Breslin Center Entrance Protocols Announced
March 20, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
To provide for the convenience and safety of spectators attending the Michigan High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball Finals at Michigan State University’s Breslin Student Event Center in East Lansing, March 22-24, attendees are being advised of a variety of items related to tickets and security – including new policies regulating types of bags allowed into the arena.
Class C and D Semifinals will be played March 22, followed by Class A and B Semifinals on March 23 and all four championship games March 24. In a scheduling change from past seasons, the first Semifinals on March 22 and 23 will begin at noon, followed by the next games at 2 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively. Breslin Center doors will open one hour before the start of each session – 11 a.m. before the Class C and A games and 4:30 p.m. prior to the starts in Class D and B – and the arena will be cleared after the conclusion of the 2 p.m. Semifinals each day.
For the Finals on March 24, doors will open at 9 a.m. for the Class D championship game beginning at 10 a.m. The arena will be cleared at the conclusion of the 12:15 p.m. Class A championship game, and doors will open again at 3:30 p.m., an hour prior to the start of the Class C Final. The Class B Final is the day’s last game and scheduled for tip-off at 6:45 p.m.
Tickets are priced at $10 per session, both for reserved seats in the lower bowl and general admission seats in the upper deck. Tickets include admission to two games per session – both games for each Class during the Semifinals, and then either the Class D/A or Class C/B Finals on March 24. The option to buy tickets online will remain open through the start of each session; tickets purchased online may be printed off or picked up at the Breslin Center will call.
Security measures also will be in place to help assure spectator safety. Upon arrival in the building, fans will be subject to metal detector screening, and Breslin Center personnel reserve the right to request patrons open their coats and any item-carrying vessels for visual inspection and deny entrance to individuals who do not cooperate.
Items which fans will be prohibited from bringing into the building include, but are not limited to, the following:
• Purses or bags of any size
• Weapons
• Containers of any kind – including aerosol and spray cans
• Umbrellas, flags, flagpoles
• Alcoholic beverages
• Food of any kind
• Coolers, thermoses
• Cups, bottles, cans, flasks
• Bottled water
• Camcorders, tripods, selfie-sticks, large cameras, cases
• Chair backs
• Projectiles and other potentially dangerous objects
• All tobacco products
The following items will be permitted after inspection:
• Binoculars (but no cases)
• Pagers and cell phones (but not selfie-sticks)
• Small cameras and radios (but no cases)
• Strollers – These must be checked with Guest Services or platform attendant after entry.
Prohibited items discovered during security inspections at arena entrances must be returned to the owner's vehicle or discarded. Items will not be held for later pickup.
Fans are reminded that all image taking (still and video) may be only for personal, non-commercial use.
MHSAA Student Advisory Council Names Members from Class of 2026
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 6, 2024
Eight student-athletes who will be juniors at their schools during the 2024-25 academic year have been selected to serve two-year terms on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Student Advisory Council.
The Student Advisory Council is a 16-member group which provides feedback on issues impacting educational athletics from a student’s perspective, and also is involved in the operation of MHSAA championship events and other programming. Members of the Student Advisory Council serve for two years, beginning as juniors. Eight new members are selected annually to serve on the SAC, with nominations made by MHSAA member schools. The incoming juniors will join the group of eight seniors-to-be appointed a year ago.
Selected to begin serving on the Student Advisory Council in 2024-25 are: Itzel Albarran, Bronson; Harper Barnhart, Brownstown Woodhaven; Diamond Cook, Southfield Christian; Henry Ewles, Pontiac Notre Dame Prep; Cole Haist, Big Rapids; Frannie Keeley, Jenison; Trey LaValley, Romeo; and Ethan Stine, Bridgman.
Those eight new members were selected from 90 applicants. The first Student Advisory Council was formed for the 2006-07 school year. With the addition of this class beginning this summer, members will have represented 142 schools from 51 leagues plus independent schools that do not play in a league. Combined, the new appointees have participated in 10 MHSAA sports, and five will be the first SAC members from their respective schools.
The Student Advisory Council generally meets seven times each school year, and once more for a 24-hour leadership camp. In addition to assisting in the promotion of the educational value of interscholastic athletics, the Council discusses issues dealing with the 4 S’s of educational athletics: scholarship, sportsmanship, safety (including health and nutrition) and the sensible scope of athletic programs. There also is a fifth S discussed by the group – student leadership.
This school year, the Council handed out championship trophies at Finals events, led sessions during four Sportsmanship Summits and provided assistance at the Women In Sports Leadership Conference, provided feedback to the MHSAA Representative Council on proposed rule changes, worked on a mental health initiative, and wrote the script for a public service announcement on adult spectator sportsmanship that will be included in broadcasts beginning this upcoming school year.
The new additions to the SAC will join the Class of 2025 members who were selected a year ago: Cale Bell, Sault Ste. Marie; Drew Cady, Oxford; Macy Jenkins, Milford; Isaiah Kabban, Harbor Beach; Ella Knudsen, Leland; Kaylee Kranz, Clinton; Joey Spada, Kalamazoo Central; and Aynalem Zoet, Grandville Calvin Christian.
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.