MHSAA Programs for Students

The MHSAA strives to provide quality programs for its largest and most active group of constituents: the student-athlete.  Below are brief overviews of programs available to individual student-athletes and schools seeking leadership training, funds for local endeavors, scholarship opportunities, and more.

Scholar-Athlete Award

For over 20 years, Farm Bureau Insurance has sponsored the MHSAA's Scholar-Athlete Award.  This year, 32 $1,000 scholarships will be available to high school seniors who meet the following eligibility requirements:

  1. Enrollment - Student must be enrolled and participating in interscholastic athletics at an MHSAA member school.
  2. Senior Status - Student must be a senior graduating during the current school year.
  3. Varsity Letter - Student must have prior to senior year won a varsity letter in a sport in which the MHSAA sponsors a post-season tournament. The list of sponsored sports include: baseball, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls bowling, girls competitive cheer, boys and girls cross country, football, boys and girls golf, girls gymnastics, ice hockey, boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls soccer, softball, boys and girls skiing, boys and girls swimming and diving, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls track and field, girls volleyball, and wrestling.
  4. 3.50 GPA - Student must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale. You may not round up a 3.4x grade point average for the purposes of qualifying.

More Scholar-Athlete Award information >

Student Advisory Council

The Student Advisory Council Class of 2012 has been chosen. With the Class of 2011, this 16-member group will meet five times in 2010-11 and will be asked to:

  • Act as the voice of Michigan’s student-athletes.
  • Serve as a student sounding board for the MHSAA’s Representative Council.
  • Assist in planning Sportsmanship Summits, Captains
    Clinics and other student leadership events.
  • Participate in a yearly focus group about the state of high schools sports for Michigan State University’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports.
  • Help with medal ceremonies at MHSAA championship events

More information about the MHSAA Student Advisory Council >

Captain's Clinics

The MHSAA works closely with the Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan State University to provide pertinent curriculum that is geared toward developing leadership skills for current and future team captains.  Topics at each clinic include (but are not limited to):

  • The Role of a Team Captain
  • Team Building
  • Motivating Your Team
  • Communicating With Coaches

Visit the Captain's Clinic page for more information >

High School Sports Leader - The site for Captains and Coaches

NFHS Free Online Courses

The NFHS is offering a series of FREE valuable online courses regarding concussion management, sportsmanship and the role of parents in sports. Click a topic below and begin the course.

Click Here for Instructions in Signing Up for Free NFHS Online Courses

Foreign Exchange Opportunities

  • CSIET Online Community (PDF) | Website

    • Leadership Grants

    Are you a student with plans of attending a leadership training program?  Are you a school administrator organizing a student leadership event in your community?  Do you need funding?

    More about leadership grants >

    Reaching Higher

    Reaching Higher

    The MHSAA Reaching Higher Program was developed in 2008-09 to assist student-athletes intent on participating in athletics beyond high school. Beginning with the Reaching Higher Basketball Experiences in 2009, the program aims to provide training, supervision and guidance which will lead  to a successful transition to college life, both athletically and academically.

    More about the Reaching Higher Program >

    College Prep

    The maze of eligibility requirements, admissions standards and recruiting regulations -- and how they vary from junior colleges to colleges and universities -- can be as daunting and intimidating as any opponent you've faced at your current grade level. To that end, we offer this section of the MHSAA Website as a springboard to your dreams of collegiate athletic participation.

    More about college prep >

    The Next Level . . .

    You are a talented student-athlete whose hard work and dedication has led to a multitude of impressive honors and statistics along your high school journey. The Reaching Higher program is indeed geared to assist student-athletes in attaining the "Next Level;" but it is important to temper aspirations of full-ride college scholarships and the even more remote pipedream of professional athletic careers. For most, the "Next Level," will not include competitive athletics. Let the following statistics serve as both a warning and a guide as you prepare for the "Next Level" as a successful citizen rather than an athlete.

    • Nearly 550,000 boys and 450,000 girls play high school basketball nation-wide. Roughly 3% of all players of each gender will ever play at at NCAA institution. 
    • From the above figures, .03% of boys and .02% of girls will ever earn a paycheck playing the game.
    • More than 1 million boys play high school football. Annually, just over 17,000 are afforded the chance to earn a scholarship as freshmen.
    • Of course, the above figures are contingent on achieving minimum grade standards for acceptance to an NCAA program.