![Nicole Carter is pictured in a collage of photos with students she serves as Novi principal.](/sites/default/files/2024-03/240304_Carter_2H2.png)
Novi Principal, Past MHSAA Council VP Carter to Receive Inaugural Hampton Award
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 4, 2024
Nicole Carter grew up in a family of educators, aspired to become one herself, and has dedicated her career to providing opportunities in all facets of education – including educational athletics – to all students through her vision and inspiration. To celebrate Carter’s continuing contributions especially to underrepresented groups in school sports, she has been selected as the inaugural honoree of the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Nate Hampton Champion of Progress in Athletics Award.
The Hampton Award was created by the MHSAA’s Representative Council to honor Nate Hampton, who retired in 2021 after serving in education and educational athletics for 50 years, including the last 32 years as an MHSAA assistant director. Honorees have championed the promotion and advancement of opportunities for women, minorities and other underrepresented groups within interscholastic athletics, while serving as an administrator, coach, official, educator or school sports leader in Michigan.
Carter, in her 10th year as principal at Novi High School, was selected as the first recipient of the Hampton Award by the Representative Council at its Fall meeting in December and will be recognized during the Boys Basketball Finals on March 16 at Michigan State University’s Breslin Center.
“As an advocate and strong proponent of athletics, I understand wholeheartedly the impact they have on the whole child,” Carter said. “This is a surreal moment for me, and I’m truly honored to be the recipient of this award, keeping in mind the impact Nate Hampton had on athletics in the state of Michigan over several decades – it’s very humbling.”
Carter began at Novi in 1999, teaching for eight years before moving into administration as dean of student activities for three years and then assistant principal for three. She became principal with the 2013-14 school year and leads a staff of 140 in educating more than 2,100 students.
While leading one of the state’s largest and most highly-regarded high schools – and one of Michigan’s most diverse, with her students’ families speaking more than 70 languages at home – Carter has provided her expertise through several more efforts. She served four years on the MHSAA Representative Council, from 2019-23, and as its vice president for the 2022-23 school year. She has served on the MHSAA’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, and volleyball and classification committees, and presented at the annual Women In Sports Leadership Conference on social and emotional skill building. She also has served as president of the Kensington Lakes Activities Association.
“Nicole Carter serves with the mindset of providing opportunities for all students as the principal at one of the largest and most diverse high schools in Michigan, and students statewide benefitted from her leadership during her time as part of the Representative Council and Executive Committee,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “No matter the topic or details of a situation, Nicole looks at it from a rational point of view in deciding what’s best for kids. She continues to emphasize that academics must be the highest priority in a student’s education, and she can provide that perspective with a wider lens as someone with a strong background in and understanding of the role of athletics.”
Service through education is a tradition in Carter’s family. Her grandfather Charles Butler Nuckolls served as a principal in Kentucky for 40 years prior to desegregation. Her father Gene Nuckolls also spent 40 years in education, including as principal of Saginaw High School and assistant superintendent for Saginaw Public Schools, while Carter’s mother Shirley Nuckolls dedicated 40 years as a teacher, assistant principal and guidance counselor within the Saginaw district.
Carter’s selection for the Hampton Award is something of a full-circle moment for her family. Gene Nuckolls hired Hampton as supervisor of athletic and physical education for Saginaw Public Schools in 1987.
Carter was named Michigan High School Principal of the Year in 2022 by the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals (MASSP) and Michigan Association of Student Councils and Honor Societies (MASC/MAHS). She additionally has been recognized as a Diversity Champion as part of The Community House honor roll recognition program, and was selected as an African American Educator of the Year by the Michigan Lottery in 2016. She also was recognized in 2017 by the Oakland County Coordinating Council Against Domestic Violence.
Drawing from her athletic background and perspective, Carter noted that she strives to be a coach and mentor – as well as a teacher of teachers and students as principal at her school.
She also has continually looked to create inclusive opportunities during her tenure, citing Novi’s Special Olympics Unified Sports program as a significant point of pride for the school.
“I always lead from the lens of equity and inclusion and accessibility, and I’m always trying to identify opportunities for students to find their place,” Carter said. “Ensuring every single student in our school has a sense of belonging is one of my top priorities as principal.”
Carter is a 1993 graduate of Saginaw Heritage, where she played basketball, soccer and softball. She earned bachelor’s degrees in political science, with a minor in English, and secondary education from Michigan State University in 1999 and her master’s in curriculum and instruction from MSU in 2001. She also has an educational leadership degree from Oakland University. Carter taught civics/economics and U.S. government and politics at Novi before moving into administration.
PHOTOS courtesy of Novi Community School District.
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Participation Rises to 4-Year High
July 10, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
While enrollment in MHSAA member high schools saw another slight dip in 2017-18, participation in the 28 sports for which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments rose to its highest point since 2013-14.
