Nearly 100,000 Student-Athletes Set to Start MHSAA Fall Practices

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

August 9, 2024

Nearly 100,000 Michigan high school student-athletes are anticipated to begin Fall 2024 practices on Monday, Aug. 12, across nine sports for which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors postseason tournaments.  

The fall season includes the most played sports for both boys and girls; 35,174 football players and 19,119 girls volleyball players competed during the Fall 2023 season. Teams in those sports will be joined by competitors in girls and boys cross country, Lower Peninsula girls golf, boys soccer, Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving, Upper Peninsula girls tennis and Lower Peninsula boys tennis in beginning practice next week.  

Competition begins Aug. 16 for cross country, golf, soccer and tennis, Aug. 21 for swimming & diving and volleyball, and Aug. 29 for varsity football. Football teams at all levels must have 12 days of preseason practice – over a period of 16 calendar days – before their first game. 

In girls volleyball this season, for the first time, the top two teams in each District bracket will be seeded based on Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) that take into account a team’s regular-season success and strength of schedule. Those two seeded teams will be determined the Sunday prior to the final week of the regular season and placed on opposite sides of their District brackets.  

Boys soccer also will see a slight change to its seeding this fall, as the entire bracket will be seeded based on MPR, not just the top two teams as in previous seasons.  

The 11-Player Football Finals schedule at Ford Field also will have a slightly different lineup and earlier start times. On both Friday, Nov. 29, and Saturday, Nov. 30, the first games of the day will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the final games of both days slated to start at 7 p.m. On Nov. 29, Division 8 at 9:30 a.m. will be followed by Division 4 at 12:30 p.m., Division 6 at 4 p.m. and Division 2 at 7 p.m. to conclude the day. On Nov. 30, Division 7 kicks off at 9:30 a.m., followed by Division 3 at 12:30 p.m., Division 5 at 4 p.m. and Division 1 at 7 p.m. to finish the weekend.  

A few more game-action rules changes will be quickly noticeable to participants and spectators.  

  • In football, uniforms now must have clear contrast between the colors of the jersey and body of the numbers (excluding the border); for example, white numbers with blue outline on a white jersey are no longer allowed. The visiting teams must wear white uniforms, and home teams must wear dark jerseys that clearly contrast with white. 
  • In soccer, the eight-goal differential rule remains but with the addition of a running clock during the first half if the differential reaches eight.  
  • In volleyball, line judges beginning this fall will switch sides of the court between sets. 

The 2024 Fall campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals during the week of Sept. 30 and wrapping up with the 11-Player Football Finals on Nov. 29 and 30. Here is a complete list of fall tournament dates: 

Cross Country 
U.P. Finals – Oct. 19
 
L.P. Regionals – Oct. 25 or 26
 
L.P. Finals – Nov. 2
 

11-Player Football 
Selection Sunday – Oct. 27
 
Pre-Districts – Nov. 1 or 2
 
District Finals – Nov. 8 or 9
 
Regional Finals – Nov. 15 or 16
 
Semifinals – Nov. 23
 
Finals – Nov. 29-30
 

8-Player Football 
Selection Sunday – Oct. 27
 
Regional Semifinals – Nov. 1 or 2
 
Regional Finals – Nov. 8 or 9
 
Semifinals – Nov. 16
 
Finals – Nov. 23
 

L.P. Girls Golf 
Regionals – Oct. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12
 
Finals – Oct. 18-19
 

Boys Soccer 
Districts – Oct. 9-19
 
Regionals – Oct. 22-26
 
Semifinals – Oct. 30
 
Finals – Nov. 2
 

L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving 
Diving Regionals – Nov. 14
 
Swimming/Diving Finals – Nov. 22-23
 

Tennis 
U.P. Girls Finals – Oct. 2, 3, 4 or 5
 
L.P. Boys Regionals – Oct. 9, 10, 11 or 12
 
L.P. Boys Finals – Oct. 17-19 or 21-22
 

Girls Volleyball 
Districts – Nov. 4-9
 
Regionals – Nov. 12 & 14
 
Quarterfinals – Nov. 19
 
Semifinals – Nov. 21-22
 
Finals – Nov. 23
 

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 Sports Participation Continues Upward Trend for 3rd-Straight Year

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

August 6, 2024

Participation in Michigan High School Athletic Association-sponsored sports rose for the third-straight school year in 2023-24 – this time by nearly one percent – and continued to do so despite another 2-percent decrease in school enrollment among the MHSAA’s 754 member high schools.

