MHSAA Tickets Go Digital with GoFan
November 2, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
The MHSAA, in partnership with GoFan and high schools across the state, have kicked off the 2020 Football Playoffs with a new touchless, digital ticket offering.
Sporting events across the country are looking a little different this year with limited capacity in stadiums, social distancing and other statewide regulations that are challenging state associations and schools to think creatively on how to get fans in the stands safely. Digital ticketing is a faster and more expedient way to attend events and now a safer way as well.
“GoFan will make it easier on our spectators to purchase tickets for our tournament events and easier for our tournament sites from a management standpoint." said Mark Uyl, Executive Director of the MHSAA. “During this pandemic, GoFan is making it more convenient – and safer – for everyone.”
With limited capacity in mind, a select number of tickets are distributed to each team in advance of the game. Priority ticket purchasing is available first to parents and family members through a VIP link. Public sale of tickets may not be offered at all sites, based on availability, but purchasing may be done on the participating school GoFan pages beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday each week.
“GoFan is proud to partner with the MHSAA and play a key role in their digital ticketing implementation across the (state),” said B.J. Pilling, Chief Executive Officer of GoFan. “Digital ticketing is being adopted as the primary choice for many high schools and state associations."
MHSAA and GoFan also are implementing touchless ticketing across the state of Michigan during soccer, volleyball and cross country championships.
For a full list of championship events and how to get your tickets, click here.
About GoFan: GoFan is the leading digital ticketing solution for high school events. Led by innovative technology and unmatched support, GoFan provides schools with a turnkey platform to manage season, online, and at-event ticket sales. GoFan is a product of Huddle Tickets, which has provided over 2 billion event tickets to schools since 2001. Serving over 2,000 high schools and 37 state associations, GoFan provides fans frictionless access to high school events across the country (click link for more). You can also follow the company on Twitter @GoFanHS and LinkedIn, and like GoFan on Facebook.
About Michigan High School Athletic Association: 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 Tournament Attendance Reaches 6-Year High, Topping 1.4 Million Spectators in 2022-23
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
November 8, 2023
The Michigan High School Athletic Association welcomed its highest spectator turnout in six years in 2022-23, as a total of 1,457,813 fans attended postseason competitions for which admission is charged – an increase of nearly 10 percent over the previous school year and the highest count since 2016-17.
The MHSAA annually tracks attendance for all sports except golf, skiing and tennis, as single tickets are not sold for those sports. The 2022-23 attendance totals included 1,008,070 spectators for boys and 449,743 for girls tournament events – and those totals also were six-year highs.
Three MHSAA Tournaments set records for total series attendance. Softball welcomed 47,696 fans, breaking the previous record set in 2016-17. Baseball counted 63,844 fans – including records at the District and Regional level – bettering the previous record set just a season before. Girls and boys bowling, with their tournaments conducted concurrently, counted 16,482 fans, breaking the record set in 2019-20 and with an all-time high for the Regional level.
Among other single-round record-setters, Individual Wrestling Regionals counted 10,782 spectators, the most for that level of that tournament since 2001-02. The Ice Hockey Semifinals & Finals drew 15,204 fans, besting the previous high from 2013-14. Girls Competitive Cheer Districts drew 13,374 spectators, their most since 2015-16, and Boys Lacrosse Regionals drew 2,586, besting that round’s record set the year prior.
Football remains the most-attended MHSAA Tournament sport and drew 381,396 spectators, the highest total since 2016-17 and an increase of 28 percent over 2021-22 Boys basketball attendance was next highest with 292,213 fans, an increase of five percent from 2021-22, and girls basketball ranked third and first among girls sports with 144,872 spectators – an increase of 2.4 percent from the previous season. Volleyball, the fourth highest-attended tournament series, missed its 2021-22 total by only 20 spectators, drawing 113,552.
Several more MHSAA Tournaments enjoyed attendance increases in 2022-23 over the previous year. Both individual and team wrestling series continued upward trends – the Individual Wrestling Tournament drew 44,767, its most since 2016-17 and an increase of 6.8 percent over 2021-22; and the Team Wrestling Tournament counted 37,018 spectators, its highest since the record turnout of 1999-2000 and an increase of 14.2 percent over the previous year. Track & field, with girls and boys meets conducted simultaneously, missed its record attendance of 2020-21 by just 41 spectators, improving five percent from 2021-22 with a total of 39,694.
Five more sports also enjoyed impressive overall attendance increases. Competitive cheer attendance was up 21 percent to 26,195 fans, and overall ice hockey attendance was up 19 percent to 56,168. Boys lacrosse was up 8.2 percent to 17,040, and girls lacrosse attendance rose 7.3 percent to 5,290 fans. Girls gymnastics was up 2.3 percent to 2,081 spectators.
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.