Participation Remains Steady in 2018-19
July 18, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan High School Athletic Association member schools continued to experience a decade-long decline in enrollment in 2018-19, and participation across 28 sports for which the MHSAA sponsors postseason tournaments also decreased slightly. However, while the drop in enrollment was 1.28 percent from the previous school year, participation fell only 1.03 percent as four sports repeated in setting records.
A total of 281,992 participants competed in MHSAA-sponsored sports this past school year. 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.
Boys participation fell 1.2 percent to 161,614, and for the first time in four years girls participation also decreased, by eight tenths of a percent to 120,378. However, both reductions were smaller than losses in enrollment of 1.36 percent for boys and 1.19 for girls. Since the 2008-09 school year, overall enrollment in MHSAA member high schools is down 12.8 percent. But during that time, overall participation in MHSAA-sponsored sports is down only 7.3 percent.
Girls lacrosse continued its run of setting a participation record every season since becoming a sponsored tournament sport in 2005, this spring with 3,180 participants – a 9.7-percent increase from a year ago. Boys lacrosse set a record for the third consecutive year, up 5.2 percent with 5,438 participants. Both boys and girls bowling also repeated in breaking participation records – boys bowling participation increased 4.7 percent over 2017-18 with 4,329 participants, while girls bowling was up 1.1 percent with 3,093 athletes. Boys cross country, with 9,588 athletes, just missed last year’s record-setting total but still saw its second-largest group of participants since totals first were tracked year-to-year in 1991-92.
Seven more sports saw increases in participation in 2018-19, boys skiing leading the way with 11.2-percent growth – its 6,284 athletes were the sport’s most since 2014-15 thanks with an increase of three tenths of a percent over a year ago. Girls and boys tennis both saw increases; girls 1.8 percent to 9,286 athletes, its most since 2011-12, and boys up 1.6 percent to 6,261 athletes, its most since 2014-15.
Girls swimming & diving was up 1.1 percent to 5,794 athletes, its most since 2013-14. Girls track & field had its highest number of participants since 2009-10 with 17,406, with an increase of seven tenths of a percent from last year. Wrestling increased a percent from 2017-18, to 9,494 athletes, ending two years of declines. Boys Golf was up three tenths of a percent to 6,284 athletes, ending three straight years of decreases.
While 17 sports saw decreases in participation, eight saw decreases by smaller percentages than the loss of enrollment: boys basketball (-1.2 percent), girls competitive cheer (-0.6), boys cross country (-0.7), girls gymnastics (-1.1), girls skiing (-0.5), boys soccer (-0.9), girls soccer (-0.1) and boys track & field (-0.1). Football, despite a decrease in participation of 4.3 percent, remains the most played sport by far with 35,412 participants. Boys track & field is second with 23,548, followed by boys basketball with 21,125. Girls volleyball, despite a 1.8-percent decline from a year ago, remains the most popular girls sport with 19,072 athletes.
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 on the MHSAA Website.
The following chart shows participation figures for the 2018-19 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 |
639/9 |
17,211 |
- |
0/23 |
|
Basketball |
731/2 |
21,119 |
693 |
15,376/6 |
|
Bowling |
398/13 |
4,302 |
370 |
3,093/27 |
|
Competitive Cheer |
- |
- |
347 |
6,672 |
|
Cross Country |
634/0 |
9,588 |
619 |
8,144 |
|
Football - 11 player |
572/82 |
33,868 |
- |
0/94 |
|
8-player |
79/10 |
1,432 |
- |
0/18 |
|
Golf |
504/74 |
6,136 |
337 |
3,587/148 |
|
Gymnastics |
- |
- |
86 |
694 |
|
Ice Hockey |
242/10 |
3,282 |
- |
-/12 |
|
Lacrosse |
163/8 |
5,423 |
120 |
3,180/15 |
|
Skiing |
102/0 |
924 |
95 |
763 |
|
Soccer |
492/16 |
14,425 |
476 |
13,209/67 |
|
Softball |
- |
- |
628 |
13,290 |
|
Swimming & Diving |
248/18 |
4,968 |
262 |
5,794/35 |
|
Tennis |
290/17 |
6,221 |
330 |
9,286/40 |
|
Track & Field |
679/0 |
23,548 |
673 |
17,406 |
|
Volleyball |
- |
- |
713 |
19,072 |
|
Wrestling |
466/186 |
9,167 |
- |
-/327 |
(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, 2019. 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.
