6 Schools Win First Titles in 2012-13

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

June 24, 2013

A total of 101 schools won one or more of the 127 team Finals championships awarded by the Michigan High School Athletic Association during the 2012-13 school year – with six programs winning the first MHSAA team titles in any sport for their respective schools.

The Manchester girls basketball, Jackson Northwest girls bowling, Portland football, Harbor Beach football, Deckerville football and Hamtramck Frontier International boys soccer teams brought home the first MHSAA team championships in their schools’ histories.

A total of 33 teams won their first MHSAA titles. A total of 46 champions were repeat winners from 2011-12 – and 23 of those won for at least the third straight season. The Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice boys lacrosse team has the longest title streak of nine seasons, while the Battle Creek St. Philip volleyball team has won six straight titles for the second-longest streak overall and longest among girls programs. 

Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook-Kingswood claimed the most championships, four, winning in Division 2 boys lacrosse, Lower Peninsula Division 3 girls swimming and diving, Lower Peninsula Division 3 girls tennis and Division 3 ice hockey. Four schools won three titles apiece: Grand Rapids Christian, Grand Rapids South Christian, Marquette and St. Ignace LaSalle.

Sixteen of the MHSAA's 28 championship tournaments are unified, involving teams from the Upper and Lower Peninsulas, while separate competition to determine titlists in both Peninsulas is conducted in remaining sports.

For a sport-by-sport listing of MHSAA champions for 2012-13 - Click Here (PDF)

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 approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.

PHOTO: Manchester's girls basketball team celebrates the school's first MHSAA team championship in any sport this March at the Breslin Center. (Click to see more at HighSchoolsSportsScene.com.)

MHSAA Sportsmanship Summits to be Presented for First Time Since 2019 

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

September 28, 2022

The Michigan High School Athletic Association’s annual Sportsmanship Summit series will return this fall to be conducted for the first time since 2019, again focusing on sportsmanship both on and off the field of play.

The MHSAA has conducted Sportsmanship Summits across Michigan for more than 20 years, and this year’s series kicks off Nov. 7 in Marquette and finishes Nov. 16 in Ypsilanti.

MHSAA staff, with assistance from school administrators and the MHSAA Student Advisory Council, conduct Sportsmanship Summits. More than 800 students are expected to take part in the four workshops, where they will discuss the line that separates good from bad sportsmanship, both as athletes during competition and when it comes to cheering at athletic events.

Workshop sessions will feature hands-on activities including one session developed and instructed by members of the Student Advisory Council. At the end of the day the delegation from each participating school will meet to develop a school sportsmanship campaign. Breakouts at each Summit also provide a great opportunity for student sections to learn about appropriate student section behavior. There will be information for the veteran student sections, as well as guides for schools that want to start their own organized student sections for the first time.

“Winning is great, but good sportsmanship helps develop habits that can be used well beyond the playing field,” said MHSAA assistant director Andy Frushour, the lead Sportsmanship Summits presenter. “A lively student section can create a fun and exciting atmosphere at games, but we want to make sure students don’t take this a step too far. The Summits are a great way to learn from other schools around the state.”

Sessions will take place at the following:

• Marquette – Nov. 7 – NMU Northern Center – 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
• Saginaw – Nov. 9 – SVSU Conference Center – 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
• Grand Rapids – Nov. 14 – Sheraton Grand Rapids Airport Hotel – 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
• Ypsilanti – Nov. 16 – Ann Arbor Marriott Ypsilanti at Eagle Crest – 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

Registration at each site is limited to the first 225 students and administrators. Schools are welcome to bring as many as 10 total representatives, including two administrators. For additional registration information, contact Andy Frushour at the MHSAA office – [email protected] or (517) 332-5046. Registration information also is available on the MHSAA Website.