surveyed on various topics. Six luncheon meetings are scheduled in the Lower Peninsula, and a morning meeting is scheduled for Marquette in the Upper Peninsula.  

MHSAA Executive Director John E. "Jack" Roberts will address high school superintendents, principals, athletic directors and school board members on a variety of topics at these meetings. Update Meetings also provide school administrators an opportunity to ask questions and discuss any recent changes in the Association's rules and regulations.  

This will be the 12th year for Athletic Director In-Service programs to take place in morning-long sessions prior to most of the Update Meetings. These workshops are designed to help prepare those administrators for the rigors of their jobs, and with the Update Meetings offer those in attendance an opportunity to meet with administrators from neighboring school districts with whom they normally are not able to have day-to-day contact.    

The meeting in Frankenmuth on October 8 also will serve as the Annual Business Meeting for the MHSAA. Click for the registration form for Athletic Director In-Service and Update Meetings.

  • Sept. 24 – Pine West, Kalamazoo (Noon – Preceded by AD In-Service at 8:30 a.m.)
  • Sept. 29 – DeCarlo’s Center, Warren (Noon - Preceded by AD In-Service at 8:30 a.m.) 
  • Oct. 2 – Best Western Plus, Lansing (Noon – Preceded by AD In-Service at 8:30 a.m.)
  • Oct. 6 – English Hills Country Club, Comstock Park (Noon – Preceded by AD In-Service at 8:30 a.m.)
  • Oct. 8 – Zehnder's Restaurant, Frankenmuth (Noon – Preceded by AD In-Service at 8:30 a.m.)
  • Oct. 13 – Otsego Club & Resort, Gaylord (Noon – Preceded by AD In-Service at 8:30 a.m.)
  • Oct. 24 – Northern Michigan University Superior Dome, Marquette (10 a.m. – Upper Peninsula Athletic Directors Meeting) 

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 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 more than 1.4 million spectators each year.

Driving Force that Needs to be Re-Routed

November 30, 2015

The MHSAA's Fall issue of benchmarks examined the transfer regulation, including the reasoning behind recent changes. This is the first of four installments that will appear on Second Half this week. 

By John E. “Jack” Roberts
MHSAA Executive Director

During the 2014-15 school year, over the course of 12 meetings, the MHSAA Executive Committee considered 467 requests of member schools to waive Handbook rules. Of those, 300 requests were to waive some aspect of the Transfer Regulation.

So an issue of benchmarks which examines the MHSAA transfer rule is well justified. Perhaps overdue.

Over the years, families have moved about and split apart with increasing frequency. Public policymakers have adopted laws that encourage students to move, and to keep moving, until they find a school more to their liking or they graduate, whichever occurs first.

Meanwhile, the profile of competitive sports has blossomed to the point of becoming overblown, the influence of non-school sports has spread and the delusion of college athletic scholarships has infected the brains of more students and parents. All of which increase the likelihood that students will move as much or more often for athletics as for academics and all other factors combined.

Add to this that the United States, and Michigan in particular, has become the favored landing zone for foreign exchange students, and the result is the need for a transfer rule that is like a great outside linebacker – tough, quick and nimble. We need a rule that is tough, acts fast and can keep changing to keep up with the times.