Casting Lines for Future Tournaments
August 12, 2016
By Jack Roberts
MHSAA Executive Director
The MHSAA is best known to the public for the tournaments it conducts to conclude the fall, winter and spring seasons each school year.
These tournaments, the first and largest program of the MHSAA, have survived the Vietnam War, the Korean conflict and two World Wars. They have survived the technology bubble, the housing collapse, the energy crisis and the Great Depression.
MHSAA tournaments existed at the dawn of aviation and at the time of our nation’s lunar landing. Popes, presidents and governors have changed and changed again and again, and MHSAA tournaments roll on year after year.
But the sense of tradition and permanence and inevitability of MHSAA tournaments doesn’t dissuade us from asking questions about our tournaments, even some of the most basic questions. Here are two.
Question #1
I have long been and will always be an advocate for a Ryder Cup format for the MHSAA Golf Finals, and a team tennis approach to the MHSAA Tennis Finals; but 90 years of tradition is hard to overcome. Might this be a more exciting format? Could it be co-ed? Could it reverse the decline in boys tennis participation, and increase girls golf participation? Wouldn’t it be fun to try?
Periodically, the International Olympic Committee requires each of the designated Olympic sports to defend its status, to state its case why the sport should remain a part of the Olympic program. Then, after a series or votes that retain one sport at a time, the IOC drops the sport that makes the weakest case. It does so to make room for one of the previously unlisted sports that makes the best case for inclusion.
This would appear to keep the existing Olympic sports on their toes, and to keep the Olympic movement fresh and reflective of modern trends in sports.
While I would not enjoy the controversy, I can see the potential for some positive results if the MHSAA were to invoke the same policy for determining the 14 tournaments it will provide for girls and the 14 for boys.
This might cause us to consider more deeply what a high school sport should look like, or at least what an MHSAA tournament sport should stand for.
On the one hand, we might be inclined to drop tournaments for those sports that involve mostly non-faculty coaches and non-school venues, or require cooperative programs to generate enough participants to support a team, or resort almost entirely to non-school funding, or cater to individuals more than teams.
Or perhaps this process would cause policymakers to forget traditional thinking and ask: “In this day and age, should we shake off traditional notions of sport and consider more where modern kids are coming from?” That might mean fewer team sports and more individual sports, more “extreme” sports like snowboarding and skateboarding, and more lifetime sports, meaning not just golf and tennis and running sports, but also fishing and even shooting sports.
Currently, MHSAA policy states that the MHSAA will consider sponsorship of a tournament series for any sport which 64 member schools conduct on an interscholastic basis as a result of action by the governing boards of those schools.
Should the only question be how many schools sponsor a sport, or must an activity also have certain qualities and/or avoid certain “defects?” What should an MHSAA tournament sport look like and stand for?
Question #2
Bristling from criticism that his association is a money-grabbing exploiter of children, my counterpart in another state said, “If we were running our programs just to make money, we would do very many things very differently.” I knew exactly what he meant.
Because we care about the health and welfare of students, because we mean what we say that the athletic program needs to maximize the ways it enhances the school experience while minimizing academic conflicts, and because we try to model our claim that no sport is a minor sport when it comes to its potential to teach young people life lessons, we operate our programs in ways that make promoters, marketers and business entrepreneurs laugh, cry or cringe.
If money were the only object, we would seed and select sites to assure the teams that attracted the most spectators had the best chance to advance in our tournaments, regardless of the travel for any team or its fan base. If money were the only object, we would never schedule two tournaments to overlap and compete for public attention, much less tolerate three or four overlapping events. If money were the only object, we would allow signage like NASCAR events and promotions like minor league baseball games.
Those approaches to event sponsorship may not be all wrong; they’re just not all right for us. And we will live with the consequences of our belief system.
During a typical school year, more than 20 percent of the MHSAA’s 2,097 District, Regional and Final tournaments lose money. Not a single site in golf, skiing or tennis makes a single penny. In no sport did every District, Regional and Final site have revenue in excess of direct expenses.
