Classes Still Create Hoosier Hysteria
July 27, 2017
By Rob Kaminski
MHSAA benchmarks editor
This is the fourth part in a series on MHSAA tournament classification, past and present, that will be published over the next two weeks. This series originally ran in this spring's edition of MHSAA benchmarks.
Twenty years ago, Bloomington North High School won the Indiana High School Athletic Association boys basketball championship, defeating Delta 75-54 at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis.
The date, March 22, 1997, is at the same time revered and disdained by traditionalists in the state who saw it as the last schoolboy championship game the state would ever host.
That’s how devout the game of basketball, particularly interscholastic basketball, had become in the Hoosier state during the 87 years a state champion – one state champion, to be precise – was crowned.
Following that 1997 season, the IHSAA moved to a four-class system for its roundball tournaments, like so many of its state association counterparts had done years earlier.
It would be shocking to find more than a small percentage of current high school basketball players around the country unfamiliar with the iconic movie Hoosiers, even though the film is now more than 30 years old.
And, the storyline for that blockbuster unfolded more than 30 years prior to its release, when small-town, undermanned Milan High School defeated Muncie Central High School 32-30 in the 1954 IHSAA title game.
Perhaps it’s because of the David vs Goliath notion, or the fame of the movie that replaced Milan with the fictional Hickory and real-life star Bobby Plump with Hollywood hero Jimmy Chitwood, or the simple fact that Indiana had something other states didn’t.
Whatever the reason, plenty of opposition remains to this day to basketball classification in the state.
The fact is, the small rural schools were regularly being beaten handily by the much larger suburban and city schools as the tournament progressed each season.
Small schools also were closing at a rapid rate following the state’s School Reorganization Act in 1959, as students converged on larger, centralized county schools. From 1960 to 2000, the number of schools entering the tournament dropped from 694 to 381, and in 1997 a total of 382 schools and 4,584 athletes began competition at the Sectional level (the first level of the IHSAA Basketball Tournament).
It was at the entry level of the tournament where school administrators felt the pain of the new class system, but not necessarily for the same nostalgic reasons as the fans who either attended or boycotted the tournament.
At the Sectional round of the tournament, the IHSAA was culling just 2 percent of the revenue, with the participating schools splitting the balance. So, when Sectional attendance dropped by 14 percent in that first year of class basketball, many schools realized a financial loss. It was money they had grown to count on in prior years to help fund various aspects of the department.
Schools cumulatively received more than $900,000 from Sectional competition in 1998, but that total was down from more than $1 million in the last year of the single-class tournament.
Yet, the current format provides a great deal more opportunity and realistic chances at championship runs for schools of all enrollments.
To date, 60 additional teams have championship or runner-up trophies on display in school trophy cases around Indiana.
That was the mission in front of then-IHSAA commissioner Bob Gardner (now National Federation executive director) once the board made its decision: to give thousands more student-athletes the opportunity for once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
As any statistician knows, figures can be manipulated to tell any side of a story. Declining attendance in year one of class basketball is such a number.
The truth is tournament attendance had been on a steady downward spiral since its peak of just over 1.5 million in 1962. By the last single-class event in 1997, the total attendance was half that.
The challenge then and today, as it is for all state associations, is to find that delicate balance for those holding onto tradition, those holding onto trophies, and the number of trophies to hand out.
Editor’s Note: Stories from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette in 1998 and from a 2007 issue of Indianapolis Monthly provided facts in this article.
Watch 550+ Events on MHSAA TV
October 27, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
The last week of the girls volleyball regular season, and playoff action in football and boys soccer will provide plenty of viewing this week on the NFHS Network, MHSAA.tv and FOX Sports Detroit.
