8 Members Elected, 2 Appointees Named to MHSAA Representative Council
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 1, 2021
Eight Members of the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association have been re-elected to continue their service, and a ninth member has been re-appointed for a second team while a second appointee joined the Council beginning with its annual Fall Meeting on Dec. 4.
All eight re-elected members ran unopposed. Continuing their service as elected members of the Council are Midland High School athletic director Eric Albright, representing Class A and B schools from the northern section of the Lower Peninsula; Portage Northern High School athletic director Chris Riker, Class A and B schools from the southwestern section of the Lower Peninsula; Brighton High School athletic director John Thompson, Class A and B schools from the southeastern section of the Lower Peninsula; Calumet assistant principal and athletic director Sean Jacques, Class C and D schools from the Upper Peninsula; and Maple City Glen Lake assistant principal and athletic director Mark Mattson, Class C and D schools from the northern section of the Lower Peninsula.
Also elected to continue in their service were Grand Haven Area Public Schools assistant superintendent Scott C. Grimes as one of two statewide at-large representatives, Clare Middle School principal Steve Newkirk as one of two junior high/middle school representatives, and the Archdiocese of Detroit’s director of physical education & athletics Vic Michaels to represent private and parochial high schools. All eight were elected to two-year terms.
Additionally, Novi High School principal Nicole Carter was re-appointed for a two-year term. Appointed for a first two-year term was Judy Cox, who serves as principal at Bay City Western High School.
Grimes was re-elected as Council president, Newkirk as vice president and Michaels as secretary-treasurer all to serve through the 2021 Fall Meeting.
The Representative Council is the 19-member legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five members are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee. The Council meets three times annually, in addition to specially-scheduled meetings as have been frequent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Five members of the Council convene monthly during the school year to form the MHSAA’s Executive Committee, which reviews appeals of Handbook regulations by member schools.
Additional elections took place to select representatives to the Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee. West Iron County principal, athletic director and football coach Mike Berutti was elected to represent athletic coaches, and Lake Linden-Hubbell athletic director and boys basketball coach Jack Kumpula was elected to represent Class D schools.
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.
MHSAA Schools' National Participation Ranking Rises, Continues to Outpace Population
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 12, 2024
Michigan’s national ranking for participation in high school athletics improved during the 2023-24 school year, overall and also for girls and boys sports separately, and while continuing to outpace its national ranking for high school-aged population, according to the annual national participation study conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).
Michigan moved back into eighth for overall participation nationally, based on a total of 289,740 participants, after ranking ninth in 2022-23. The total counts students once for each sport played, meaning students who are multiple-sport athletes are counted more than once.
Michigan improved to seventh nationally for boys (169,533) and eighth for girls (120,207) participation separately, after ranking ninth for both the previous year and despite currently ranking 10th for both high school-aged boys and girls populations according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
Michigan’s national rankings in eight sports for which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments improved from 2022-23, with only four sports moving down on their respective lists from the previous year.
Notably, Michigan led the nation in participation in a sport for the first time in at least 14 years – boys bowling with 4,292 athletes – and also moved up to third nationally for girls bowling, girls golf and girls tennis participation. Boys golf (fourth), wrestling (seventh – girls and boys combined), girls competitive cheer (eighth) and boys lacrosse (nine) also moved up on their respective lists.
Keeping with annual trends, participation in several more MHSAA sports also continued to outpace the state’s rankings for high school-aged population.
For girls, participation in volleyball (fifth), cross country (sixth), basketball (seventh), softball (seventh), swimming & diving (eighth), track & field (eighth) and soccer (ninth) all ranked higher than their population listing of 10th nationally. Among boys sports, ice hockey (fourth), tennis (fifth), track & field (sixth), basketball (seventh), cross country (seventh), football (seventh – 11 and 8-player combined), baseball (eighth), swimming & diving (eighth) and soccer (ninth) exceeded the boys ranking of 10th for population.
Only 11 states sponsor alpine skiing, but Michigan again ranked third on both the girls and boys lists for that sport. For wrestling, boys participation moved down one spot to eighth but girls participation moved up one spot to seventh – and their totals combined ranked seventh nationally overall, also up one spot from 2022-23.
Participation nationally exceeded 8,000,000 participants for the first time, with a total of 8,062,302 an increase of 2.7 percent from 2022-23. The total includes 4,638,785 boys and 3,423,517 girls – both record highs – according to figures obtained from the 51 NFHS member state associations, which includes the District of Columbia.
Eleven-player football remained the most popular boys sport and registered an increase for the second consecutive year from 1,028,761 to 1,031,508 athletes. There also was an increase in 8-player football participation from 23,812 to 26,420.
Next on the boys list were outdoor track & field, basketball, baseball, soccer, wrestling, cross country, tennis, golf, and swimming & diving, respectively.
For girls, outdoor track & field, volleyball and soccer all registered increases and remained the top three participatory sports. Track & field increased four percent to 506,015, followed by volleyball at 479,125 and soccer with 383,895 participants. Basketball ranked fourth, followed by softball, tennis, cross country, competitive spirit, swimming & diving and lacrosse, respectively.
Texas (859,301) and California (834,103) remained atop the list of state participation. New York (341,454) remained in third, followed by Pennsylvania (336,946), Ohio (323,117), Illinois (320,603), Florida (299,398), Michigan (289,740), New Jersey (280,798) and Minnesota (224,179).
The NFHS participation survey was started in 1971 and compiled in its current form through the 2018-19 school year, resuming annually with the 2021-22 survey.
The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, is the national leadership organization for high school sports and performing arts activities. Since 1920, the NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and performing arts activities that help students succeed in their lives. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 19,800 high schools and 12 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than eight million in high school sports.
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.