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MHSAA Member Schools Continue Rebound in Sports Participation with 2022-23 Climb
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 14, 2023
Participation in Michigan High School Athletic Association-sponsored sports increased for the second-straight school year in 2022-23, continuing its recovery from a COVID-related decline and despite another decrease in school enrollment among the MHSAA’s 750 member high schools.
A total of 268,071 participants were counted across the 28 sports for which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments – a 2.7-percent increase from 2021-22 as participation has grown a combined 9.9 percent from a drastic downturn in 2020-21 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2022-23 increase of 2.7 percent also came as enrollment at MHSAA member schools fell 3.2 percent from the previous year. More specifically, boys participation rose 3.4 percent to 156,501 participants, despite a 2.9-percent decrease in boys enrollment. Girls participation rose 1.7 percent to 111,570 participants despite a 3.4-percent enrollment dip. MHSAA participation totals count students once for each sport in which they participate, meaning students who are multiple-sport athletes are counted more than once.
A total of 18 sports saw increases in participation in 2022-23 compared to 2021-22, with wrestling the largest gainer by 15.7 percent to 10,477 athletes – a rise in part attributable to a 41-percent increase in girls participation to 874 wrestlers which coincided with the second year of the MHSAA sponsoring a girls-only division at its Individual Finals. This year’s wrestling total was the sport’s highest since 2012-13.
Boys bowling enjoyed the next largest increase at 8.1 percent to 4,417 participants. Five more sports saw increases in participation by at least five percent over the previous school year – girls track & field (5.6 percent to 16,470 participants), boys lacrosse (5.6 percent to 5,038), girls lacrosse (5.3 percent to 3,215), girls bowling (5.3 percent to 2,826) and football (5.2 percent to 34,997).
Also enjoying increases in participation during the 2022-23 school year were boys track & field (up 4.9 percent from 2021-22), girls competitive cheer (3.5 percent), boys basketball (3.2), girls tennis (2.9), girls volleyball (2.5), girls skiing (2.0), girls basketball (1.4), boys golf (1.3), boys soccer (0.9), baseball (0.8) and girls soccer (0.3). Of the eight sports that did see declines in 2022-23, four experienced decreases in participation that were lower than the 3.2-percent decrease in enrollment at MHSAA member schools – boys ice hockey (-1.4 percent), boys cross country and boys tennis (both -0.9 percent) and softball (-0.7).
Football, with a combined 34,997 participants over the 11 and 8-player formats, remained the most-played sport during the 2022-23 school year in posting its highest total of athletes since 2018-19. Boys track & field (23,211) and boys basketball (20,663) were next for total participants, followed by girls volleyball (19,270) – which remained the most popular girls sport – and then baseball (16,663) and girls track & field (16,470).
For the second-straight year, girls skiing (854 athletes) posted its highest participation total since 1998-99. Boys golf (6,916) joined wrestling in posting its highest total since 2012-13, and girls volleyball enjoyed its highest participation since 2017-18. Boys track & field, girls track & field and baseball all posted their highest participation totals since 2018-19.
The participation figures are gathered annually from MHSAA member schools to submit to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) for compiling of its national participation survey. Results of Michigan surveys from the 2000-01 school year to present may be viewed on the MHSAA Website – www.mhsaa.com – by clicking on Schools > Administrators > Sports Participation Listing.
The following chart shows participation figures for the 2022-23 school year from MHSAA member schools for sports in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament:
BOYS |
|
GIRLS |
||
Sport |
Schools (A) |
Participants |
Schools (A) |
Participants (B) |
Baseball |
662/21 |
16,629 |
- |
-/34 |
Basketball |
730/1 |
20,662 |
721 |
13,788/1 |
Bowling |
422/14 |
4,393 |
415 |
2,826/24 |
Competitive Cheer |
- |
- |
352 |
5,942 |
Cross Country |
671/3 |
7,981 |
668 |
6,859/7 |
Football - 11 player |
526/108 |
32,280 |
- |
-/128 |
8-player |
127/13 |
2,575 |
- |
-/14 |
Golf |
547/57 |
6,809 |
384 |
3,708/107 |
Gymnastics |
- |
- |
106 |
562 |
Ice Hockey |
322/14 |
3,113 |
- |
-/16 |
Lacrosse |
183/15 |
5,015 |
127 |
3,215/23 |
Skiing |
125/2 |
923 |
124 |
854/3 |
Soccer |
480/15 |
13,221 |
485 |
11,863/58 |
Softball |
- |
- |
645 |
11,722 |
Swimming & Diving |
278/24 |
4,108 |
287 |
4,931/65 |
Tennis |
303/17 |
5,981 |
335 |
8,169/34 |
Track & Field |
694/2 |
23,208 |
692 |
16,470/3 |
Volleyball |
- |
- |
718 |
19,270 |
Wrestling |
497/288 |
9,603 |
/874 |
(A) The first number is the number of schools reporting sponsorship on the Sports Participation Survey, including primary and secondary schools in cooperative programs as of May 15, 2023. The second number indicates the number of schools that had girls playing on teams consisting primarily of boys.
