MHSAA Membership
May 9, 2016
May is the month that begins membership renewal in the Michigan High School Athletic Association, when the 2016-17 Membership Resolution is mailed to school districts across the state.
New for 2016-17 is that schools may join the MHSAA at the 6th-grade level and up (not 7th). This change, resulting from a 561 to 87 vote by member school principals last October, has three obvious benefits:
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Makes it easier for small schools to include 6th-graders in their counts and on their 7th- and 8th-grade teams.
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Makes it easier for districts where 6th-graders are in buildings with 7th- and 8th-graders to participate on those junior high/middle school teams.
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Allows all districts, but requires no districts, to provide athletic opportunities for 6th-graders under the auspices of the MHSAA (on separate teams or with 7th- and 8th-graders).
Membership in the MHSAA is optional. It is a choice schools make through their local governing boards. Schools may conduct a comprehensive program of interscholastic athletics and may participate against MHSAA member schools in regular-season competition without joining the MHSAA.
Membership in the MHSAA is free of charge. There are no membership dues. While MHSAA tournaments are limited to MHSAA member high schools in good standing, there are no tournament entry fees for qualifying schools. Catastrophic Accident Medical Insurance and Concussion Care Insurance is purchased by the MHSAA and provided free of charge to all eligible student-athletes in grades 6 through 12. It applies to all levels of MHSAA sports in both practice and competition.
The expectations of member schools include:
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Educating student-athletes, staff and other involved personnel about MHSAA rules and procedures.
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Monitoring compliance year-around.
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Investigating possible violations and reporting findings.
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Administering penalties.
Membership Renewal
May 23, 2017
Unlike classroom courses of our schools, the interscholastic athletic program requires opponents; and to help promote a level playing field for competition, the interscholastic athletic program requires some organization to provide a forum to assist in developing competitive standards and to help assure they are maintained. For many years, many schools have worked through the Michigan High School Athletic Association to establish a common set of rules, for the orderly administration of an interscholastic athletic program, which promotes academic integrity and competitive equity.
According to Michigan Attorney General Opinion #4795 of 1977, any local board of education that desires to do so may voluntarily join the MHSAA by adopting the rules of the association and agreeing to enforce those rules with respect to its schools. Institutional control remains the key to this organization.
MHSAA membership is free of charge, and there is no entry fee to participate in MHSAA tournaments. But while MHSAA membership is free of costs, it’s not free of responsibilities. The expectations of member schools include:
- Educating student-athletes, staff and other involved personnel about MHSAA rules and procedures.
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Monitoring compliance year-around.
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Investigating possible violations and reporting findings.
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Administering penalties.
Each school district that agrees to these responsibilities must say so by means of an annual board of education resolution. The resolutions have just been mailed to all superintendents for the 2017-18 school year.
Each school district that wishes one or more schools to participate in MHSAA tournaments and benefit from MHSAA services must schedule on its board of education agenda the adoption of the MHSAA Membership Resolution. The Resolution should be signed in sufficient time to prevent a lapse in membership (before August 1). A lapse in membership, even though for only a week, can create unnecessary problems should there be claims under the $1,000,000 accident medical insurance plan or the concussion care gap insurance or if eligibility rulings are to be made during that period.