Pay-to-Play Down Slightly, Survey Shows
July 24, 2018
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Slightly less than 50 percent of MHSAA member high schools assessed sports participation fees during the 2017-18 school year, according to an annual survey that enjoyed its highest response rate in 14 years of measuring the prevalence of charging students to help fund interscholastic athletics.
This year’s survey was completed by a record 80 percent of the MHSAA’s 751 member high schools, and 49 percent of respondents charged participation fees – down slightly from 49.7 percent in 2016-17, when the rate dropped below 50 percent for the first time since 2009-10.
The MHSAA conducted its first participation fee survey during the 2003-04 school year, when 24 percent of responding schools reported they charged fees. The percentage of member schools charging fees crossed 50 percent in 2010-11 and reached a high of 56.6 percent in 2013-14.
Class A schools remained the largest group charging fees in 2017-18, with 65 percent of respondents doing so – although that percentage was the lowest for Class A since 66 percent reported using fees in 2011-12. Class B schools fell to 47 percent charging fees (from 52 percent in 2016-17), while Class C (46 percent) and Class D (37) schools remained below 50 percent as well.
Charging a standardized fee for each team on which a student-athlete participates – regardless of the number of teams – remains the most popular method among schools assessing fees, with that rate at 43 percent of schools. Schools charging a one-time standardized fee per student-athlete showed a slight decrease to 28 percent, while assessing fees based on tiers of the number of sports a student-athlete plays (for example, charging a larger fee for the first team and less for additional sports) and assessing fees based on the specific sport being played (some being more expensive than others) both showed slight upticks to 15 and 5 percent, respectively.
The amounts of most fees remained consistent during 2017-18: the median annual maximum fee per student at $150, the median annual maximum family fee at $300 and the median per-team fee at $75 – all for at least the fourth straight year. The median fee assessed by schools that charge student-athletes once per year held steady at $125 for the second straight school year.
Click for the survey for 2017-18, and surveys from previous years can be found here.
MHSAA Representative Council Elects 1st New President in Decade at Fall Meeting
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 19, 2024
The Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association received reports on the upcoming sponsorship of two recently-added sports, provided support for a study group to discuss the number of postseason divisions for several more sports, and elected a new president for the first time in a decade during its Fall Meeting on Dec. 6 in East Lansing.
Generally, the Council takes only a few actions during its Fall Meeting, with topics often introduced for additional consideration and action during its meetings in March and May. The Council took only one action at this meeting but began conversations on several topics that will be continued throughout the remainder of this school year.
The lone action regarded baseball and a previously-approved requirement for teams to submit their pitch counts online beginning with the Spring 2025 season. The Council approved a one-year delay in that requirement to allow more time for technology development and implementation.
The Council received reports on two sports set to begin with MHSAA sponsorship with the 2025-26 school year – girls field hockey and boys volleyball. The first Girls Field Hockey Committee has met and will be sending several proposals to the Council for action during its March meeting in preparation for the Fall 2025 season. The Volleyball Committee will meet soon with potential proposals for boys volleyball coming before the Council in March or May.
MHSAA staff led a discussion regarding the number of postseason divisions for baseball, basketball, Lower Peninsula cross country, softball, Lower Peninsula track & field and volleyball, which are all sponsored by at least 550 schools. The conversation included data from a 2023 Update Meeting poll question that addressed the topic and discussions that took place during MHSAA sport committee meetings during the 2023-24 school year. The Council discussed if adding fifth divisions to those sports is necessary or desirable and gave support for MHSAA staff to form a study group on the topic and provide a report to the Council during its May 2025 meeting.
Council members discussed social media issues that had arisen in the school sports community over the last several months, and how member schools should address these situations and the role the MHSAA should play in communicating with all schools involved in specific instances.
The Council also received updates from the MHSAA’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee and discussed several matters related to recently completed fall tournaments, broadcast partnerships, MHSAA Athletic Director Update Meeting and In-Service Programs and other administrative topics.
The Fall Meeting also saw elections of Council officers for the upcoming year. Midland assistant principal and athletic director Eric Albright was elected president, as retired Grand Haven Superintendent Scott Grimes completed his tenure on the Council and 10th and final term as president. Brighton High School athletic director John Thompson was reelected as Council vice president, and Vic Michaels, director of physical education and athletics for the Archdiocese of Detroit, was reelected as secretary-treasurer.
Additionally, Westland John Glenn athletic director Jason Malloy was appointed for a second two-year term on the Council. Monica Merritt, superintendent for Plymouth-Canton Community Schools, was appointed for a first two-year term.
The Representative Council is the legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five members are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee.
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.