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 2024-25 School Year Classifications Announced, Division Lists Posted
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 5, 2024
Classifications for Michigan High School Athletic Association elections and postseason tournaments for the 2024-25 school year have been announced, with enrollment breaks for postseason tournaments posted to each sport’s page on the MHSAA Website.
Classifications for the upcoming school year are based on a second semester count date, which for MHSAA purposes was Feb. 14. The enrollment figure submitted for athletic classification purposes may be different from the count submitted for school aid purposes, as it does not include students ineligible for athletic competition because they reached their 19th birthday prior to Sept. 1 of the current school year and will not include alternative education students if none are allowed athletic eligibility by the local school district.
All sports’ tournaments are conducted with schools assigned to equal or nearly equal divisions, with lines dependent on how many schools participate in those respective sports.
For 2024-25, there are 753 tournament-qualified member schools. Schools recently were notified of their classification, and sport-by-sport divisions were posted to the MHSAA Website today (April 5). MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said a school may not subsequently lower its enrollment figure. However, if a revised enrollment figure is higher and indicates that a school should be playing in a higher division, that school would be moved up.
A pair of MHSAA Finals champions crowned during the first two seasons of this 2023-24 school year are set to move to new divisions for 2024-25. The Ishpeming girls basketball team will shift to Division 3 coming off its Division 4 title last month, while the Hudsonville Unity Christian boys soccer team is moving to Division 2 after winning Division 3 in the fall. The Detroit Old Redford boys basketball team finished Division 3 runner-up last month and will play in Division 2 next season, while this year’s Division 2 boys bowling runner-up Grand Rapids Northview is moving to Division 1 and the fall’s 11-player Division 8 football runner-up Ottawa Lake Whiteford will play in Division 7 this upcoming season.
Visit the respective sport pages on the MHSAA Website to review the divisional alignments for all MHSAA-sponsored tournament sports. Click the “SPORTS” menu on the home page to access the page for each sport, then the “Assignments” link on the selected sport page and then “DIVISION LIST” to see the 2024-25 division.
Traditional classes (A, B, C, D) – formerly used to establish tournament classifications – are used only for MHSAA elections. To determine traditional classifications, after all counts are submitted, tournament-qualified member schools are ranked according to enrollment and then split as closely into quarters as possible. For 2024-25, there are 188 member schools in Class A, Class B and Class D, and 189 member schools in Class C.
Effective with the 2024-25 school year, schools with 793 or more students are in Class A. The enrollment limits for Class B are 378-792, Class C is 169-377, and schools with enrollments of 168 and fewer are Class D. The break between Classes A and B decreased 14 students from 2023-24, the break between Classes B and C decreased two students, and the break between Classes C and D is eight students fewer than for the 2023-24 school year.
The new classification breaks will see 26 schools move up in Class for 2024-25 while 19 schools will move down:
Moving Up from Class B to Class A
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood
Detroit East English
Detroit Martin Luther King
Detroit Mumford
Plainwell
Sault Ste. Marie
Wayland
Moving Down from Class A to Class B
Flint Southwestern
Fowlerville
Haslett
Owosso
Parma Western
Pontiac
Tecumseh
Moving Up from Class C to Class B
Clinton Township Clintondale
Erie Mason
Fennville
Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian
Grass Lake
Hamtramck Oakland International Academy
Michigan Center
Waterford Oakside Prep
Moving Down from Class B to Class C
Hartford
Kent City
Pinconning
Taylor Prep
Warren Michigan Collegiate
Moving Up from Class D to Class C
Ann Arbor Central
Breckenridge
Eau Claire
Fowler
Lansing Christian
Marine City Cardinal Mooney
Mayville
Norway
Southfield Manoogian
Taylor Trillium Academy
Three Oaks River Valley
Moving Down from Class C to Class D
Benton Harbor Countryside Academy
Coleman
Detroit Crockett Midtown Science & Medicine
New Buffalo
Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central
Traverse City Greenspire
Ubly
New Postseason-Eligible Tournament Schools in 2024-25
Ann Arbor Christian
Burton St. Thomas More Academy
Traverse City Greenspire
Farmington Hills Aim
Plymouth Ivywood Classical Academy
Enrollment Breaks by Classes – 2024-25
(Number of schools in parentheses)
Class A: 793 and above (188 schools)
Class B: 378 – 792 (188)
Class C: 169 – 377 (189)
Class D: 168 and below (188)
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.