MHSAA's Hampton Retires After Half-Century of School Sports Service
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 30, 2021
Longtime assistant director Nate Hampton has retired after 32 years on staff with the Michigan High School Athletic Association and 50 serving in education and educational athletics.
After 18 years working in schools, Hampton began his tenure as part of the MHSAA staff on Sept. 5, 1989, and his impact has been felt across many sports and subjects over the decades. He has served as the MHSAA’s administrator for the majority of its most-played sports – football, girls and boys basketball and girls & boys track and field – as well as serving as staff liaison to the MHSAA Athletic Equity Committee and Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee.
His longtime guidance will continue to be felt nationally as well. Hampton served multiple terms on committees for the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), including the football and basketball rules committees.
“Nate has been a giant in high school athletics in Michigan over half a century and through eras that have seen the shaping of school sports as they’re played today,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “The knowledge and leadership he’s provided locally, statewide and nationally has benefitted thousands of athletes and their families, both in how educational athletics are administered on the field and off.”
Hampton received the Michigan High School Coaches Association’s Jack Johnson Distinguished Service Award in 2020 for his many contributions. He previously received a Citation from the NFHS in 2011 and also has been recognized by several other Michigan organizations including the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association.
Hampton is a 1966 graduate of Detroit Eastern High School. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Morgan State University (Md.) and a master’s from Eastern Michigan University.
Prior to joining the MHSAA staff, Hampton taught and coached one school year at Dearborn Heights Robichaud High School followed by 15 years total with the Highland Park School District where he coached three sports, taught and served as athletic director during his tenure. In 1987, Hampton began as supervisor of athletics and physical education for the Saginaw Public School District, where he was responsible for all phases of the athletic programs for both high schools, five middle schools and 24 elementary schools.
Hampton also served on the MHSAA Representative Council prior to joining the staff.
The majority of Hampton’s duties have been assumed by recently-hired assistant director William McKoy, who joined the staff earlier this month after previously serving as athletic director at Romulus Summit Academy North.
PHOTO: MHSAA assistant director Nate Hampton, second from right, thanks a national anthem soloist during the 2019 Boys Basketball Finals at Breslin Center.
MHSAA.tv Broadcast Schedule Includes Nearly 200 Week 1 Varsity Football Games
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 22, 2022
Nearly 200 varsity football games scheduled for this opening weekend of the Michigan high school season will be broadcast on MHSAA.tv and the NFHS Network or by Michigan High School Athletic Association partner Bally Sports Detroit – including all 16 games being played at the Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic, Battle at the Big House and Vehicle City Gridiron Classic.
Varsity football teams may kick off the season Thursday (Aug. 25), and BSD and NFHS Network will have broadcasts that first day from all three showcase events. Below are the schedules for all three:
Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic – Wayne State University – Tom Adams Field
Aug. 25, 4 p.m.: Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice vs. Macomb Dakota – Bally Sports Detroit
Aug. 25, 7 p.m.: Sterling Heights Stevenson vs. West Bloomfield – Bally Sports Detroit
Aug. 26, 4 p.m.: Allen Park vs. Wyandotte – NFHS Network
Aug. 26, 7 p.m.: Belleville vs. Novi – NFHS Network
Aug. 27, 1 p.m.: Dexter vs. Grosse Pointe South – NFHS Network
Aug. 27, 4 p.m.: Cedar Springs vs. River Rouge – NFHS Network
Battle at the Big House – University of Michigan – Michigan Stadium
Aug. 25, Noon: Brighton vs. Dearborn Fordson – NFHS Network
Aug. 25, 3:30 p.m.: DeWitt vs. Haslett – NFHS Network
Aug. 25, 7 p.m.: Clarkston vs. Davison – NFHS Network
Aug. 26, Noon: Livonia Churchill vs. Plymouth – NFHS Network
Aug. 26, 3:30 p.m.: Port Huron vs. Grand Rapids Catholic Central – NFHS Network
Aug. 26, 7 p.m.: Lapeer vs. Ann Arbor Huron – NFHS Network
Vehicle City Gridiron Classic – Kettering University – Atwood Stadium
Aug. 25, 4 p.m.: Grand Blanc vs. Grandville – NFHS Network
Aug. 25, 7:30 p.m.: Flint Kearsley vs. Flint Carman-Ainsworth – NFHS Network
Aug. 26, 4 p.m.: Flint Southwestern vs. Swartz Creek – NFHS Network
Aug. 26, 7:30 p.m.: Flint Beecher vs. Saginaw Nouvel – NFHS Network
The other nearly-200 varsity football games will be viewable on the NFHS Network via the MHSAA’s School Broadcast Program. Several girls volleyball and boys soccer matches also are on this week’s schedule; see the link’s below for each sport:
Football | Girls Volleyball | Boys Soccer
NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $11.99 per month (or $79.99 annually). Subscribers have access to all live video across the country. School Broadcast Program participants benefit as a portion of every subscription sold by a school goes to benefit its program.
More than 550 MHSAA member schools are participants in the School Broadcast Program, now in its 14th year, producing games using traditional hands-on student crews or via Pixellot cameras installed at stadiums and gymnasiums across the state. A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.
Additionally this season, Bally Sports Detroit will be broadcasting a game every week of the regular season followed on Friday nights by the hour-long highlight show “Football Fridays Overtimes powered by State Champs” – see the schedule below, with games for Weeks 6-9 to be released at a later date.
Aug. 25, 4 p.m.: Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice vs. Macomb Dakota at Wayne State
Aug. 25, 7 p.m.: Sterling Heights Stevenson vs. West Bloomfield at Wayne State
Sept. 2, 7 p.m.: Birmingham Groves at Oxford
Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m.: Clarkston at Rochester Adams
Sept. 16, 7:30 p.m.: Detroit Martin Luther King at Detroit Cass Tech
Sept. 23, 7:30 p.m.: Detroit Catholic Central at Bloomfield Hills Brother Rice