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.
Nine Members Elected to MHSAA Representative Council
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
October 25, 2022
Elections were completed recently to fill positions on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s legislative body, its Representative Council, with six members receiving re-election, another rejoining the Council after previously serving and two being selected for the first time – one of those two as part of a special election.
Five of the six re-elected members ran unopposed. Midland athletic director Eric Albright was re-elected to continue representing Class A and B schools in the northern section of the Lower Peninsula, Portage Northern athletic director Chris Riker was re-elected to continue representing Class A and B schools in the southwestern section of the Lower Peninsula, and Brighton athletic director John Thompson was re-elected to continue representing Class A and B schools in the southeastern section of the Lower Peninsula.
Calumet faculty member and past athletic director Sean Jacques was re-elected to continue representing the Class C and D schools in the Upper Peninsula. Vic Michaels, director of physical education and athletics for the Archdiocese of Detroit, was re-elected to continue representing private and parochial schools. Grand Haven superintendent Scott C. Grimes was re-elected for a statewide at-large position from an original pool of four candidates.
Bangor athletic director Fredrick J. Smith will be rejoining the Council after previously serving from 2005-17 while athletic director at Comstock, Buchanan and Benton Harbor. He was elected to represent junior high and middle schools. Harbor Springs athletic director Anna Rigby will join the Council for the first time and was elected to represent Class C and D schools in the northern section of the Lower Peninsula. All eight were elected to serve two-year terms.
Camden-Frontier superintendent Chris Adams also will be joining the Council for the first time. He was selected as part of a special election to serve a one-year term representing Class C and D schools in the southeastern section of the Lower Peninsula. He will finish the term of former Ottawa Lake Whiteford athletic director and coach Jason Mensing, who now serves at Class A Westland John Glenn.
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, and these elections take effect with the Fall 2022 meeting. 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. Lake Linden-Hubbell athletic director and varsity girls basketball coach Jack Kumpula was elected to represent Class D schools, and West Iron County principal, athletic director and varsity football coach Mike Berutti was elected to represent athletic coaches. Powers North Central principal David Florenski was selected in a special election to serve a one-year term representing Class D schools.
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 1.3 million spectators each year.