Use of Participation Fees Falls Slightly
July 29, 2015
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 dropped five percent during the 2014-15 school year to its lowest since 2011-12, according to the most recent survey taken by the MHSAA – although the ratio of schools assessing fees remained above 50 percent of respondents for the fifth straight year.
A total of 522 high schools – or 69 percent of the MHSAA membership – responded to the 2014-15 survey for the highest feedback rate since 2010-11. A total of 269 high schools, or 51.5 percent that took the survey, charged fees this school year, compared to 56.6 percent of schools that responded in 2013-14.
There were 753 senior high schools in the MHSAA membership in 2014-15. This was the 11th 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 remained at 50.5 percent in 2011-12 before making a nearly five-percent jump three school years ago.
The largest drop of those charging fees in 2014-15 came at Class B schools, with 52 percent reporting fees after 62 percent reported using them in 2013-14. Class A schools saw a seven-percent decrease to 70 percent with fees, and Class D schools saw a four-percent decrease to 35 percent that assessed. Class C schools saw a one-percent increase to 47 percent assessing for participation.
Charging a standardized fee for each team on which a student-athletes participates – regardless of the number of teams – remains the most popular method among schools assessing fees, although that rate fell slightly from 41 percent of schools assessing during 2013-14 to 39 percent this school year. Schools charging a one-time standardized fee per student-athlete also fell, from 33 to 28 percent of schools that assess fees. The survey showed a slight increase 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). There also was a slight increase in fees being assessed based on the specific sport being played.
The median fee by schools that charged student-athletes per sport did drop $10 to $75. Other fees remained consistent from the 2013-14 school year: the median one-time student fee at $100, the median annual maximum fee per student at $150 and the median annual maximum family fee at $300.
The survey for 2014-15 and surveys from previous years can be found on the MHSAA Website by clicking here.
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.
Bowling, Boys Lacrosse Set Fan Records
October 10, 2019
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Bowling and boys lacrosse tournament events again drew record-breaking attendance totals during the 2018-19 school year as a total of 1,385,710 fans attended MHSAA postseason competitions for which attendance is recorded.
The MHSAA Bowling Tournament – including Regionals and Finals for girls and boys – set an attendance record for the eighth consecutive season last winter with 14,507 fans, including a record 10,124 for Regional competition. Boys lacrosse, which also begins postseason play at the Regional level, set a record for the third straight season this spring with 13,854 fans – with records also at the Regional level of 8,894 fans and Quarterfinal round with 1,911.
The MHSAA annually tracks attendance for all sports except golf, skiing and tennis – for which admission typically is not charged.
The 2018-19 grand total saw a decrease of just less than a half percent from 2017-18. While boys tournament event attendance was down 1.1 percent, or nearly 11,000 fans, girls tournament event attendance saw a 1.3-percent increase to 448,735, nearly 6,000 more fans than the year before.
A total of 17 sports saw increases in attendance for at least one round of tournament play. Three girls sports – basketball, competitive cheer and soccer – plus baseball saw increases in attendance for three rounds of the postseason. Girls volleyball, softball, boys basketball, football, ice hockey and both the team and individual wrestling tournaments saw attendance rise for at least two rounds of play compared to 2017-18.
Seven sports saw overall attendance increases from 2017-18. Girls Basketball, thanks in part to its best Regional attendance since 2001-02, was up 3.5 percent for the entire tournament with 164,166 fans. Cheer, with 27,697 fans for its postseason, was up 6.4 percent. Girls Soccer, with 27,689 fans, was up 1.5 percent for its entire playoffs.
Baseball saw overall postseason attendance increase 5.4 percent to 47,116 fans, and team wrestling was up 5.0 percent with 30,626 fans – including its highest total (15,089) for District competition since 2011-12. Girls and boys cross country – run together on the same days at the same sites – continued its recent surge with more than 19,000 total fans for the third straight season, its total of 19,799 last fall an increase of 1.1 percent from the previous year.
Despite a slight decrease in overall playoff attendance of 1.2 percent, football again drew the most fans of any MHSAA postseason with 348,585. That total was highlighted by a 12.7-percent increase at the Pre-District level for the 11-player tournament and a 22.8-percent jump for the Semifinal round, with 11 and 8-player games counted together. The Semifinals drew their most fans since 2014-15.
Boys basketball was the next most attended sport with 310,696 fans at postseason games, a decrease of just a quarter of a percent from 2017-18. The boys basketball attendance was highlighted by its best Regional turnout in four years and its best Quarterfinal attendance since 2012-13.
Basketball was the most attended girls sport for postseason play, with volleyball (105,128) also reaching six figures for the sixth straight year. Volleyball enjoyed its highest Regional and Quarterfinal attendance both since 2015-16.