Here’s the schedule:
Football Playoffs
Thursday - Oct. 29
Bay City Central vs. Pontiac - 7 PM
Midland Dow vs. Flushing - 7 PM
Suttons Bay vs. Manistee Catholic Central - 7 PM
Friday - Oct. 30
Traverse City West vs. Grand Rapids Union - 6 PM
Whitehall vs. Fruitport - 6 PM
Pewamo-Westphalia vs. Hesperia - 6:45 PM
Mt Morris vs. Pinconning - 6:55 PM
Birmingham Seaholm vs. Sterling Heights - 7 PM
Bloomfield Hills vs. Troy - 7 PM
Brandon vs. St. Clair - 7 PM
Brighton vs. Novi - 7 PM
Burton Bendle vs. Byron - 7 PM
Calumet vs. Houghton - 7 PM
Caro vs. Chesaning - 7 PM
Cass City vs. Reese - 7 PM
Cedar Springs vs. Petoskey - 7 PM
Charlevoix vs. Roscommon - 7 PM
Clare vs. Kent City - 7 PM
Corunna vs. Birch Run - 7 PM
Dearborn Heights Robichaud vs. Whitmore Lake - 7 PM
Detroit Catholic Central vs. Walled Lake Northern - 7 PM
DeWitt vs. Jackson Northwest - 7 PM
Durand vs. Detroit Collegiate Prep - 7 PM
East Grand Rapids vs. Grand Rapids Northview - 7 PM
Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker vs. Bad Axe - 7 PM
Erie-Mason vs. Ecorse - 7 PM
Fenton vs. Walled Lake Central - 7 PM
Flint Powers Catholic vs. Marshall - 7 PM
Fowlerville vs. Haslett - 7 PM
Frankenmuth vs. Bridgeport - 7 PM
Freeland vs. Saginaw Valley Lutheran - 7 PM
Gladstone vs. Negaunee - 7 PM
Grand Blanc vs. Lake Orion - 7 PM
Grand Blanc vs. Lake Orion - 7 PM – FOX PREP ZONE
Grass Lake vs. Manchester - 7 PM
Grosse Pointe North vs. Detroit U Of D Jesuit - 7 PM
Harbor Beach vs. Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary - 7 PM
Hartland vs. Howell - 7 PM
Hemlock vs. Vassar - 7 PM
Hillsdale vs Olivet - 7 PM – NFHS Network Bonus Coverage
Holt vs. Ann Arbor Skyline - 7 PM
Hopkins vs. Belding - 7 PM
Kalamazoo Central vs. Ann Arbor Huron - 7 PM
Livonia Clarenceville vs. Tecumseh - 7 PM
Macomb Dakota vs. Macomb L'Anse Creuse North - 7 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood - 7 PM
Manistee vs. Kalkaska - 7 PM
Maple City Glen Lake vs. Elk Rapids - 7 PM
Mason vs. Ionia - 7 PM
Midland vs. Alpena - 7 PM
Midland Bullock Creek vs. Carrollton - 7 PM
Millington vs. Otisville LakeVille - 7 PM
Mount Pleasant vs. Gaylord - 7 PM
Northville vs. Salem - 7 PM
Notre Dame Preparatory vs. Hazel Park - 7 PM
Pinckney vs. Orchard Lake St. Mary's - 7 PM – FOX PREP ZONE
Portage Northern vs. Battle Creek Central - 7 PM
Portland vs. Lakewood Lake Odessa - 7 PM
Ravenna vs. Morley Stanwood - 7 PM
Reed City vs. Cheboygan - 7 PM
Riverview Gabriel Richard Catholic vs. Springport - 7 PM
Romulus Summit Academy North vs. Flat Rock - 7 PM
Saginaw Swan Valley vs. Shepherd - 7 PM
Saline vs. Ann Arbor Pioneer - 7 PM
South Lyon vs. Milford - 7 PM
South Lyon East vs. Garden City - 7 PM
St. Joseph vs. Richland Gull Lake - 7 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore vs. Niles - 7 PM
Unionville Sebewaing vs. Marlette - 7 PM
Vicksburg vs. Plainwell - 7 PM
Walled Lake Western vs. Waterford Mott - 7 PM
West Bloomfield vs. Utica Ford - 7 PM
Zeeland West vs. Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills - 7 PM
Grosse Pointe South vs. Oak Park - 7:30 PM – FOX GAME OF THE WEEK
Saturday - Oct. 31
Brownstown Woodhaven vs. Taylor Preparatory - 12 PM
Rockford vs. Holland West Ottawa - 12 PM
Peck vs. Ashley - 12:45 PM
Adrian Lenawee Christian vs. International Academy of Flint - 12:50 PM
Kingsford vs. Ogemaw Heights - 1 PM
Kingsley vs. Standish-Sterling Central - 1 PM