In fact, in only three sports – boys and girls basketball and football – is revenue so much greater than direct expenses overall that it helps to pay for all the other tournaments in which the MHSAA invests.
That’s right: invests. When we present our budget to our board, we talk about the MHSAA’s investment in providing tournament opportunities in all those sports and all those places that cannot sustain the cost of those events on their own. How much is this investment worth to students, schools and society?
These two are core questions that require our focus far in advance of talk about scheduling, site selection, seeding and the myriad matters that too often hijack our time and attention.
Breslin Bound: 2025-26 Boys Report Week 8
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
January 26, 2026
As more and more games are played, the Michigan Power Ratings crunches more and more data to tell a more and more complete story of what’s happening across the state.
And this past week saw some serious move among the top of MPR lists in all four boys basketball divisions.
Of the 80 teams making up top-20 lists across the four divisions at the start of today, six teams jumped at least six spots from their positions a week ago – including Grandville (No. 10 to No. 4), Kalamazoo Central (14 to 7) and Detroit Martin Luther King (15 to 8) in Division 1, and Elk Rapids (20 to 14) in Division 3. Ten teams entered the top 20 in their respective divisions – including Jackson Lumen Christi all the way to No. 13 in Division 3 and Genesee Christian all the way to No. 10 in Division 4.
Expect more to come as teams continue to navigate the second half – and in some cases fourth quarter – of their regular-season schedules this week.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit Martin Luther King 60, Detroit Cass Tech 53 The Crusaders (9-4) are the only team undefeated in Detroit Public School League Blue play after holding on in this rivalry matchup with Cass Tech (8-4)
2. Grand Rapids Catholic Central 48, Grand Rapids Christian 43 The Cougars (9-4) moved into first place alone in the Ottawa-Kent Conference White by handing the Eagles (8-5) their first league defeat.
3. Croswell-Lexington 64, Yale 57 The Pioneers (12-3) moved into first place alone in the Blue Water Area Conference after handing Yale (14-1) its lone defeat this winter.
4. North Muskegon 63, Ludington 54 The Norsemen improved to 15-1 while handing Ludington (13-1) its only loss.
5. Romulus Summit Academy 58, Detroit Catholic Central 50 Summit (16-1) started off a three-win week with one of its best this season, over the Shamrocks (9-5) at the Always in My Bag Classic.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
East Kentwood (10-1) As noted above and in previous “Breslin Bound” reports, the O-K Red is as competitive as it gets in Michigan this season, and East Kentwood is the only team to start off 2-0 in league play – thanks to a 69-68 win over Rockford and 66-55 victory over West Ottawa last week. The Falcons’ only loss came Dec. 6 to Warren Fitzgerald, 41-40, and a 52-40 win over King two weeks ago is arguably second in impressiveness only to the victory over the Rams – and even more so considering East Kentwood was 12-12 a year ago.
Rockford (10-2) The Rams had been considered the O-K Red favorites by many before that loss to East Kentwood – which came just three days after their only other defeat, 80-71 in overtime to still-unbeaten East Lansing. While Rockford will have plenty of tough matchups to navigate the rest of the way – including a 2K26 showdown with Grand Rapids Northview on Jan. 31 – surely the Rams have circled the Feb. 3 rematch at East Kentwood as a must-win as they seek to clinch a third-straight league title.
DIVISION 2
Adrian (11-2) Mid-December back-to-back losses to Ypsilanti Lincoln and Jackson have Adrian tied for third in the Southeastern Conference White. But those are the Maples’ only defeats this season as they chase a league title repeat. The rematches are Friday at Lincoln and Feb. 3 at Jackson, and Adrian should have sights set on big postseason goals as well after also making the Regional Finals in finishing 21-5 a year ago. The Maples are coming off handing Onsted its only loss, and earlier gave New Haven one of its two defeats.
