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Records Set Despite Overall Participation Dip
July 9, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Participation in high school sports in which postseason tournaments are sponsored by the Michigan High School Athletic Association decreased slightly for the third straight school year in 2013-14, following a continuing trend of declining member school enrollments.
However, nine MHSAA sports saw increases in participation from 2012-13, and four sports set records for the second straight school year.
A total of 288,230 participants took part in the 28 tournament sports offered by the MHSAA during the past year – a 1.9-percent decrease from the 2012-13 figure of 293,810. However, enrollments at member schools also decreased 0.7 percent from 2012-13 and have fallen 10 percent since the 2006-07 school year – while MHSAA participation has fallen only 7.9 percent during that time. This year’s dip was slightly larger than the 1.2-percent decrease from 2011-12 to 2012-13.
Overall boys participation fell 1.7 percent from 2012-13 to 2013-14, while girls participation fell 2.2 percent. The overall MHSAA totals count students once for each sport in which they participate, meaning students who are multiple-sport athletes are counted more than once.
For the second straight school year, both boys and girls lacrosse (5,089 and 2,540, respectively) and boys and girls cross country (8,882 and 8,703) set participation records. Both lacrosse totals have increased annually during their 10 years as MHSAA tournament sports; the girls saw an increase of 1.6 percent from 2012-13. Participation in both boys and girls cross country increased for the fifth straight seasons – the girls this time by 3.9 percent.
Three girls sports rebounded from recent declines. Girls swimming and diving (6,604) broke a two-year downturn in participation with its highest total since 2010-11, while girls golf (3,427) increased by 2.8 percent and girls soccer (13,619) increased one percent after also falling from 2011-12 to 2012-13. Girls track and field (17,259) posted its second straight increase and highest participation total since 2009-10.
However, troubling trends continued in two of the most popular girls sports. Girls basketball participation fell for the eighth straight season to 16,329 participants, the sport’s fewest since records first were kept in 1991-92. The girls basketball total has decreased 14.7 percent since a U.S. District Court decision led to the switching of girls basketball season from fall to winter beginning in 2007-08. Comparatively, girls enrollment at MHSAA schools during that time has fallen 10.4 percent.
The sport that swapped seasons with girls basketball and moved to fall, volleyball, saw a 6.5-percent drop in participation this school year to 18,607 athletes, its fewest since 1993-94 and a decrease of 13.6 percent since its final season as a winter sport.
Also of note in this year’s survey:
- Total, nine sports saw increases in participation in 2013-14 (three boys, six girls), while 19 had decreases (11 boys, eight girls).
- Football participation, 11 and 8-player teams combined, dropped for the sixth straight season but this time by only 2 percent to 40,673 athletes. The drop from 2011-12 to 2012-13 was 3.7 percent.
- Wrestling saw a decrease for the fifth straight year, but also by a smaller percentage than the year before – 2.2 percent versus a 4.8-percent drop from 2011-12 to 2012-13.
- Baseball participation increased for the second straight year, up 0.7 percent to 18,227 participants. But softball saw the third-largest dip in 2013-14, 7.2 percent to 13,443 participants.
- Gymnastics (600) saw a decrease for the second straight year, this time by 11 percent – the largest percentage decrease of any sport this school year. Boys skiing (745) saw the second-largest drop, 9.7 percent.
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 2013-14 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 |
630/646/2 |
18,220 |
- |
-/7 |
Basketball |
727/732/2 |
21,504 |
676/723 |
16,321/8 |
Bowling |
341/359/1 |
3,573 |
326/357 |
2,939/7 |
Competitive Cheer |
- |
- |
311/337 |
7,120 |
Cross Country |
591/626/0 |
8,882 |
577/622 |
8,703/0 |
Football – 11 player |
596/660/3 |
39,963 |
- |
-/43 |
8-player |
36/39/0 |
667 |
- |
- |
Golf |
515/542/12 |
6,768 |
317/327 |
3,365/62 |
Gymnastics |
- |
- |
56/74 |
600 |
Ice Hockey |
219/268/2 |
3,564 |
- |
-/19 |
Lacrosse |
125/130/0 |
5,089 |
86/88 |
2,540/0 |
Skiing |
81/104/0 |
745 |
78/104 |
662/0 |
Soccer |
475/496/12 |
14,242 |
466/478 |
13,619/48 |
Softball |
- |
- |
569 |
13,443 |
Swimming & Diving |
242/266/1 |
5,243 |
260/274 |
6,064/8 |
Tennis |
312/318/2 |
6,464 |
338/347 |
8,856/6 |
Track & Field |
648/679/0 |
22,716 |
634/673 |
17,259/0 |
Volleyball |
- |
- |
662 |
18,607 |
Wrestling |
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Girls Events Set Attendance Record
September 17, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan High School Athletic Association girls postseason events enjoyed record attendance for the second straight school year in 2014-15 as nearly 1.4 million fans total took in tournament events for which attendance is recorded.
Total attendance for 2014-15 was 1,389,209 fans, with 926,099 at boys tournaments and 463,110 spectators at girls events. Attendance is kept for all sports except golf, skiing and tennis, for which admission typically is not charged.
That total was down 31,518 fans, or 2.2 percent, from 2013-14. But that decrease was due mostly to a 20 percent drop in football attendance stemming from an uncharacteristically cold and snowy weekend for Pre-District games, and despite a slight uptick in MHSAA Finals attendance (53,494) in the sport for the second straight season to its highest total since 2011.
Attendance for Pre-District football games was down 45,663 fans (33 percent) from the same round of the 2013 Playoffs – although that one-weekend deficit was made up partially by an increase of 28,550 fans (6.6 percent) at girls events over the previous school year.
Two girls sports – competitive cheer and volleyball – plus the combined girls and boys bowling tournament set attendance records during 2014-15. Volleyball set a an overall attendance record for the second straight season, with 110,931 fans, and also set records at the MHSAA District and Regional levels. Cheer set records at the District and Finals levels and overall with 31,284 fans for the tournament – an increase of 20 percent over the 2013-14 season. Bowling set an overall attendance record for the fourth straight season, this time with 13,298 fans.
A number of other sports continued promising trends. The Baseball and Softball Finals, which showed a 29-percent increase from the previous year after moving to Michigan State University in 2014, experienced another boost this spring. The Girls Soccer Finals also moved to MSU, which attracted more fans total to the site that weekend; however, the combined attendance for Baseball, Softball and Girls Soccer Finals (16,310 fans) this spring was 29 percent higher than the 2014 combined total when girls soccer championship games were played at two other sites.
Baseball and Softball Regionals experienced their highest turnouts since the 1995 season, with baseball setting a record for that round with 12,297 fans. Girls Soccer Regionals also set a record with 11,228 in attendance. All three sports saw overall postseason attendance increases from the spring 2014 to 2015 seasons.
Both girls and boys basketball also enjoyed postseason attendance increases for the 2014-15 season; girls basketball had its most fans (171,665) since 2005-06, while the boys (320,908) welcomed the most since 2011-12. Boys soccer postseason games attracted 34,795 fans, up 20 percent from 2013 and the most since the 2008 season, and wrestling experienced upticks at both championship levels – the Team Finals attendance of 29,564 was the highest since 2011, and the Individual Finals total of 49,215 was that event’s highest since 2012. Boys swimming and diving and the combined track and field tournaments also enjoyed increased tournament attendance from the previous school year.