2018-19 Classifications Announced
March 27, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Classifications for Michigan High School Athletic Association elections and postseason tournaments for the 2018-19 school year have been announced, with enrollment breaks for postseason tournaments posted to each sport’s page on the MHSAA Website.
Classifications for the upcoming school year are based on a second semester count date, which for MHSAA purposes was Feb. 14. 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.
Beginning with 2018-19, traditional classes (A, B, C, D) will be used only for MHSAA elections and football playoff purposes – in 11-player to determine opponents’ point values, and in 8-player to determine if schools are eligible to compete in the MHSAA Playoffs (only Class D teams may participate in the postseason). All other sports’ tournaments will be conducted with schools in equal or nearly equal divisions, including volleyball and girls and boys basketball postseasons for the first time.
To determine traditional classifications, after all counts are submitted, tournament-qualified member schools are ranked according to enrollment and then split as closely into quarters as possible. For 2018-19, there are 747 tournament-qualified member schools with 186 schools in Class A, 188 schools in Class B, 186 schools in Class C and 187 schools in Class D.
Effective with the 2018-19 school year, schools with 885 or more students are in Class A. The enrollment limits for Class B are 398-884, Class C is 194-397, and schools with enrollments of 193 and fewer are Class D. The break between Classes A and B increased four students from 2017-18, the break between Classes B and C decreased eight students, and the break between Classes C and D is nine students fewer than the current school year.
Schools recently were 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 division, that school would be moved up.
Schools have the option to play at any higher division 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.
The divisions and qualifiers for the MHSAA Football Playoffs will be announced on Selection Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018. Visit the respective sport pages on the MHSAA Website to review the divisional alignments for all other MHSAA-sponsored tournament sports.
Among teams that will be playing in new divisions in 2018-19 are four reigning MHSAA champions. The Macomb Lutheran North girls golf team will move to Division 4 after winning Division 3 this past fall. The East Grand Rapids girls swimming & diving team will move into Division 3 after winning Division 2 in the fall, while the Flint Powers Catholic boys soccer team will play in Division 2 after winning Division 3 this past season. Flint Powers Catholic’s girls soccer team, the reigning Division 3 champion playing in that division again this spring, will also move into Division 2 for the 2019 season.
A complete list of school enrollments used to determine classifications for the 2018-19 school year can be found on the Enrollment & Classification page of the MHSAA Website.
The new classification breaks will see 22 schools move up in class for 2018-19, while 15 schools will move down. (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
Detroit Mumford
Flint Southwestern
Haslett
Jackson Northwest
New Boston Huron
River Rouge
Moving Down From Class A to Class B
Battle Creek Harper Creek
Detroit Cody
Farmington Hills Harrison
Hazel Park
Stevensville Lakeshore
Moving Up From Class C to Class B
Constantine
Detroit Henry Ford
Detroit Jalen Rose Leadership Academy
Detroit School of Arts
Houghton
Negaunee
Pinconning
Wixom St. Catherine of Siena
Moving Down From Class B to Class C
Dearborn Advanced Technology Academy
Ecorse
Harrison
Millington
Moving Up From Class D to Class C
Bark River-Harris
Big Rapids Crossroads Academy
Hope of Detroit Academy
Mesick
Morenci
Munising
Rogers City
Wyoming Potter’s House Christian
Moving Down From Class C to Class D
Detroit Southeastern
Mendon
New Buffalo
Pittsford
Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary
Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central
New Postseason Eligible Tournament Schools in 2018-19
Dearborn Heights WISE Academy
Pontiac Arts & Technology Academy
Taylor (created from a merger of Taylor Truman and Taylor Kennedy)
Enrollment Breaks by Classes – 2018-19
(Number of schools in parentheses)
Class A: 885 and above (186 schools)
Class B: 398 – 884 (188)
Class C: 194 – 397 (186)
Class D: 193 and below (187)
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.
2020 Class Honored Together, from Afar
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 15, 2020
Ishpeming Westwood’s girls basketball team was two hours into a three-hour trip to its Division 3 Regional Final on March 12 when the Patriots were told to turn the bus around and come home.
In an instant, the 2019-20 school year – and with it all MHSAA sports across the state – had come to a halt. And two months later, the high school world and its sports community continue to wait for bits of normalcy to return.
