2013-14 Fall Practice Begins Next Week
August 7, 2013
Approximately 110,000 student-athletes begin practice next week in eight sports in which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors postseason tournaments, signaling the beginning of the 2013-14 Fall sports season.
Practice sessions begin Monday (Aug. 12) in football, followed by all other sports Wednesday (Aug. 14). Practice in football must begin on Aug. 12 for all schools wishing to begin regular-season games the weekend of Aug. 29-31. Schools must have 12 days of preseason practice at all levels before their first game, which may not occur before 16 calendar days. All football schools also must conduct at least three days of practice before beginning contact, and those sessions may not include any pads.
In golf and tennis, competition may commence no earlier than after three separate days of team practice, and not before seven calendar days. The first day competition may take place in golf and tennis is Aug. 21. In all other fall sports, contests can take place after seven days of practice for the team and not before nine calendar days. The first day competition may take place in cross country, tennis, soccer, swimming and diving, and volleyball in the fall is Aug. 23.
This year, only one football date precedes Labor Day, and most varsity games will take place on Thursday, Aug. 29, that week. Subvarsity competition may begin on Wednesday, Aug. 28. In Week 1, 253 games will be played on Thursday, 74 contests will be played on Friday, and 12 games will be played on Saturday.
There are several significant rules changes on football for 2013:
- Pass interference no longer is an automatic first down if against the defense, or results in a loss of down if against the offense. Both are a 15-yard mark-off from the previous spot, and the down is replayed except when the penalty against the defense results in a first down.
- If a player’s helmet comes off during a play, it is illegal participation and a 15-yard penalty if that player continues to participate in a play; and a personal foul and a 15-yard penalty if a player from the opposing team initiates contact with a player whose helmet has come off.
- On a catch, an airborne receiver whose forward progress is stopped and is carried out of bounds by a defender will be ruled a legal catch. If the airborne receiver is contacted and driven out of bounds, the result of the play is an incomplete pass.
- Following a penalty on the kicking team for kick catch interference on a fair catch play, the receiving team can opt to take a free kick after the 15-yard penalty has been enforced.
In soccer, Michigan has adopted the National Federation rule involving the disqualification from a game when a player receives a second yellow card and the subsequent red card. Now, in addition to the player being ejected from the contest, that team will have to continue the game a player down. A player receiving a yellow card must leave the game immediately, but now may reenter at the next available opportunity, and no longer have to sit out for 10 minutes. There are no substantial rules change in other fall sports.
The 2013 Fall campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals the week of Oct. 1, and wraps up with the Football Playoff Finals on Nov. 29-30. Here is a complete list of fall tournament dates:
Cross Country:
U.P. Finals -- Oct. 19
L.P. Regionals -- Oct. 25 or 26
L.P. Finals -- Nov. 2
11-Player Football:
Selection Sunday - Oct. 27
Pre-Districts – Nov. 1 or 2
District Finals -- Nov. 8 or 9
Regional Finals -- Nov. 15 or 16
Semifinals -- Nov. 23
Finals -- Nov. 29-30
8-Player Football:
Selection Sunday - Oct. 27
Regional Semifinals – Nov. 1 or 2
Regional Finals -- Nov. 8 or 9
Semifinals -- Nov. 16
Finals -- Nov. 22 or 23
L.P. Girls Golf:
Regionals -- Oct. 9 or 10 or 11 or 12
Finals -- Oct. 18-19
Soccer:
Boys L.P. Districts -- Oct. 14-19
Boys L.P. Regionals – Oct. 22-26
Boys L.P. Semifinals – Oct. 30
Boys L.P. Finals -- Nov. 2
L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving
Diving Quals -- Nov. 19
Swimming/Diving Finals-Nov. 22-23
Tennis:
U.P. Girls Finals –Oct. 2 or 3 or 4 or 5
L.P. Boys Regionals -- Oct. 10 or 11 or 12
L.P. Finals --Oct. 18-19
Girls Volleyball:
Districts – Nov. 4-9
Regionals – Nov. 12 & 14
Quarterfinals – Nov. 19
Semifinals – Nov. 21-22
Finals – Nov. 23
With HOF Induction, Roberts Again Emphasizes Value & Values of School Sports
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 14, 2022
Longtime and now-retired MHSAA executive director John E. "Jack" Roberts was inducted into the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Hall of Fame on July 1, 2022 – shining a light on high life's work of promoting, supporting and providing a valued national voice on education athletics during 32 years in that role from 1986 until his retirement in 2018.
Roberts was one of 12 honorees inducted during the NFHS summer meeting in San Antonio, Texas.
Roberts began his career serving as an assistant director for the National Federation from 1973-80. He was involved with the implementation of Title IX at the local and state levels and made immense contributions as the NFHS representative to the landmark Amateur Sports Act of 1978, and also played a significant role in the NFHS rules-writing process as the organization started writing and publishing rules for a number of new sports during the 1970s.
At the time of his retirement, Roberts was the nation’s longest-serving executive director of a state high school athletic association. He was the fourth person to serve the MHSAA in that leadership role full time, following Charles E. Forsythe (1931-42, 1945-68), Allen W. Bush (1968-78) and Vern L. Norris (1978-86).
Roberts also followed in the footsteps of his late father, John Roberts, who served as executive director of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association from 1957-85 and was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame in 2000. They are the first father-son team in the Hall of Fame.
The video above was shown as an introduction before Roberts was awarded his Hall of Fame plaque and medal during the induction ceremony. In the photo below, Roberts stands with current MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl.
