2017-18 Officials Registration Underway
June 22, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Michigan High School Athletic Association is accepting registrations by mail and online for game officials for the 2017-18 school year.
The MHSAA annually receives registration by more than 9,500 officials, and had 9,834 during the 2016-17 school year. The highest total of officials registered for basketball, 4,137, with football and baseball both with more than 2,000 registered officials during this past school year.
For all new and returning officials, those who register online again will receive a $5 discount off their processing fees. A $15 fee is charged for each sport in which an official wishes to register, and the online processing fee is $35. Officials submitting registration forms by mail or on a walk-up basis will incur a $40 processing fee. Officials registered in 2016-17 will be assessed a late fee of $30 for registration after July 31. The processing fee includes liability insurance coverage up to $1 million for officials while working contests involving MHSAA schools.
Online registration can be accessed by clicking Officials on the home page of the MHSAA Website. Forms also are available online that can be printed and submitted by traditional mail or hand delivery to the MHSAA Office. More information about officials registration may be obtained by contacting the MHSAA at 1661 Ramblewood Drive, East Lansing, MI, 48823, by phone at (517) 332-5046 or by e-mail at [email protected].
There is an officials' registration test for first-time officials and officials who were not registered during the past school year. The test consists of 45 questions derived from the MHSAA Officials Guidebook, which also is available on the Officials page of the MHSAA Website. Additional 50-question exams must be taken by those registering for football or basketball for the first time or those who were not registered for those sports during the previous school year. Manuals for both sports also are available on the Officials page. New officials and those who didn’t officiate during 2016-17 also must complete the online MHSAA Principles of Officiating course, also available 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.
With HOF Induction, Roberts Again Emphasizes Value & Values of School Sports
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 14, 2022
Longtime and now-retired MHSAA executive director John E. "Jack" Roberts was inducted into the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Hall of Fame on July 1, 2022 – shining a light on high life's work of promoting, supporting and providing a valued national voice on education athletics during 32 years in that role from 1986 until his retirement in 2018.
Roberts was one of 12 honorees inducted during the NFHS summer meeting in San Antonio, Texas.
Roberts began his career serving as an assistant director for the National Federation from 1973-80. He was involved with the implementation of Title IX at the local and state levels and made immense contributions as the NFHS representative to the landmark Amateur Sports Act of 1978, and also played a significant role in the NFHS rules-writing process as the organization started writing and publishing rules for a number of new sports during the 1970s.
At the time of his retirement, Roberts was the nation’s longest-serving executive director of a state high school athletic association. He was the fourth person to serve the MHSAA in that leadership role full time, following Charles E. Forsythe (1931-42, 1945-68), Allen W. Bush (1968-78) and Vern L. Norris (1978-86).
Roberts also followed in the footsteps of his late father, John Roberts, who served as executive director of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association from 1957-85 and was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame in 2000. They are the first father-son team in the Hall of Fame.
The video above was shown as an introduction before Roberts was awarded his Hall of Fame plaque and medal during the induction ceremony. In the photo below, Roberts stands with current MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl.
