![MHSAA News](/sites/default/files/2022-08/mhsaanews_new_2h.png)
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.
![Jack Roberts](/sites/default/files/2022-03/220308_Roberts_2H.jpg)
Retired MHSAA Executive Director Roberts Selected for NFHS Hall of Fame
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 8, 2022
During an award introduction two years ago, MHSAA associate director Tom Rashid described his longtime close friend Jack Roberts as the leader who “took our darkest hours and problems and turned them into positives.”
The MHSAA has faced its share of challenging times, and those may have been among Roberts’ finest hours over 32 years as MHSAA executive director – and admittedly the times when his adrenaline flowed most. But there were many more good times and memorable advances for Michigan school sports under his leadership, and he will be recognized again this summer both for those and a lifetime of service to school sports in this state and across the nation.
John E. “Jack” Roberts was one of 12 honorees announced Tuesday as this year’s inductees into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). He will be inducted as one of three former state association administrators selected for the 39th Hall of Fame class at a ceremony during the NFHS summer meeting July 1 in San Antonio, Texas.
He began his tenure as MHSAA executive director in 1986, and at the time of his retirement he was the nation’s longest-serving executive director of a state high school athletic association. He was the fourth person to serve the MHSAA in that leadership role full time, following Charles E. Forsythe (1931-42, 1945-68), Allen W. Bush (1968-78) and Vern L. Norris (1978-86).
Roberts will become the Hall of Fame’s ninth inductee from Michigan, joining Forsythe (inducted 1983), River Rouge boys basketball coach Lofton Greene (1986), Warren Regina athletic director, softball and basketball coach Diane Laffey (2000), Fennville basketball and baseball standout Richie Jordan (2001), Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett boys and girls tennis coach Bob Wood (2005), Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook hockey standout Jim Johnson (2007), Owosso football, basketball and baseball all-stater Brad Van Pelt (2011); and Vermontville Maple Valley baseball national record holder Ken Beardslee (2016).
Roberts also follows in the footsteps of his late father, John Roberts, who served as executive director of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association from 1957-85 and was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame in 2000. They will be the first father-son team in the Hall of Fame.
Jack Roberts began his career serving as an assistant director for the National Federation from 1973-80. He was involved with the implementation of Title IX at the local and state levels and made immense contributions as the NFHS representative to the landmark Amateur Sports Act of 1978, and also played a significant role in the NFHS rules-writing process as the organization started writing and publishing rules for a number of new sports during the 1970s.
The MHSAA enjoyed continued growth under Roberts’ guidance, particularly in the number of Michigan students participating in athletics and in the number of MHSAA-sponsored tournament sports available to them. Several key rules changes came under Roberts’ watch and direction, and he made the MHSAA a national leader in health and safety efforts particularly in the areas of head injury care, heart safety initiatives and heat management strategies.
“I had a head start in this work. Growing up in the home of the executive director of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association and then spending most of my 20s working for the National Federation office, and much of it with (longtime NFHS executive director) Cliff Fagan, was a jumpstart on this career,” Roberts said. “But I’m also satisfied at this point that, to paraphrase Hamilton in the musical ‘Hamilton,’ I didn’t give up on my shot. I was given a shot, I took it and I didn’t waste the chance.
“The job fit me, and I think I maxed the opportunity I had to serve educational athletics in this job, and that’s satisfying to think about at this time.”
Under Roberts’ leadership, overall participation in high school athletics in Michigan increased 10 percent, and the MHSAA added more than 200 schools in increasing its membership by more than 15 percent at the high school and junior high/middle school levels combined. His tenure saw the addition of girls competitive cheer (1994), girls & boys bowling (2004) and girls & boys lacrosse (2005) to the MHSAA Tournament sport lineup, the creation of a separate wrestling tournament to determine champions by team format (1988), and 8-player football (2010, first playoffs 2011) as many small schools across the state began having trouble fielding 11-player teams because of enrollment and population decreases. Meanwhile, also under his leadership, the 11-player Football Playoffs expanded, doubling to 256 teams in 1999.
Among rules changes put in place during Roberts’ tenure was the addition of opportunities for multiple schools to create cooperative teams in sports where participation is lagging. He also helped Michigan become a national leader in improving sportsmanship; a comprehensive package enacted in 1996 set a statewide tone for appropriate behavior and perspective that continues to make an impact today.
Perhaps the most significant influences by Roberts came on the topics of health and safety. The MHSAA has led nationally in concussion care with its first programming in 2000 and return-to-play protocols enacted in 2010, and with mandated concussion reporting and insurance for those who suffer head injuries rolled out in 2015. A heat management policy and CPR requirements for coaches were introduced in 2013.
Also under this leadership, the first program for coaches education was launched in 1987 and evolved into the Coaches Advancement Program, with nearly 34,000 courses administered as part of CAP since 2004-05. The Women in Sports Leadership Conference was created in 1989 and remains the first, largest and longest-running program of its type in the country, regularly drawing upwards of 500 participants. The first of now-annual statewide Athletic Director In-Service Programs was conducted in 1992, and Michigan also remains a national leader in student services thanks to a variety of programs that were introduced under Roberts’ leadership.
Internally, he put the MHSAA on the leading edge nationally when it came to use the technology, especially in the realm of communications, where he put special emphasis on telling the story of school sports. “I think I was considered a conservative as to rules for eligibility and competition, and a progressive in how we delivered services to schools and school sports,” Roberts said.
In addition to his work specifically in Michigan, Roberts carried significant influence at the national level. He served as part of the NFHS Board of Directors and led the creation of the NFHS Network for video productions in 2012, serving as that board’s chairperson. He also has served on the board of directors of the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO).
“For 32 years, Jack Roberts was the epitome of what leadership looks like. He was the strongest advocate for high school sports that anyone could ever hope for,” said MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl, who succeeded Roberts in 2018. “He is without question one of the preeminent pioneers and difference-makers in the world of high school sports over the past 100 years.
“And other than my father, there has not been a man who has had a bigger impact and positive influence on my life personally than Jack Roberts.”
The National High School Hall of Fame was started in 1982 by the NFHS, and the rest of this year’s class is made up of athletes, coaches, administrators and an official. The 12 individuals were chosen after a two-level selection process involving a screening committee composed of active high school state association administrators, coaches and officials, and a final selection committee composed of coaches, former athletes, state association officials, media representatives and educational leaders. Nominations were made through NFHS member associations. Also chosen for this class were athletes Notah Begay (New Mexico), Walter Payton (Mississippi), Sanya Richards-Ross (Florida) and Thurman Thomas (Texas); sport coaches Ray Crowe (Indiana), Ron Kordes (Kentucky) and Lamar Rogers (Tennessee); administrators E. Wayne Cooley (Iowa) and Becky Oakes (Missouri), official Jeff Risk (North Dakota) and speech/debate coach Susan McLain (Oregon). (Click for more.)
Roberts came to the MHSAA in 1986 from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which he served as executive vice president. He is a 1970 graduate of Dartmouth College and taught English and coached football at high schools in Milwaukee and Denver before joining the NFHS staff.
He and his wife Peggy reside in East Lansing, and in retirement they together have increased their contributions to environmental matters and international refugee issues while both serving in leadership roles. Jack Roberts has served as board president for the Refugee Development Center in Lansing for 13 years, and Peggy Roberts served six years as chairperson of the board for Lansing’s Fenner Nature Center. As part of their environmental work, the Roberts are working within a small group of organizations to help them acquire and preserve land.