A total of 284,920 participants competed in MHSAA-sponsored sports this past school year, up 0.46 percent from 2016-17 – and despite a 1 percent drop in enrollment at member schools during that time. The overall 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.
Girls participation rose for the third straight year to 121,349 participants, up 1.2 percent from 2016-17 and despite a 1.1 percent enrollment drop over the last year. Boys participation fell to 163,571 participants, a decrease of less than a tenth of a percent from the previous year – and much smaller than the boys enrollment decrease of nearly a full percent.
Girls lacrosse has set a participation record every season since becoming a sponsored tournament sport in 2005, and did so this spring with 2,900 participants – a 3.1 percent increase from a year ago. Boys lacrosse also set a record for the second year in a row, up 1.1 percent with 5,168 participants. Both boys and girls bowling broke records previously set in 2015-16 – boys bowling participation increased 8.4 percent over 2016-17 with 4,136 participants, while girls bowling was up 4.5 percent with 3,058 athletes. Also setting a record in 2017-18 was boys cross country, which saw record participation for the second straight season last fall with 9,656 runners (an increase of 2.6 percent).
The largest percentage increase in participation this school year came in girls gymnastics, which jumped 10.4 percent with 702 athletes – its most since 2011-12. Girls golf also enjoyed a notable increase, up 4.2 percent to 3,712 athletes – its highest participation total since 2007-08.
Six sports total saw increases in participation on both the girls and boys’ sides. In addition to bowling and lacrosse, girls cross country joined the record-setting boys with a 2.4 percent increase. Girls and boys swimming & diving both enjoyed increases for the second straight year, this time both by 2.4 percent. Girls tennis was up 2.3 percent to its highest total (9,123) since 2012-13, and boys tennis participation increased by one percent. Boys track & field (1.5 percent) increased for the third straight year, while girls track & field (1.6 percent) was up for the second consecutive.
Volleyball led participation among girls sports with 19,416 participants, up 1.8 percent from 2016-17. Other sports to see increases in 2017-18 were girls skiing, up 2.8 percent as participation increased for the second straight season; boys basketball, up a half percent; and girls soccer, which had four more athletes this spring than during the 2017 season.
Also of note in this year’s survey:
• The increase in participation for 18 sports during 2017-18 was compared to an increase in 16 sports for 2016-17 and 15 sports in 2015-16.
• Of 10 sports that saw decreases in participation in 2017-18, five were down less than a percent. Competitive cheer had five fewer athletes but 6,715 total, and there were three fewer boys golfers to take that total to 2,267. Boys skiing was down six athletes total to 831, while boys soccer was down 11 athletes and girls softball down 31 – both less than a quarter of a percent off their 2016-17 totals.
• Football experienced a much smaller decrease in participation last season than it had from 2015-16 to 2016-17, falling only 1.9 percent to 37,002 athletes – still the most participating in any sport by more than 13,000 athletes. The combined number of 11 and 8-player varsity teams sponsored by MHSAA schools last fall remained constant compared to recent seasons, although a shift of some programs from 11-player to 8-player continued.
The participation figures are gathered annually from MHSAA member schools to submit to the National Federation of State High School Associations for compiling of its national participation survey. Results of Michigan surveys from the 2000-01 school year to present may be viewed by clicking here.
The following chart shows participation figures for the 2017-18 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 |
642/655/5 |
17,668 |
- |
0/7 |
Basketball |
730/729/1 |
21,367 |
691/723 |
15,654/5 |
Bowling |
385/391/18 |
4,098 |
360/381 |
3,058/38 |
Competitive Cheer |
- |
- |
343/353 |
6,715 |
Cross Country |
640/651/4 |
9,650 |
620/650 |
8,696/6 |
Football - 11 player |
578/582/89 |
35,475 |
- |
0/108 |
8-player |
71/74/10 |
1,406 |
- |
0/13 |
Golf |
506/530/66 |
6,146 |
340/339 |
3,712/121 |
Gymnastics |
- |
- |
83/96 |
702 |
Ice Hockey |
240/269/9 |
3,353 |
- |
292/12 |
Lacrosse |
154/161/5 |
5,161 |
109/113 |
2,900/7 |
Skiing |
96/107/1 |
830 |
95/107 |
767/1 |
Soccer |
484/506/20 |
14,550 |
468/483 |
13,216/69 |
Softball |
- |
- |
624/643 |
13,610 |
Swimming & Diving |
246/274/14 |
5,020 |
261/280 |
5,732/78 |
Tennis |
295/309/12 |
6,134 |
332/340 |
9,123/31 |
Track & Field |
668/686/2 |
23,566 |
659/685 |
17,288/14 |
Volleyball |
- |
- |
715/717 |
19,416 |
Wrestling |
467/482/152 |
9,147 |
- |
126/250 |
(A) The first number is the number of schools reporting sponsorship on the Sports Participation Survey. The second number indicates schools sponsoring the sport including primary and secondary schools in cooperative programs as of May 14, 2018. The third 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, w