Michigan Schools to Designate February for Statewide ‘Oxford Strong’ Support
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 20, 2021
Schools across Michigan will be dedicating February to “Oxford Strong” in support of Oxford Community Schools as the district continues to mourn the deaths of four students during a shooting at the high school Nov. 30.
The Oakland Activities Association – of which Oxford is a member – as well as the Kensington Lakes Activities Association and Detroit Catholic High School League, with merchandise vendor E.A. Graphics, have been primary organizers of this effort.
E.A. Graphics, based in Sterling Heights, will be printing T-shirts and sweatshirts supporting “Oxford Strong” – with schools able to purchase those items and then provide them in their communities. E.A. Graphics will be donating the price of the apparel, after costs, directly to Oxford High School and its community. T-shirts, for example, cost $20, with $16.20 being donated from each sale.
Schools taking part may ask their spectators to then wear the apparel as part of an “Oxford Strong” sporting event at their schools during February. Organizers have designated Friday, Feb. 4, as a day for as many schools as possible to be “Oxford Strong” and contribute to a statewide outpouring of support for the Wildcats and their community. However, it’s expected many schools will sponsor “Oxford Strong” events throughout the month.
“Every day since Nov. 30, schools have asked us what they can do, how can they help,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “While there is no way to take away the pain from such a tragedy, our statewide community will be glad to provide any comfort possible to Oxford schools and their community at this time of such great sorrow.”
E.A. Graphics is the merchandising partner of the Michigan High School Athletic Association and the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA), the professional group for athletic directors and other school sports administrators in Michigan.
Applications Available on MHSAA Website for 2024-25 Scholar-Athlete Awards
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 24, 2024
One of the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s most popular programs, the Scholar-Athlete Award, will again with Farm Bureau Insurance present 32 $2,000 scholarships to top student-athletes at member high schools during the 2024-25 school year.
The MHSAA/Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete Award highlights the value extracurricular activities play in the total education of high school students, often improving their academic achievements in the process. The Scholar-Athlete Award is in its 36th year. Since the award’s inception in 1988-89, Farm Bureau Insurance has presented $1,088,000 in scholarships through this program.
The first 30 scholarships will be presented on a graduated basis across the MHSAA’s traditional class structure. From Class A schools, six boys and six girls will receive scholarships; from Class B schools, four boys and four girls; from Class C schools, three boys and three girls; and from Class D schools, two boys and two girls will be honored. The final two scholarships will be awarded at-large to minority recipients, regardless of school size. The scholarships may be used at the institution of higher learning the recipients attend during the first year at those colleges.
Applications from individual schools will be limited to the number of available scholarships in their enrollment class. Class A schools may submit the names of six boys and six girls, Class B schools may submit four boys and four girls, Class C may submit three boys and three girls and Class D may submit two boys and two girls.
Students applying for Scholar-Athlete Awards must be graduating during the 2024-25 school year, carrying an unrounded 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale) grade-point average and have won a varsity letter in a sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a postseason tournament: baseball, girls and boys basketball, girls and boys bowling, girls competitive cheer, girls and boys cross country, football, girls and boys golf, girls gymnastics, ice hockey, girls and boys lacrosse, girls and boys skiing, girls and boys soccer, softball, girls and boys swimming & diving, girls and boys tennis, girls and boys track & field, girls volleyball and wrestling.
Applicants will be required to show involvement in other school and community activities and submit an essay on the importance of sportsmanship in educational athletics.
Information – including answers to a number of frequently asked questions – and links to the application are available online on the Scholar-Athlete Award page of MHSAA.com. Applications are available in digital format only and must be submitted online by 4 p.m. Dec. 6.
A committee composed of school administrators from across the state will select finalists and winners in late January, with the winners to be announced throughout February. All applicants, finalists and scholarship recipients will be announced on the MHSAA Website. The 32 scholarship recipients will be recognized during the 2025 MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing.
Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan was founded in 1949 by Michigan farmers who wanted an insurance company that worked as hard as they did. Those values still guide the company today and are a big reason why it is known as Michigan’s Insurance Company, dedicated to protecting the farms, families, and businesses of this great state. Farm Bureau Insurance agents across Michigan provide a full range of insurance services – life, home, auto, farm, business, retirement, Lake Estate®, and more – protecting more than 660,000 Michigan residents.
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.