2020-21 Classifications Announced
April 20, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Classifications for MHSAA elections and postseason tournaments for the 2020-21 school year have been announced – including football divisions determined preseason for the first time since 1998 – and 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. 12. 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.
All sports’ tournaments are conducted with schools assigned to equal or nearly equal divisions, with lines dependent on how many schools participate in those respective sports.
For 2020-21, there are 752 tournament-qualified member schools. Schools recently were notified of their classification, and sport-by-sport divisions were posted to the MHSAA Website today (April 20). MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said schools may not subsequently lower their enrollment figure. However, if revised enrollment figures are higher and indicate that a school should be playing in a higher division, that school would be moved up.
Football will undergo a significant classification change for the 2020 season, with teams in both 11 and 8-player assigned their divisions before the season for the first time since 1998; from 1999-2019, divisions for the 256-team 11-player field (and later the 8-player tournament) were determined after the regular season. A hard enrollment limit also will take effect this fall for teams to be eligible for the 8-player tournament – all schools with 215 or fewer students are eligible for the 8-player playoffs if they play that format during the regular season.
Two 11-player football champions will play in different divisions in 2020 than those they won a year ago. Grand Rapids Catholic Central will move to Division 5 after winning the Division 4 championship last season, while reigning Division 6 champion Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central will play in Division 7 this upcoming season. Also, 2019 Division 2 runner-up Detroit Martin Luther King will play in Division 3 this fall. In 8-player football, the reigning champions will trade divisions – 2019 Division 1 winner Colon moving into Division 2, and Division 2 champ Pickford moving into Division 1 for this fall.
A number of 2019-20 champions will be playing in different divisions in 2020-21. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern’s boys soccer team will move into Division 1 after winning the Division 2 title in 2019. The East Grand Rapids girls swimming & diving team will move back into Lower Peninsula Division 2 – which it won in 2017 – after earning the last two championships in Division 3. Bridgman’s girls cross country team will move into Lower Peninsula Division 3 after winning Division 4 last fall, and Grass Lake’s boys bowling team will move into Division 3 after winning the Division 4 title this winter. The Allegan boys tennis team will move into Lower Peninsula Division 3 after sharing the Division 4 title in the fall, while the Ishpeming Westwood girls tennis team will move into Upper Peninsula Division 1 after winning the Division 2 title the last four seasons. (NOTE: MHSAA Finals in five Winter sports and all Spring sports were canceled in 2019-20 due to COVID-19.)
Visit the respective sport pages on the MHSAA Website to review the divisional alignments for all MHSAA-sponsored tournament sports.
Traditional classes (A, B, C, D) – formerly used to establish tournament classifications – are used only for MHSAA elections. 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 2020-21, there are 188 member schools in each class.
Effective with the 2020-21 school year, schools with 831 or more students are in Class A. The enrollment limits for Class B are 392-830, Class C is 182-391, and schools with enrollments of 181 and fewer are Class D. The break between Classes A and B decreased 32 students from 2019-20, the break between Classes B and C decreased three students, and the break between Classes C and D is seven students fewer than the 2019-20 school year.
The new classification breaks will see 18 schools move up in Class for 2020-21 while 15 schools will move down:
Moving Up from Class B to Class A
Fowlerville
Harper Woods
Ionia
Moving Down from Class A to Class B
Battle Creek Harper Creek
Eastpointe
Moving Up from Class C to Class B
Blissfield
Canton Prep
Dearborn Riverside Academy West
Detroit Pershing
Detroit Edison
Ecorse
Moving Down from Class B to Class C
Adrian Madison
Detroit Jalen Rose Leadership Academy
Grand Rapids Wellspring Prep
Menominee
Otisville-LakeVille Memorial
Perry
Pinconning
Moving Up from Class D to Class C
Birmingham Roeper
Detroit Academy of the Americas
Detroit Southeastern
Detroit The School at Marygrove
Eau Claire
Genesee
New Buffalo
Painesdale Jeffers
Moving up from Class D to Class B
Detroit Cornerstone Lincoln King Academy
Moving Down from Class C to Class D
Benton Harbor Countryside Academy
Deckerville
Detroit Douglass
Detroit Public Safety Academy
Indian River Inland Lakes
Mayville
New Postseason Eligible Tournament Schools in 2020-21
Bay City Academy
Boyne City Concord Academy
Detroit Cornerstone Lincoln King Academy
Lansing Martin Luther
Detroit Collegiate
Redford Westfield Prep
Enrollment Breaks by Classes – 2020-21
(Number of schools in parentheses)
Class A: 831 and above (188 schools)
Class B: 392 – 830 (188)
Class C: 182 – 391 (188)
Class D: 181 and below (188)
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.
2023-24 MHSAA Officials Registration Underway
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 19, 2023
The Michigan High School Athletic Association is accepting registrations online or by mail for game officials for the 2023-24 school year.
The MHSAA registered approximately 8,300 officials for the 2022-23 school year as building back the ranks continues after the number of registrations decreased during the height of COVID-19.
All officials who register may sign up for up to two sports as part of their registration. Officials also will receive membership in the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), which comes with a variety of educational and training resources including a subscription to an MHSAA-branded “Referee” digital magazine, and the NASO’s Shield liability insurance that will provide $6 million in coverage for officials while they are working both MHSAA and non-MHSAA events.
For new and returning officials, a $70 fee covers registration for up to two sports. Officials may register for additional sports at $16 per sport.
To avoid a $30 late fee, all fall sport registration applications must be received by Aug. 16, 2023. Winter sports registrations must be received by Nov. 11 to avoid the late fee, and spring sports registrations must be received by March 17, 2024.
Online registration can be accessed by clicking “Officials” of the MHSAA Website. More information about officials registration may be obtained by contacting the MHSAA by phone at (517) 332-5046 or by e-mail at [email protected].
There is an officials' registration test for first-time officials and officials who were not registered during the past school year, derived from the MHSAA Officials Guidebook. New officials and those who didn’t officiate during 2022-23 also must complete the online MHSAA Principles of Officiating course. Additional exams must be taken by those registering for football or basketball for the first time or those who were not registered for those sports during the previous school year. Links to the Officials Guidebook, Principles of Officiating presentation and the football and basketball mechanics manuals can be found by following the “New Officials” link on the Officials page of the MHSAA Website.
There also are opportunities to officiate for students at least 14 years old and in grades 9-12 through the MHSAA Legacy Program. Juniors and seniors may officiate subvarsity contests, while freshmen and sophomores may officiate contests at the middle school/junior high levels. Mentor officials will work events with Legacy participants to provide guidance and support. Click for information on the Legacy Program.
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 1.3 million spectators each year.