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.
Soccer Playoffs Come to MHSAA TV
October 19, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
District Semifinal and Final games in the 2020 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Boys Soccer Tournament highlights another full week of activity on the NFHS Network and MHSAA.tv.
Play runs Monday through Saturday this week. Here’s the schedule:
Boys Soccer District Semifinals
Monday – Oct. 19
Warren De La Salle Collegiate vs. Sterling Heights – 4:30 PM
East Lansing vs. Grand Blanc – 5 PM
Ithaca vs. Bad Axe – 5:30 PM
Niles vs. St. Joseph – 5:30 PM
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore vs. Warren Woods Tower – 6 PM
Fenton vs. Okemos – 7 PM
Paw Paw vs. Three Rivers – 7:15 PM
Tuesday – Oct. 20
Hazel Park vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood – 4 PM
Freeland vs. Alma – 4:30 PM
Detroit Catholic Central vs. Brighton – 5 PM
Hudsonville Unity Christian vs. Fennville – 5 PM
Mattawan vs. Kalamazoo Loy Norrix – 5 PM
Melvindale vs. Dearborn Divine Child – 5 PM
Sterling Heights Stevenson vs. Troy Athens – 5 PM
Livonia Clarenceville vs. Center Line – 5:30 PM
Midland vs. Traverse City Central – 6 PM
East Grand Rapids vs. Wyoming Godwin Heights – 6 PM
Adrian Lenawee Christian vs. Ann Arbor Greenhills – 6:30 PM
Hemlock vs. Shepherd – 7 PM
Northville vs. North Farmington – 7 PM
Portage Central vs. Portage Northern – 7 PM
Saline vs. Ann Arbor Pioneer – 7 PM
Troy vs. Utica – 7 PM
Watervliet vs. South Haven – 7 PM
Wyoming Lee vs. Grand Rapids South Christian – 7 PM
Allen Park vs. Detroit Cesar Chavez – 7:15 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Clawson – 7:30 PM
Boys Soccer District Finals
Wednesday – Oct. 21
At Fenton – 6 PM
Thursday – Oct. 22
At Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood – 4 PM
At Warren DeLaSalle Collegiate – 4:30 PM
At Brownstown Woodhaven – 5 PM
At East Grand Rapids – 6 PM
At Grand Rapids South Christian – 6 PM
At St. Clair Shores Lake Shore – 6 PM
At Vicksburg – 6 PM
At Waterford Mott – 6 PM
At Pontiac Notre Dame Prep – 6:30 PM
At Dearborn Divine Child – 7 PM
At Novi – 7 PM
At Saline – 7 PM
Saturday – Oct. 24
At Clare – 11 AM
At Portage Northern – 6 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.
Here is a list of football and girls volleyball varsity events taking place over the coming week on the NFHS Network/MHSAA.tv (Home team generally listed first):
Football
Thursday - Oct. 22
Negaunee vs. Ishpeming Westwood - 7 PM
Friday - Oct. 23
Hartland vs. Brighton - 6:45 PM
Kingston vs. Whittemore-Prescott - 6:55 PM
Bay City John Glenn vs. Freeland - 7 PM
Bloomfield Hills vs. Auburn Hills Avondale - 7 PM
Brethren vs. Onekama - 7 PM
Cadillac vs. Gaylord - 7 PM
Calumet vs. Marquette - 7 PM
Caro vs. Burton Bendle - 7 PM
Cedar Springs vs. Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills - 7 PM
Chesaning vs. New Lothrop - 7 PM
Clare vs. Gaylord - 7 PM
Dearborn Divine Child vs. Detroit Central - 7 PM
DeWitt vs. Stevensville Lakeshore - 7 PM
Durand vs. Montrose - 7 PM
East Grand Rapids vs. Byron Center - 7 PM
Erie-Mason vs. Pittsford - 7 PM
Fenton vs. Ortonville Brandon - 7 PM
Flint Powers Catholic vs. Flint Carman-Ainsworth - 7 PM
Fowlerville vs. Pinckney - 7 PM
Frankenmuth vs. Bridgeport - 7 PM
Freeland vs. Remus Chippewa Hills - 7 PM
Gladstone vs. Escanaba - 7 PM
Grand Blanc vs. Saline - 7 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian vs. Grand Rapids Catholic Central - 7 PM
Grass Lake vs. Addison - 7 PM
Grosse Pointe North vs. Grosse Pointe South - 7 PM
Harbor Beach vs. Unionville Sebewaing - 7 PM
Hopkins vs. Wyoming Kelloggsville - 7 PM
Houghton vs. Hancock - 7 PM
Ithaca vs. Standish-Sterling - 7 PM
Kinde North Huron vs. Mayville - 7 PM
Kingsford vs. Menominee - 7 PM
Kingsley vs. Benzie Central - 7 PM
Livonia Clarenceville vs. Whitmore Lake - 7 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere vs. Hazel Park - 7 PM
Manistee vs. McBain - 7 PM
Maple City Glen Lake vs. Charlevoix - 7 PM
Midland vs. Midland Dow - 7 PM
Munising vs. Lake Linden-Hubbell - 7 PM
Niles vs. Dowagiac Union - 7 PM
Northville vs. Howell - 7 PM
Novi vs. Salem - 7 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. TBA - 7 PM