On Wednesday, we were able to enjoy a little bit of normal that’s been part of the annual MHSAA calendar for three decades. A Zoom call brought together 31 families from all over the state along with MHSAA staff and Farm Bureau Insurance CEO Don Simon to celebrate this year’s MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award winners.
Living rooms, kitchens and home offices replaced Breslin Center as settings for this “virtual” ceremony. And yet, this ceremony may be remembered more than any other because of its necessity – due to the COVID-19 pandemic – and because of how it brought so many together, remotely, while the coronavirus has forced all of us to remain apart.
Below is the ceremony, in full, including words from Simon, MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl and Assistant Director Andy Frushour and, for the first time, a student speaker from the class – Ishpeming Westwood senior Madelyn Koski, who was part of that basketball team destined for Sault Ste. Marie. A brief Q&A with Koski follows.
Koski was an all-stater on the court who would’ve finished her high school career with four varsity letters each for hoops, tennis and softball. She will continue at Ferris State University, where she’ll pursue a degree in pharmacy and continue her basketball career.
Second Half: How did you decide what you wanted to say? Was there a message you wanted to get across?
It was easy to write the sad part, because I know what happened – I was there. But it was hard for me to make a positive spin at the end because I don’t think anyone’s over it yet. I was glad to be able to turn it into something that was bigger than sports … more about our whole lives and less about our time in high school.
Second Half: It’s been two months. How have you been navigating the disappointment, the sadness? And is there advice you’d give to other people your age trying to do it?
As time went on, it got a little bit better. The day after was pretty sad; that’s all I could think about. Now there’s so many other things to do – the weather’s nicer, we can go outside. And I’m playing college basketball – not everyone has that chance – but at least I have that to practice for, look forward to.
I guess, it’s just … time heals.
Second Half: Even though you can’t be with them and hang out with them, I’m sure you’re talking a lot of your friends and teammates. What kind of conversations are you having? Is it looking ahead? Is it still thinking about, “We’d be playing softball right now?"
I think we kinda tried to leave the basketball stuff in the past because it was too sad to talk about. We made sure we do talk, obviously not in person, but on social media or FaceTime, we just talk about our memories and everything. That helped. It didn’t close the chapter, but it was nice to talk to them when we were all alone. And now we just don’t talk about that anymore. Nobody really wants to talk about it. We see memories popping up on Facebook and all these other things about, “Oh, we had a softball game last year at this time.” And it’s pretty sad. But no one else is playing. So it’s like we’re all in the same boat.
Second Half: You can turn on the news and you can see what every adult has to say about what’s going on right now. … You’re 17, you’re finishing your last year of high school, you’re going through something no one has gone through in more than 100 years. How do you see everything that’s happening in the world right now, as you look at it from a 17-year-old’s point of view and see seasons end and school end?
I know we can’t help what happened. But obviously I think it’s unfair that it happened to our class. It stinks for every grade, but (as seniors) we’re missing out on our best parts of high school right now and it’s pretty horrible. We’ve been waiting years for our senior proms and graduations, banquets and award ceremonies, like the MHSAA one. So that kinda stinks.
Ever since March 12, I’ve been staying optimistic. But I’m proved wrong every time because things just keep getting canceled and canceled. … (But) I’m a pretty optimistic person, so I still have some left.
Second Half: What happens next? What does your summer look like? What happens for people who are in your shoes?
I’ll keep working out, and one of the girls on my high school basketball team is going to play at Michigan Tech so (eventually) we can work out together. … I think the biggest thing to do this summer, that I think I’ll do, is appreciate time with my family. I have gotten to spend a lot of time with them. And then maybe once summer rolls around and we’re allowed to be in bigger groups, I’ll be able to be with people other than my mom and dad, like my grandparents and cousins and my aunts and uncles. … (My sister Jillian and I) have been playing the same varsity sports for the last couple of years, and she’s been really successful. It’s been fun to win all these championships and stuff with her.
Second Half: What do you think you’re going to remember from this in five years, 10 years, when people ask you what your experience was like?
I’m probably going to say it’s a pretty bad experience. I guess it was an eye-opener that life can change at any moment. That’s kind’ve it. It didn’t change in a good way.
PHOTO: Westwood's Madelyn Koski sets up a play as Negaunee's Breanne Giotto defends her during their Jan. 24 game. (Photo by Cara Kamps.)