2013-14 School Year Classifications Announced

March 20, 2013

Classifications for Michigan High School Athletic Association elections and postseason tournaments in traditionally classified sports (A, B, C, D) for the 2013-14 school year have been announced, with enrollment breaks for postseason tournaments set up by divisions to be posted Monday on the MHSAA Website.

Classifications for the upcoming school year are based on a second semester count date, which for MHSAA purposes was February 13. The enrollment figure submitted for athletic classification purposes may be different from the count submitted for school aid purposes, as it does not include students ineligible for athletic competition because they reached their 19th birthday prior to September 1 of the current school year and will not include alternative education students if none are allowed athletic eligibility by the local school district.

After all the counts are submitted, tournament-qualified member schools are ranked according to enrollment, and then split as closely into quarters as possible. For 2013-14, there are 756 tournament-qualified member schools and 189 schools in each class.

Effective with the 2013-14 school year, schools with 893 or more students are in Class A in MHSAA postseason tournament competition. The enrollment limits for Class B are 429-892; Class C is 207-428; and schools with enrollments of 206 and fewer are Class D. The break between Classes A and B decreased 18 students from 2012-13, the break between Classes B and C decreased 20 students, and the break between Classes C and D is 10 students fewer than the current school year.

The new classification breaks will see 24 schools move up in class for 2013-14, while 20 schools will move down.

Schools were recently notified of their classification. MHSAA Executive Director John E. "Jack" Roberts said schools may not subsequently lower their enrollment figure. However, if revised enrollment figures should be higher and indicate that a school should be playing in a higher class, that school would be moved up.

Schools have the option to play at any higher classification for a minimum of two years, but must exercise the option by April 15 for fall sports, August 15 for winter sports, and October 15 for spring sports.

MHSAA tournament sports that will be conducted in traditional classifications for 2013-14 are Basketball and Girls Volleyball. Football will use traditional classifications to determine playoff points. 

Sports which will compete in nearly equal divisions are: Baseball, Bowling, Girls Competitive Cheer, Lower Peninsula Cross Country, Lower Peninsula Golf, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Lower Peninsula Soccer, Skiing, Softball, Lower Peninsula Swimming and Diving, Lower Peninsula Tennis, Lower Peninsula Track and Field and Wrestling.  

Visit the respective sport pages on the MHSAA Website on Monday to review the divisional alignments.

The divisions and qualifiers for the MHSAA Football Playoffs will be announced on Selection Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013. 

A complete list of school enrollments used to determine classifications for the 2013-14 school year can be found on the Enrollment & Classification page of the MHSAA Website.

Here is a complete list of schools changing classification for 2013-14. (Note: This list does not include schools opting up in class/division for tournaments, which can be found on the Administrators page of the MHSAA Website under Enrollment and Classification):


Moving Up From Class B to Class A

Haslett

Detroit Osborn

Warren Regina

South Lyon East

Middleville Thornapple Kellogg

Trenton

 

Moving Down From Class A to Class B

Coldwater

Fowlerville

Fruitport

Detroit Henry Ford

Inkster

Milan

Redford Union

Romulus

Detroit Southeastern

 

Moving Up From Class C to Class B

Dearborn Advanced Technology Academy

Ypsilanti Arbor Preparatory

Delton Kellogg

Harrison

Houghton

Detroit Plymouth Educational Center Prep

Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central

Detroit University Prep Science & Math

Grand Rapids Wellspring Preparatory

Detroit Westside Academy


Moving Down From Class B to Class C

Southfield Bradford

Farwell

Detroit Henry Ford Academy School for Creative Studies

Houghton Lake

Kalkaska

Lakeview

 

Moving Up From Class D to Class C

Beal City

Detroit Dr. Benjamin Carson HS for Science & Medicine

Kimball Landmark Academy

St. Ignace LaSalle

Mendon

Mio-Au Sable

Detroit Universal Academy

Pittsford


Moving Down From Class C to Class D

Albion

Detroit Collegiate Prep

Harper Woods HEART Academy

Marcellus

Stephenson

 

