Press Releases

Michigan enjoyed the sixth-highest boys participation in high school sports nationally in 2025-26, moving up one spot in that ranking, and maintained its girls and overall rankings of eighth as well – continuing to outpace where it ranks nationally for population of school-aged children according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

The Michigan High School Athletic Association will conduct its 49th annual Update Meeting series during September and October, and this year’s schedule will again offer in-service programming for athletic directors at six of the seven locations.

Increased attendance in 10 sports nearly made up for a likely Halloween-driven deficit during the first week of last season’s football playoffs as Michigan High School Athletic Association postseason tournament attendance approached 1.4 million spectators again for the 2025-26 school year.  

A new format for early-round playoff seeding in 11-player football is among the most notable changes as more than 100,000 high school athletes from Michigan High School Athletic Association member high schools prepare for the first day of practices Monday, Aug. 10.

The annual Michigan High School Athletic Association participation fee survey completed for the 2025-26 school year continued to confirm the positive direction that has emerged this decade as the rate of member high schools charging student-athletes to play sports fell to its lowest in more than two decades.

Multiple regions across Michigan approached record-high temperatures this summer, just another reminder of the importance of adhering to hot-weather precautions as schools and families prepare for the start of fall sports practices and competitions this month at Michigan High School Athletic Association member schools.

Girls golf, boys track & field and girls wrestling enjoyed record participation during the 2025-26 school year as 277,533 athletes total competed in Michigan High School Athletic Association-sponsored tournament sports representing 755 member high schools.

Officiate Michigan Day 2026 will welcome more than 1,000 Michigan High School Athletic Association-registered game officials July 25 to DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, where they will receive knowledge and instruction from several high-profile voices headlined by recent National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee Kari Seitz – a Brighton High School graduate – and one of television’s most recognizable rules analysts, Mike Pereira.

Athletic administrators must balance multiple roles no matter the size of their school districts or numbers of sports they direct, and St. Ignace’s Don Gustafson, Brethren’s Jason Kemler, Grand Rapids’ Jolinda Lucas and Greenville’s Brian Zdanowski have thrived while shouldering wide-ranging responsibilities to provide first-rate athletic experiences for their students.

Three schools celebrated their first Michigan High School Athletic Association Finals championships in any sport during the 2025-26 school year as 39 teams total won first Finals titles in their respective sports.