MHSAA Associate Director Rashid Dies at 66
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 4, 2021
Thomas M. Rashid, who served as associate director for two executives during 18 years with the Michigan High School Athletic Association, died Friday, Dec. 3, after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 66.
Rashid became lead assistant to retired Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts in 2003, and continued serving in that position after Roberts’ retirement and the selection of Mark Uyl as the next MHSAA leader in 2018.
Rashid was best-known by the athletic directors who have served the MHSAA’s 750 high schools, as Rashid often was their first call with questions regarding the MHSAA Handbook or eligibility issues. Rashid also led the annual UPDATE meetings tour, during which he would provide training and answers on the latest rules changes at stops all over the state. He coordinated and presented orientations each fall for newly-hired athletic directors and also presented annual sessions to administrative assistants.
He served as the MHSAA’s administrator of boys lacrosse for its entirety as an MHSAA-sponsored sport, beginning in 2005, and also oversaw the MHSAA’s Charles E. Forsythe, Allen W. Bush and Vern L. Norris awards programs.
“We are heartbroken with the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Tom,” Uyl said. “He had so many incredible gifts, the greatest being his ability to talk and communicate with people even when having to share difficult or bad news. He was so good with people, and his care and concern for others is one of Tom’s greatest legacies.
“So many of us are hurting because Tom was such a special man who made impacting people and school sports in our state his life’s work and passion. His example and legacy of helping others will live on within the MHSAA community for years.”
Prior to joining the MHSAA staff, Rashid served as director of physical education and athletics for the Archdiocese of Detroit, and as Director of the Catholic High School League, for 15 years. In those positions, he coordinated athletic schedules and tournaments for the league’s 37 schools. He also served on the MHSAA’s legislative body – the Representative Council – from 1988 until his hire at the MHSAA, including as the Council’s Secretary-Treasurer.
Rashid graduated from St. Alphonsus High School in Dearborn in 1973. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in history from Eastern Michigan University, and his master’s degree in urban education from the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
He became athletic director at St. Alphonsus in 1977, serving in that position for seven years before working in the same capacity at Riverview Gabriel Richard for slightly more than three years until joining the Catholic League staff as assistant director in December 1987. He assumed the Catholic League’s top post the following August.
Rashid sat on the Board of Directors for the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association from 1988-2000 and served as its president in 1998.
He received national recognition in 1999 when he was presented with the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association’s State Award of Merit. In 2001, Rashid was honored with the MHSAA’s Allen W. Bush Award, which recognizes noteworthy behind-the-scenes support to interscholastic athletics. In 2003, Rashid received Athletic Director of the Year awards from the MIAAA and National High School Athletic Coaches Association, and he also received an NFHS Citation that year.
He was named to the Detroit Catholic High School League Hall of Fame in 2002 and Michigan High School Lacrosse Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2017. He also received the MIAAA's Special Recognition Award in 2017 for his continued service to the school sports community.
MHSAA Spring Sports Lineup Welcomes Boys Volleyball, Revamped LP Girls Tennis Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 14, 2026
The inaugural season of boys volleyball as a Michigan High School Athletic Association-sponsored tournament sport has begun, headlining changes this spring as 12 sports are underway for an estimated 110,000 athletes competing for member high schools.
The MHSAA sponsors postseason competition each spring in baseball, girls and boys lacrosse, girls soccer, softball, girls and boys track & field, boys golf (Lower and Upper Peninsula) and girls golf (UP), and girls (LP) and boys (UP) tennis – and for the first time this year, boys volleyball, with 117 schools scheduled to participate in the first MHSAA Tournament in that sport.
Varsity teams have been classified into Divisions 1 and 2 and will compete across 16 Regionals – eight per division – with winners advancing to Quarterfinals on June 2 and then Semifinals and Finals to be played June 5 and 6, respectively, at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena, which also serves as home to the MHSAA Girls Volleyball Semifinals and Finals.
Another notable championship change will come in Lower Peninsula girls tennis, which like LP boys tennis this past fall, will begin a pilot program showcasing Finals for all four divisions at the same location – Midland Tennis Center – over a two-week period. Division 4 will begin play with its two-day event May 27-28, followed by Division 1 on May 29-30, Division 2 on June 3-4 and Division 3 played June 5-6.
Additionally, a few on-field rules changes may be especially noticeable this spring.
In girls lacrosse, a change this spring requires, when a goal circle foul is committed, the offending player to move four meters away (instead of behind) from the player taking the free position.
In boys lacrosse, a change was made so that no defensive player other than a properly-equipped goalkeeper can enter the team’s own crease with the perceived intent of blocking a shot or acting as a goalkeeper. A defensive player doing so receives a personal foul for illegal equipment.
Two more changes in boys lacrosse enhance safety. The definition for a holding penalty has been expanded to include hooking, lifting or pinning an opponent’s body with the crosse. Also, a player losing a helmet will receive a technical foul for illegal procedure to encourage players to properly wear helmets and chin straps to ensure they stay on during play.
Also, as with boys soccer this past fall, a pair of changes in girls soccer address sportsmanship. The first allows game officials to take action against a team’s head coach in addition to any cautions or ejections issues to players and personnel in that team’s bench area – making the head coach more accountable for behavior on the sideline.
The second change allows for only the team captain to speak with an official during the breaks between periods (halftime and during overtime), unless another coach, player, etc., is summoned by the official – with the penalty a yellow card to the offending individual.
The 2025-26 Spring campaign culminates with postseason tournaments, as the championship schedule begins with the Upper Peninsula Girls & Boys Golf and Boys Tennis Finals on May 27 and wraps up with Girls Soccer, Baseball and Softball Finals on June 13. Here is a complete list of spring tournament dates:
Baseball
Districts – May 26-30
Regional Semifinals – June 3
Regional Finals, Quarterfinals – June 6
Semifinals – June 11-12
Finals – June 13
Golf
LP Boys Regionals – May 26-30
UP Girls & Boys Finals – May 27
LP Boys Finals – June 5-6
Boys Lacrosse
Regionals – May 8-27
Quarterfinals – May 29-30
Semifinals – June 2-3
Finals – June 6
Girls Lacrosse
Regionals – May 14-30
Semifinals – June 2-3
Finals – June 5
Girls Soccer
Districts – May 20-22, 26-30
Regionals – June 2-6
Semifinals – June 9-10
Finals – June 12-13
Softball
Districts – May 26-30
Regionals – June 6
Quarterfinals – June 9
Semifinals – June 11-12
Finals – June 13
Tennis
LP Girls Regionals – May 13-16
UP Boys Finals – May 27
LP Girls Finals – May 27-30, June 3-6
Track & Field
Regionals – May 14-16
Finals – May 30
Boys Volleyball
Regionals – May 26-30
Quarterfinals – June 2
Semifinals – June 5
Finals – June 6