Paw Paw (10-5) The Red Wolves remain atop the Wolverine Conference despite a loss to Edwardsburg last week, and if they hold on would win a second-straight championship after finishing only 12-14 overall just two seasons ago. Paw Paw made a big jump to 19-4 last winter and has won five of six since the start of this calendar year including 55-48 over Traverse City West on Saturday at the Jeff McDonald Memorial Showcase. All four in-state defeats are to teams 8-4 or better this winter.
DIVISION 3
Pewamo-Westphalia (10-2) The Pirates’ losses were by a combined six points to a pair of larger Grand Rapids-area opponents that are a combined 19-4 overall – Grand Rapids Catholic Central by four and undefeated Grandville by two. Meanwhile, P-W stands alone atop the Central Michigan Athletic Conference thanks to a 61-38 win over second-place Fowler, part of a streak of 38 straight league wins. Those tough defeats no doubt will be good prep as the Pirates attempt to return to the Semifinals for the second-straight season.
Niles Brandywine (9-4) The Bobcats got through a rough stretch of three straight losses over the first few weeks of January, to South Haven, Berrien Springs and Benton Harbor. But they remain second in the Lakeland Conference and surely are circling the Feb. 6 rematch with leader Berrien Springs, which won their Jan. 9 matchup 73-70 in triple overtime. Brandywine also has a notable win over Battle Creek Pennfield and is only two seasons removed from winning Division 3 in 2023-24.
DIVISION 4
Adrian Lenawee Christian (8-4) After starting this season 2-4, Lenawee Christian has won six straight and is 7-0 in league play to sit alone atop the Tri-County Conference. A 61-60 win over second-place Ottawa Lake Whiteford on Jan. 9 put the Cougars on top, and they also started the second half of the TCC schedule with a 54-53 win over Erie Mason last week. All four losses came to teams that have won at least 10 games this season, which surely will be useful experiences as Lenawee Christian seeks to build on last year’s Quarterfinal run as well.
Wyoming Tri-unity Christian (10-1) The reigning Division 4 champion is under new leadership, somewhat, as previous assistant Brent Voorhees took over this season after the retirement of Mark Keeler, who won 721 games over nearly four decades. The only loss this season came to Division 2 Fruitport during the Cornerstone University Holiday Tournament, and Tri-unity opened December by handing Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian what remains its only loss. The Defenders will see Wyoming Lee on Tuesday with first place in the Alliance League on the line.
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Monday – Leslie (11-2) at Michigan Center (11-1) – This concludes the first half of the Cascades Conference East schedule, and these two are tied for first both at 9-0 in league play.
Tuesday – East Jordan (11-1) at Mancelona (12-1) – East Jordan is the only team undefeated in the Ski Valley Conference, and Mancelona’s only loss came to East Jordan, 48-38 on Dec. 9.
Tuesday – Dearborn Divine Child at Jackson Lumen Christi (10-3) – Divine Child clinched a share of the Catholic High School League AA title thanks to Lumen Christi’s win over second-place Detroit Loyola last week, and now can claim the championship outright.
Friday – Grandville (10-0) at East Kentwood (10-1) – Grandville also opens this week by facing Rockford and all of these teams should know a lot more about where they stand in the O-K Red by the end of Friday night.
Saturday – Muskegon (10-0) at Kalamazoo Central (9-2) – As of today, these two are No. 20 and No. 7, respectively, in Division 1 MPR.
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PHOTOS (Top) Harrison junior Dennis Collin (22) makes an outlet pass during the second half of his team’s 48-24 win over Saginaw Arts & Sciences Academy on Jan. 12. (Middle) Gladstone's Lonnie Davey puts up a shot while defended by Ishpeming's Dax Kakkuri (14) and Kenny Ambuehl (3) on Jan. 20. (Harrison/SASA photo by Kolleth Photo. Gladstone/Ishpeming photo by Cara Kamps.)