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)
Pay-to-Play Down Slightly, Survey Shows
July 24, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Slightly less than 50 percent of MHSAA member high schools assessed sports participation fees during the 2017-18 school year, according to an annual survey that enjoyed its highest response rate in 14 years of measuring the prevalence of charging students to help fund interscholastic athletics.
This year’s survey was completed by a record 80 percent of the MHSAA’s 751 member high schools, and 49 percent of respondents charged participation fees – down slightly from 49.7 percent in 2016-17, when the rate dropped below 50 percent for the first time since 2009-10.
The MHSAA conducted its first participation fee survey during the 2003-04 school year, when 24 percent of responding schools reported they charged fees. The percentage of member schools charging fees crossed 50 percent in 2010-11 and reached a high of 56.6 percent in 2013-14.
Class A schools remained the largest group charging fees in 2017-18, with 65 percent of respondents doing so – although that percentage was the lowest for Class A since 66 percent reported using fees in 2011-12. Class B schools fell to 47 percent charging fees (from 52 percent in 2016-17), while Class C (46 percent) and Class D (37) schools remained below 50 percent as well.
Charging a standardized fee for each team on which a student-athlete participates – regardless of the number of teams – remains the most popular method among schools assessing fees, with that rate at 43 percent of schools. Schools charging a one-time standardized fee per student-athlete showed a slight decrease to 28 percent, while assessing fees based on tiers of the number of sports a student-athlete plays (for example, charging a larger fee for the first team and less for additional sports) and assessing fees based on the specific sport being played (some being more expensive than others) both showed slight upticks to 15 and 5 percent, respectively.
The amounts of most fees remained consistent during 2017-18: the median annual maximum fee per student at $150, the median annual maximum family fee at $300 and the median per-team fee at $75 – all for at least the fourth straight year. The median fee assessed by schools that charge student-athletes once per year held steady at $125 for the second straight school year.
Click for the survey for 2017-18, and surveys from previous years can be found here.