A total of 270,664 participants were counted across the 28 sports for which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments – a 0.97-percent increase from 2022-23 and despite a 1.8-percent decrease in MHSAA member school enrollment. Boys participation rose 1.1 percent to 158,260, despite a 1.8 percent decrease in boys enrollment. Girls participation rose 0.7 percent to 112,377, while girls enrollment dipped 1.9 percent from the previous school year.

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. The boys participation total for 2023-24 was its highest since 2018-19, predating the sharp decrease brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020-21 school year.

Only 11 sports saw increases in participation during 2023-24 – compared to 18 sports that reported increases between 2021-22 and 2022-23. However, two sports set participation records this past school year. Girls golf reported 3,936 athletes, an increase of 6.2 percent from the previous year and that sport’s most since 2002-03. Girls lacrosse broke its record set in 2019-20 with 3,245 athletes, up nine-tenths of a percent from the previous year.

Wrestling reported the largest increase in participation for the second-straight school year, this time by 12.8 percent with 11,814 athletes – and the rise again mostly attributable to the rapid growth in girls participation in the sport, which jumped another 39 percent with 1,216 wrestlers this past season. Girls tennis enjoyed the next largest participation jump, increasing 9.1 percent with 8,911 athletes, that sport’s most since 2018-19.

Both girls and boys track & field increased for the third-straight year, girls by 5.2 percent to 17,325 competitors and boys 2.9 percent to 23,888. Boys lacrosse (up 3.9 percent to 5,236 athletes) and boys golf (up 3.3 percent to 7,222) also joined their girls counterparts in those sports in trending upward.

Boys soccer (up 5.1 percent to 13,953 athletes), girls competitive cheer (3.9 percent to 6,172) and football (11 and 8-player combined – 0.5 percent to 35,174) also showed increases. Football remains the most-played sport statewide with more than 11,000 more athletes than the next highest, boys track & field, and the 2023-24 football participation total was that sport’s highest since 2018-19. Boys basketball (20,199 participants), girls volleyball (19,119) and girls track & field ranked third through fifth, respectively, among the state’s most-played sports this past school year.

Although 17 sports saw lower participation in 2023-24 than the previous year, five experienced decreases smaller than the overall 1.8-percent loss in enrollment at member schools – boys ice hockey (-0.03 percent with just one fewer participant than in 2022-23), girls soccer (-0.3 percent), girls volleyball (-0.8 percent), boys tennis (-1.2 percent), boys cross country (-1.3 percent) and girls softball (-1.5 percent). Girls cross country just missed that line with only a 1.9-percent decrease from the previous year.

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 Sports Participation Listing page of MHSAA.com.

The following chart shows participation figures for the 2023-24 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

664/11

16,294

-

-/15

Basketball

730/3

20,193

722

13,113/6

Bowling

431/0

4,292

425

2,767

Competitive Cheer

-

-

348

6,172

Cross Country

676/0

7,886

672

6,729

Football - 11 player

509/78

32,431

-

-/143

                 8-player

120/16

2,583

-

-/17

Golf

549/41

7,135

389

3,936/87

Gymnastics

-

-

104

529

Ice Hockey

326/10

3,117

-

-/11

Lacrosse

187/13

5,210

132

3,245/26

Skiing

135/0

822

133

786

Soccer

495/15

13,903

490

11,829/50

Softball

-

-

645

11,544

Swimming & Diving

282/17

3,990

287

4,726/48

Tennis

305/15

5,918

335

8,911/27

Track & Field

692/0

23,888

694

17,325

Volleyball

-

-

719

19,119

Wrestling

511/288

10,598

 

-/1,216

 

(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, 2024. 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.