(B) The second number indicates the number of additional girls playing on teams consisting primarily of boys and entered in boys competition.
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.
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2022-23 School Year Classifications Announced
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 28, 2022
Classifications for Michigan High School Athletic Association elections and postseason tournaments for the 2022-23 school year have been announced, 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. 9. 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 2022-23, there are 750 tournament-qualified member schools. Schools recently were notified of their classification, and sport-by-sport divisions were posted to the MHSAA Website today (March 28). 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.
Several MHSAA Finals champions awarded so far during the 2021-22 school year are assigned to different divisions for 2022-23. In 11-player football, Detroit Martin Luther King will move to Division 4 after winning Division 3 in the fall, with Hudson moving to Division 7 after winning Division 8 this past November. Muskegon Western Michigan Christian won the Lower Peninsula Division 4 girls cross country championship in the fall but will compete in LP Division 3 next season. Dearborn Divine Child’s girls golf team, winner of the LP Division 2 title in the fall, will move to LP Division 3 next season. The East Grand Rapids girls swimming & diving team will move back into LP Division 2 after winning LP Division 3 in the fall.
Orchard Lake St. Mary’s baseball, the reigning Division 2 champion but playing in Division 1 this upcoming season, will move back into Division 2 for 2023. Richmond softball, which won Division 3 last season and remains in that division for this spring, will move to Division 2 for 2023.
Visit the respective sport pages on the MHSAA Website at https://www.mhsaa.com/sports 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 2022-23, there are 187 member schools in Class A and Class C and 188 member schools in Class B and Class D.
Effective with the 2022-23 school year, schools with 814 or more students are in Class A. The enrollment limits for Class B are 388-813, Class C is 183-387, and schools with enrollments of 182 and fewer are Class D. The break between Classes A and B decreased 21 students from 2021-22, the break between Classes B and C decreased 11 students, and the break between Classes C and D is six students fewer than for the 2021-22 school year.
The new classification breaks will see 32 schools move up in Class for 2022-23 while 24 schools will move down:
Moving Up from Class B to Class A
Battle Creek Harper Creek
Cadillac
Detroit Henry Ford
New Boston Huron
Owosso
Plainwell
Sault Ste. Marie
Sparta
Spring Lake
Moving Down from Class A to Class B
Dearborn Divine Child
Detroit East English
Detroit Martin Luther King
Fowlerville
Garden City
Marysville
Pinckney
Moving Up from Class C to Class B
Adrian Madison
Blissfield
Brooklyn Columbia Central
Buchanan
Canton Prep
Clinton Township Clintondale
Dearborn Heights Star International
Detroit Voyageur College Prep
Elk Rapids
Grayling
Hart
Quincy
Sanford Meridian
Moving Down from Class B to Class C
Benzie Central
Coloma
Comstock
Detroit Communication Media Arts
Ecorse
Jonesville
Michigan Center
Otisville LakeVille Memorial
Shelby
Watervliet
Moving Up from Class D to Class C
Bellevue
Plymouth Christian Academy
Eau Claire
Fowler
Indian River Inland Lakes
Ironwood
Jackson Prep
Muskegon Heights Academy
New Buffalo
Ubly
Moving Down from Class C to Class D
Adrian Lenawee Christian
Breckenridge
Detroit Benjamin Carson Science & Medicine
Grand Traverse Academy
Lawrence
Rogers City
Warren Michigan Math & Science
New Postseason-Eligible Tournament Schools in 2022-23
Escanaba Holy Name Catholic
Farmington Hills Huda School
Center Line Prep
Battle Creek Academy
Enrollment Breaks by Classes – 2022-23
(Number of schools in parentheses)
Class A: 814 and above (187 schools)
Class B: 388 – 813 (188)
Class C: 183 – 387 (187)
Class D: 182 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.