MHSAA Fall Practices to Begin with Common Start Date, Return of Traditional Schedules & Formats
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 6, 2021
Teams participating in all nine sports for which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors postseason tournaments – featuring more than 100,000 student athletes statewide – will be allowed to begin practice Monday, Aug. 9, and with a return to traditional schedules and MHSAA Tournament formats after COVID-19 resulted in various adjustments for the Fall 2020 season.
Postseason competition in cross country, football, golf, tennis and swimming & diving will revert to their customary formats this season, with all fall sports scheduled based on their traditional calendars other than beginning practice with a common start date for the first time. At the time of this release, there are no COVID-19-related state-ordered restrictions regarding school sports, for either athletes or spectators, from either the MHSAA or the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services (MDHHS). County health departments and local school districts may institute restrictions for venues in their areas, and teams traveling to those schools and venues must follow local mandates.
For most of the MHSAA’s modern history, football teams had begun practice Monday of the first week of the preseason, followed by the rest of fall teams two days later. A 2019 rule change allowed a few more sports to begin on Monday, dependent on their Finals dates that fall. The common start date for all fall practices this season and annually moving forward was approved by the MHSAA Representative Council at its Spring Meeting in May and allows all teams to begin the 16th Monday before Thanksgiving.
Football teams still must have 12 days of preseason practice at all levels before their first game, over a period of 16 calendar days before the first kickoff, with the first varsity games this fall scheduled for Aug. 26 and the weekend of Aug. 27-28. Competition this fall may begin Aug. 16 for golf and tennis teams and Aug. 18 in cross country, soccer, volleyball and swimming & diving.
One of the most anticipated sport-related changes for Fall 2021 is the full implementation of the “enhanced strength-of-schedule” format for selecting the 256-team field for the 11-Player Football Playoffs. The new format eliminates automatic qualification based on win total and bases it solely on playoff-point average, which also is determined differently in that it now awards teams more for playing tougher schedules. (Click for a more detailed comparison of the previous and new formats.)
The new playoff-point formula was used in 2020 to seed teams at the District and Regional levels, but its use for qualification was put on hold as COVID-19 caused a one-season switch in playoff format that allowed all teams to qualify.
Additional rules changes in cross country, football, golf and tennis will be most noticeable this fall:
• Cross Country will provide an opportunity for more individual Finals qualifiers this season, as a minimum of seven individual qualifiers will advance from each Regional race. Previously, runners on teams that did not qualify as a whole could still advance to the Finals if they finished among the top 15 individuals at a Regional – but at some Regionals runners from the team qualifiers filled the great majority of those top 15 finishes. The seven individual qualifiers from each Regional this season will be the first seven finishers from teams that do not qualify as a whole, even if they finish outside of the top 15.
• Another football change continues the focus on minimizing injury risk, addressing blocking below the waist in the free-blocking zone (the rectangular area extending laterally four yards to either side of the snap and three behind the line of scrimmage). The new rule states a below-the-waist block in the free-blocking zone must occur as an immediate, initial action following the snap, instead of the previous rule which allowed an offensive lineman to delay and block below the waist as long as the ball was still in the zone.
• For Lower Peninsula girls golf, teams will be required to use the scoring platform iWanamaker also for the regular season, just as they were required to do so for MHSAA Tournament competition during the 2020-21 school year. The scoring platform is made available through the MHSAA Golf app, which was created and is operated by iWanamaker and allows golfers, coaches and fans to chart scoring in real time.
• In tennis, if a seeded player withdraws on the day of an MHSAA Regional or Final, all seeded players below that withdrawing player (including the provisional seed in that flight) will move up and be placed on the proper line for that new seed. (Non-seeded players drawn into the bracket will not be moved.)
The 2021 Fall campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals during the final week of September and wraps up with the 11-Player Football Finals on Nov. 26 and 27. Here is a complete list of fall tournament dates:
Cross Country
U.P. Finals – Oct. 23
L.P. Regionals – Oct. 29 or 30
L.P. Finals – Nov. 6
11-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 24
Pre-Districts – Oct. 29 or 30
District Finals – Nov. 5 or 6
Regional Finals – Nov. 12 or 13
Semifinals – Nov. 20
Finals – Nov. 26-27
8-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 24
Regional Semifinals – Oct. 29 or 30
Regional Finals – Nov. 5 or 6
Semifinals – Nov. 13
Finals – Nov. 19 or 20
L.P. Girls Golf
Regionals – Oct. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9
Finals – Oct. 15-16
Soccer
Boys L.P. Districts – Oct. 13-23
Boys L.P. Regionals – Oct. 26-30
Boys L.P. Semifinals – Nov. 3 Boys
L.P. Finals – Nov. 6
L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving
Diving Regionals – Nov. 11
Swimming/Diving Finals – Nov. 19-20
Tennis
U.P. Girls Finals – Sept. 29, 30, Oct. 1, or 2
L.P. Boys Regionals – Oct. 6, 7, 8 or 9
L.P. Finals – Oct. 14-16
Girls Volleyball
Districts – Nov. 1-6
Regionals – Nov. 9 &11
Quarterfinals – Nov. 16
Semifinals – Nov. 18-19
Finals – Nov. 20
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.