Portage Central vs. Jackson - 1 PM
Redford Union vs. Dearborn Heights Annapolis - 1 PM
Marquette vs. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer - 2 PM
Royal Oak Shrine vs. Waterford Our Lady - 2 PM
Kinde North Huron vs. Au Gres-Sims - 5 PM
Traverse City St. Francis vs. L'Anse - 6 PM
Zeeland East vs. Holland - 7 PM
Brethren vs. Bear Lake - 7 PM
Boys Soccer Regional Semifinals
Tuesday - Oct. 27
Alma vs. Macomb Lutheran North - 5 PM
Clawson vs. Clinton - 5 PM
Dearborn Divine Child vs. DeWitt - 5 PM
Hillsdale vs. Dowagiac - 5 PM
Petoskey vs. East Grand Rapids - 5 PM
Salem vs. Mattawan - 5 PM
Walled Lake Central vs. New Baltimore Anchor Bay - 6 PM
Dearborn Edsel Ford vs. Saline - 7 PM
Grand Rapids Catholic vs. Grand Rapids South Christian - 7 PM
Grosse Ile vs. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard - 7 PM
Riverview vs. Chelsea - 7 PM
Spring Lake vs. Ada Forest Hills Eastern - 7 PM
Williamston vs. Frankenmuth - 7 PM
Troy Athens vs. Utica Eisenhower - 8 PM
Wednesday - Oct. 28
Marshall vs. St. Joseph - 5 PM
Elk Rapids vs. Ogemaw Heights - 6 PM
Richland Gull Lake vs. Holland - 7 PM
Shelby vs. Muskegon Oakridge - 8 PM
Girls Volleyball
Tuesday - Oct. 27
Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian vs. Montague - TBA
Dearborn Heights Robichaud vs. Hamtramck - 4 PM
Vicksburg vs. TBA- 4 PM
Burton Bendle vs. Genesee - 5 PM
Fremont vs. Ludington - 5 PM
Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian vs. TBA - 5 PM
Hart vs. Fruitport Calvary Christian - 5 PM
Multi-team Event @ New Lothrop - 5 PM
Multi-team Event @ Plainwell - 5 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Holly - 5 PM
Troy vs. Detroit Country Day - 5 PM
Multi-team Event @ Onekama - 5:30 PM
Cass City vs. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker - 6 PM
East Grand Rapids vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern - 6 PM
Fowlerville vs. Charlotte - 6 PM
Multi-team Event @ Grand Rapids Christian - 6 PM
Vermontville Maple Valley vs. TBA - 6 PM
Wayland Union vs. South Christian - 6 PM
Williamston vs. Lansing Catholic - 6 PM
Holland vs. Wyoming - 6:15 PM
Montrose vs. Ovid-Elsie - 6:15 PM
Mt Morris vs. New Lothrop - 6:15 PM
Stockbridge vs. Grass Lake - 6:15 PM
Warren Woods-Tower vs. Clint Twp. Chippewa Valley - 6:15 PM
St Johns vs. Portland - 6:20 PM
Bloomfield Hills Roeper vs. Novi Christian Academy - 6:30 PM
Erie-Mason vs. Sand Creek - 6:30 PM
Grosse Pointe North vs. Fraser - 6:30 PM
Livonia Clarenceville vs. Southfield Christian - 6:30 PM
Oakland Christian vs. Lutheran Westland - 6:30 PM
Romulus Summit Academy North vs. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep - 6:30 PM
Sterling Heights Parkway Christian vs. Westland Huron Valley Lutheran - 6:30 PM
Gladstone vs. Negaunee - 6:45 PM
Harbor Beach vs. Marlette - 6:45 PM
Brown City vs. Capac - 7 PM
Chesaning vs. Durand - 7 PM
Fulton vs. Ithaca - 7 PM
Garden City vs. Dearborn Heights Crestwood - 7 PM
Hopkins vs. Allegan - 7 PM
Marquette vs. Escanaba - 7 PM
St Charles vs. Blanchard Montabella - 7 PM
Bad Axe vs. Caro - 7:30 PM
Wednesday - Oct. 28
Macomb L'Anse Creuse North vs. Romeo - 4 PM
Waterford Our Lady vs. TBA - 4:30 PM
Grandville vs. Holland West Ottawa - 5 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep School vs. Bloomfield Hills - 5 PM
Mackinaw City vs. Harbor Springs - 5:30 PM
New Lothrop vs. Clio - 5:30 PM