New Postseason Eligible Tournament Schools in 2013-14

Detroit Jalen Rose Leadership Academy

Detroit University Prep Science & Math

Grand Rapids West MI Aviation Academy

Kalamazoo Lakeside Academy

Marquette North Star Academy

Wetmore Munising Baptist


Enrollment Breaks by Classes – 2013-14

(Number of schools in parentheses)

Class A: 893 and above (189 schools)

Class B: 429 – 892 (189)

Class C: 207 – 428 (189)

Class D: 206 and below (189)

MI Participation Ahead of National Pace

September 10, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Michigan had the eighth-most participants in high school sports nationally for the second straight year in 2017-18 according to statistics recently released by the National Federation of State High School Associations, again outpacing the state’s national ranking of 10th for total number of residents of high school age.

Michigan’s participation ranking was based on a number of 296,625, with 127,098 girls and 169,527 boys taking part in high school athletics, and included sports in which the Michigan High School Athletic Association does not conduct postseason tournaments. The totals count students once for each sport in which he or she participates, meaning students who are multiple-sport athletes are counted more than once.

The state’s girls participation ranked eighth nationally for the second straight year, while the boys participation figure improved to seventh, up one spot from 2016-17. However, as with overall population, Michigan continued to rank 10th for both females and males ages 14-17 according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates from 2017.

A total of 19 sports bested the state’s overall national participation ranking of eighth by placing seventh or higher on their respective lists. Four Michigan sports improved in national ranking during 2017-18, while the state fell one spot in the rankings of three sports.

The most substantial improvement among Michigan sports came in girls volleyball, where Michigan moved up two spots to fourth – the same ranking it occupied for 2014-15 and 2015-16 before falling to sixth on the list a year ago. Competitive cheer rose one spot in the competitive spirit ranking to fifth, while girls swimming & diving moved up one spot to ninth and girls gymnastics moved up one position to 11th on its ranking list.

Two of three sports that fell on participation lists still outpaced Michigan’s overall participation rank – boys golf and boys tennis both fell from fifth to sixth, respectively. Girls lacrosse participation fell to 14th after five straight years ranking 13th nationally.

Other Michigan sports that ranked eighth or higher in 2017-18 were baseball (eighth), girls basketball (sixth), boys basketball (seventh), girls bowling (fourth), boys bowling (third), girls and boys cross country (both seventh), 11 and 8-player football (sixth and seventh, respectively), girls golf (fifth), boys ice hockey (fourth), girls and boys skiing (both third), girls softball (seventh), girls tennis (third), girls track & field (eighth), boys track & field (seventh) and boys wrestling (seventh).

Boys lacrosse, boys and girls soccer and boys swimming & diving participation all slotted ninth on their respective lists, holding to their 2016-17 rankings and placing still ahead of where Michigan slotted for high school-aged population. The football rankings were again notable in that Michigan slotted sixth for 11-player participation for the sixth straight year despite another sizable increase in the number of schools switching to the 8-player format.

National participation in high school sports in 2017-18 set a record for the 29th consecutive year with 7,979,986 participants – an increase of 16,451 from the year before. Girls participation increased for the 29th consecutive year with an additional 15,009 participants to set an all-time high of 3,415,306. Boys participation also set another all-time high with 4,564,680, an increase of 1,442 participants from 2016-17.

For the second consecutive year, competitive spirit (competitive cheer in Michigan) had the largest increase among girls sports with an additional 18,426 participants. Swimming and diving, lacrosse and golf showed the next greatest increases among girls sports. Boys soccer registered the largest gain among boys sports with 6,128 additional participants, followed by cross country.

Football (1,067,970) was down 1.7 percent from 2016-17, but again remained the most-played high school sport overall – and nationally, the number of schools sponsoring the sport increased 29 to 15,486. Boys track & field (600,097), boys basketball (551,373), girls track & field (488,492) and baseball (487,097) again rounded out the top five sports by participation, in that order.