Pay-to-Play's Extent Unchanged in 15-16
July 21, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The percentage of Michigan High School Athletic Association high schools that assessed participation fees to help fund interscholastic athletics held steady at 51.5 percent in 2015-16 for the second straight school year after reaching a high of nearly 57 percent two years ago.
A total of 557 high schools – or 74 percent of the MHSAA membership – responded to the 2015-16 survey for a five percent increase from the year before and the highest feedback rate since 2010-11, when 74 percent of member high schools also responded. A total of 287 high schools, or 51.5 percent that took the survey, charged fees this school year, compared to the same percentage of 522 respondents in 2014-15.
There were 755 senior high schools in the MHSAA membership in 2015-16. This was the 12th survey of schools since the 2003-04 school year, when members reported fees were being charged by 24 percent of schools. The percentage of member schools charging fees crossed 50 percent in 2010-11 and reached 56.6 percent in 2013-14 before decreasing the following school year.
Class B schools continued to see a decline in fees in 2015-16, with 48 percent of respondents from that class assessing fees compared to 52 percent in 2014-15 and 62 percent of Class B schools in 2013-14. Class C and D saw minimal increases in the percentages of schools assessing fees this year, and for the second straight school year 70 percent of Class A respondents assessed fees.
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 rising five percent to 44 percent total of schools that assessed fees in 2015-16. Schools charging a one-time standardized fee per student-athlete remained nearly constant, falling only from 28 to 27 percent over the last year. The survey showed a slight decrease in schools 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 also a slight decrease in fees being assessed based on the specific sport being played.
The amounts of most fees also remained consistent from 2014-15 to 2015-16: 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. The median fee assessed by schools that charge student-athletes once per year did increase $20 to $120.
The survey for 2015-16 and surveys from previous years can be found on the MHSAA Website.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,400 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.
Six Members Elected to MHSAA Representative Council
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 20, 2021
Elections were completed this week to fill positions on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s legislative body, its Representative Council, with four members receiving re-election, another rejoining the Council after previously serving and a sixth being selected for the first time. All six were elected to two-year terms.
The four re-elected members ran unopposed. Marquette athletic director Alex Tiseo was re-elected to continue representing Class A and B schools in the Upper Peninsula. Gobles athletic director Chris Miller was re-elected to continue representing Class C and D schools in the southwestern section of the Lower Peninsula, and Ottawa Lake Whiteford athletic director and football coach Jason Mensing was re-elected to continuing representing Class C and D schools in the southeastern section of the Lower Peninsula. Jay Alexander, executive director of athletics for Detroit Public Schools Community District, was re-elected to continue representing Detroit Public Schools.
Boyne City athletic director and girls basketball coach Adam Stefanski was elected to represent junior high/middle schools. He previously served on the Council for one year while athletic director at Mackinaw City. Elected to the Council for the first time was Chelsea athletic director Brad Bush, who will fill one of two statewide at-large positions.
The Representative Council is the 19-member 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 Council meets three times annually. Five members of the Council convene monthly during the school year to form the MHSAA’s Executive Committee, which reviews appeals of Handbook regulations by member schools.
Additional elections took place to select representatives to the Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee. Negaunee athletic director and football coach Paul Jacobson was elected to represent Class A and B schools, Ishpeming Westwood athletic director Jon Beckman was elected to represent Class C schools, and Ontonagon superintendent and principal Jim Bobula was elected to represent Class D schools.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,400 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.