Riverview Gabriel Richard Catholic vs. Dearborn Edsel Ford - 5:30 PM
Suttons Bay vs. Fife Lake Forest Area - 5:30 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere vs. Ferndale - 6 PM
Williamston vs. East Lansing - 6 PM
Blanchard Montabella vs. Fulton - 6:30 PM
Fennville vs. Bloomingdale - 6:30 PM
Petoskey vs. Traverse City West - 6:30 PM
Traverse City Central vs. Alpena - 6:45 PM
East Kentwood vs. Rockford - 7 PM
Freeland vs. Bay City John Glenn - 7 PM
Grandville vs. Rockford - 7 PM
Morley Stanwood vs. Lakeview - 7 PM
Saginaw Swan Valley vs. Alma - 7 PM
Brethren vs. Evart - 7:30 PM
Pellston vs. Cheboygan - 7:30 PM
Thursday - Oct. 29
Dearborn Heights Robichaud vs. Ypsilanti Community - 4 PM
Fenton vs. Flushing - 5:15 PM
Ortonville Brandon vs. Lake Fenton - 5:15 PM
Allen Park Cabrini vs. Garden City - 5:30 PM
Galesburg-Augusta vs. Battle Creek Central - 6 PM
Kinde North Huron vs. Owendale-Gagetown - 6 PM
Mason vs. St Johns - 6 PM
Munising vs. Eben Junction Superior Central - 6 PM
Vermontville Maple Valley vs. Parchment - 6 PM
Frankfort vs. Lake City - 6:30 PM
Southfield Christian vs. Sterling Heights Parkway Christian - 6:30 PM
Harbor Beach vs. Brown City - 6:45 PM
Maple City Glen Lake vs. Mesick - 7 PM
Marquette vs. Calumet - 7 PM
Saline vs. Ann Arbor Huron - 7 PM
Kingsford vs. Houghton - 7:15 PM
Wixom St. Catherine vs. Novi Christian - 7:15 PM
Cass City vs. Bad Axe - 7:30 PM
Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker vs. Caro - 7:30 PM
Friday - Oct. 30
Peck vs. Mayville - 6 PM
Dollar Bay vs. Baraga - 6:20 PM
St Charles vs. Carson City-Crystal - 7:35 PM
Saturday - Oct. 31
New Lothrop vs. Chesaning - 8 AM
Saline vs. TBA - 8:30 AM
Mt Morris vs. TBA - 9 AM
St Charles vs. TBA - 9 AM
Plymouth Christian Academy vs. TBA - 12 PM
In the coming week, more than 550 events at all levels in a variety of sports will be available on the NFHS Network/MHSAA.tv. Monthly subscriptions are $10.99. Click for a complete list of upcoming games, and for a complete list of on-demand games.
Fans also can type their school name into the search field on the MHSAA.tv page to search for events. Varsity games being streamed also have links from the MHSAA Website’s Score Center, and from the schedules on individual school pages. Clicking on the green TV set icon listed next to an event will take you directly to a game. You can also watch on Roku enabled devices.
Now in its 12th year, the School Broadcast Program gives members an opportunity to showcase excellence in their schools by creating video programming of athletic and non-athletic events with students gaining skills in announcing, camera operation, directing/producing and graphics. Pixellot – The NFHS Network’s automated streaming solution – is used by schools wishing to live stream games, but lacking the ability to staff the events. The program also gives schools the opportunity to raise money through advertising and viewing subscriptions.
NFHS Network subscriptions begin at $10.99 a month. Subscribers will have access to all live video and streaming statistics across the country. All content becomes available for free, on-demand viewing 72 hours after being shown live. A portion of every subscription sold by an SBP school goes to benefit its program.
A complete list of participating schools can be found on the School Broadcast Program page of the MHSAA Website.