MI Army National Guard Presents MHSAA Events
February 24, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Sharing in the values of leadership, sportsmanship and ethics emphasized by the Michigan High School Athletic Association, the Michigan Army National Guard is serving as the official military branch supporting MHSAA events and digital initiatives through the 2015-16 school year.
The Michigan Army National Guard provides trained and ready forces in support of the National Military Strategy, and responds as needed to state, local, and regional emergencies to ensure peace, order, and public safety. Guardsmen typically train one weekend per month and two weeks in the summer, and soldiers are eligible for educational benefits including state and federal tuition assistance programs, the G.I. Bill and grants at Michigan colleges and universities that combined usually exceed the total cost of tuition, books and fees at most Michigan post-secondary institutions.
The Guard adds value to our communities through continuous interaction. National Guard soldiers are part of the local community. Monthly and annual summer training maintains readiness when needed, be it either to defend our nation's freedom, or protecting lives and property of Michigan citizens during a local natural disaster.
“The National Guard provides opportunities for young men and women to mature into productive citizens,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts said. “The emphasis the Guard puts on physical fitness, leadership and doing things the right way parallels what we strive to teach in school sports.”
The Guard has served as presenter of the MHSAA Cross Country Regionals and Finals and Football Playoffs during the fall, and this winter of the MHSAA Wrestling Tournament, which will conclude with the Team Wrestling Finals hosted Feb. 26-27 at Central Michigan University’s McGuirk Arena and the Individual Wrestling Finals scheduled for March 3-5 at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Guard recruiters also have been on-site attending numerous District, Regional and additional Finals events during the first half of the 2015-16 school year.
The Guard also is featured prevalently as part of the MHSAA’s online presence on both MHSAA.com and the MHSAA mobile app, and supports the “Michigan National Guard Performance of the Week” honoring a successful student-athlete on the MHSAA’s Second Half website.
“The Michigan Army National Guard is proud to support the MHSAA and student-athletes across Michigan,” said Lt. Col. Scott L. Meyers, who serves as recruiting and retention battalion commander for the Guard. “The Guard not only plays a key role in our national defense; we have a responsibility to serve our communities during times of state emergencies. As individuals, we are stewards in our communities and have an inherent responsibility to support our community in that role. One way to do this is to encourage student-athletes to live up to the ethics, values, and positive life choices common to the MHSAA and the Michigan Army National Guard.
“The National Guard is actively seeking these student-athletes to join our team. Their dedication combined with our education benefits and leadership training will provide the tools needed for them to become future leaders of Michigan’s communities.”
Click for additional information on the Michigan Army National Guard.
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.
MHSAA Survey Shows Lower Rate of ‘Pay-to-Play’ Fees Continued as Participation Rose in 2022-23
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 27, 2023
Participation continued to bounce back at Michigan High School Athletic Association member schools during the 2022-23 school year, but the percentage of those schools charging fees to participate in sports was nearly unchanged for the third-straight year as it remained near its lowest rate of the last two decades.
Just 41 percent of MHSAA member schools charged participation fees during the 2022-23 school year, following 40 percent using them during 2021-22 and 41 percent in 2020-21.
The MHSAA participation fee survey has measured the prevalence of charging students to help fund interscholastic athletics annually since the 2003-04 school year. The percentage of member schools charging fees crossed 50 percent in 2010-11 and reached a high of 56.6 percent in 2013-14 before falling back to 50 percent or below. The survey showed 48 percent of member schools charged fees during 2019-20, the first school year affected by COVID-19, before the substantial reduction followed as programs continued to navigate the pandemic.
Of the 574 schools (77 percent of membership) which responded to the 2022-23 survey, 234 assessed a participation fee, while 340 did not during the past school year. For the purposes of the survey, a participation fee was anything $20 or more regardless of what the school called the charge (registration fee, insurance fee, etc.).
Class A schools, as in past years, made up the largest group charging fees, with 55 percent of respondents doing so. Class B and Class D schools followed, with 41 and 36 percent charging fees, respectively, and 30 percent of Class C schools also charged for participation.
Among schools assessing fees, a standardized fee for each team on which a student-athlete participates – regardless of the number of teams – has shown for a number of years to be the most popular method, with that rate unchanged in 2022-23 at 46 percent of schools with fees. Next again were 33 percent of assessing schools charging a one-time standardized fee per student-athlete, followed by 14 percent 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).
The amounts of participation fees have remained relatively consistent over the last decade. For 2022-23, the median annual maximum fee per student was again $150, although the median maximum fee per family increased slightly to $350 – up $50 from 2021-22. The median fee assessed by schools that charge student-athletes once per year was $120 for the second straight, and the median fee for schools that assess per team on which a student-athlete plays was $100, up from $75 in 2021-22.
The survey for 2022-23 and surveys from previous years can be found on the MHSAA Website.
As reported earlier this month, participation in MHSAA-sponsored sports continued to climb in 2022-23, up 2.7 more percent for a combined 9.9-percent increase over the last two school years. More on participation can be found here.
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.