Portage Central vs. Richland Gull Lake - 7 PM
Reed City vs. Grant - 7 PM
Rockford vs. Grandville - 7 PM
Saginaw Heritage vs. Mount Pleasant - 7 PM
Saginaw Swan Valley vs. Birch Run - 7 PM
South Lyon East vs. South Lyon - 7 PM
St Johns vs. Alpena - 7 PM
Sturgis vs. Plainwell - 7 PM
Summit Academy North vs. TBA - 7 PM
Troy vs. Troy Athens - 7 PM
Vermontville Maple Valley vs. Belleville - 7 PM
Vicksburg vs. Otsego - 7 PM
Walled Lake Northern vs. Romeo - 7 PM
Walled Lake Western vs. Walled Lake Central - 7 PM
Warren Woods-Tower vs. Detroit U-D Jesuit - 7 PM
Wayland Union vs. Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills - 7 PM
West Bloomfield vs. Lake Orion - 7 PM
Norway vs. Niagara, WI - 8 PM
Saturday – Oct. 24
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood vs. Redford Union - 3 PM
Traverse City St. Francis vs. Jackson Lumen Christi - 3 PM
Girls Volleyball
Tuesday - Oct. 20
Dearborn Heights Robichaud vs. Melvindale - 4 PM
Durand vs. Montrose - 4:30 PM
Marcellus vs. TBA - 5 PM
Southfield Christian vs. Brighton Charyl Stockwell - 5:30 PM
DeWitt vs. Williamston - 6 PM
East Lansing vs. Lansing Waverly - 6 PM
Kinde North Huron vs. Carsonville-Port Sanilac - 6 PM
Mayville vs. Dryden - 6 PM
Merrill vs. Ashley - 6 PM
Munising vs. Rapid River - 6 PM
Norway vs. Carney-Nadeau - 6 PM
Peck vs. Genesee - 6 PM
Vermontville Maple Valley vs. Lansing Christian - 6 PM
Chesaning vs. New Lothrop - 6:15 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian vs Ada Forest Hills Eastern - 6:15 PM
Mt Morris vs. Byron Area - 6:15 PM
New Lothrop vs. Chesaning - 6:15 PM
Otisville LakeVille vs. Ovid-Elsie - 6:15 PM
St Johns vs. Haslett - 6:20 PM
Blanchard Montabella vs. Vestaburg - 6:30 PM
Frankfort vs. Suttons Bay - 6:30 PM
Highland Milford vs. TBA - 6:30 PM
Howell vs. Salem - 6:30 PM
Negaunee vs. Hancock - 6:30 PM
Northville vs. Hartland - 6:30 PM
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore vs. St. Clair - 6:30 PM
Watervliet vs. Lawton - 6:30 PM
Whitmore Lake vs. Novi Christian Academy - 6:30 PM
Garden City vs. Dearborn Heights Annapolis - 7 PM
Gladstone vs. Marquette - 7 PM
Hemlock vs. St. Louis - 7 PM
Hopkins vs. Comstock Park - 7 PM
Kingsley vs. Buckley - 7 PM
Macomb Lutheran North vs. Yale - 7 PM
Plymouth Christian Academy vs. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest - 7 PM
Saginaw Heritage vs. Grand Blanc - 7 PM
St. Charles vs. Mt. Pleasant Sacred Heart - 7 PM
Kingsford vs. Escanaba - 7:15 PM
Cass City vs. Caro - 7:30 PM
Wednesday - Oct. 21
Grandville vs. Caledonia - 5 PM
Holly vs. Flushing - 5:15 PM
Dollar Bay vs. Ontonagon - 5:20 PM
Bloomfield Hills Marian vs. TBA - 6 PM
Pentwater vs. Baldwin - 6 PM
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore vs. Clinton Twp. Clintondale - 6 PM
Warren Regina vs. TBA - 6 PM
Corunna vs. Clio - 6:15 PM
Fenton vs. Flint Kearsley - 6:15 PM
Pewamo-Westphalia vs. Laingsburg - 6:30 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore vs. TBA - 6:30 PM
West Bloomfield vs. Walled Lake Northern - 6:30 PM
Traverse City West vs. Cadillac - 6:45 PM
Bridgeport vs. Bay City John Glenn - 7 PM
Frankenmuth vs. Freeland - 7 PM
Grandville vs. Grand Haven - 7 PM
Linden vs. Swartz Creek - 7 PM
Morley Stanwood vs. Hesperia - 7 PM
Saginaw Swan Valley vs. Essexville Garber - 7 PM
Harrison vs. Clare - 7:30 PM
Thursday - Oct. 22
Dearborn Heights Robichaud vs. Ypsilanti Arbor Prep - 5 PM
Multi-team Event @ Whitmore Lake - 5 PM
Ortonville Brandon vs. Goodrich - 5:15 PM
Grand Rapids Christian vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central - 6 PM
Kinde North Huron vs. Caseville - 6 PM
Mason vs. Eaton Rapids - 6 PM
Munising vs. Stephenson - 6 PM
Peck vs. Kingston - 6 PM
Romulus Summit Academy North vs. Clarkston Everest Collegiate - 6 PM
Sturgis vs. Plainwell - 6 PM
Vermontville Maple Valley vs. Owosso - 6 PM
Vicksburg vs. Otsego - 6 PM
Montrose vs. Mt Morris - 6:15 PM
St Johns vs. Williamston - 6:20 PM
Chesaning vs. Otisville LakeVille - 6:30 PM
Dearborn Divine Child vs. Livonia Churchill - 6:30 PM
Erie-Mason vs. Monroe Jefferson - 6:30 PM
Grosse Pointe North vs. Grosse Pointe South - 6:30 PM
Mancelona vs. Elk Rapids - 6:30 PM
New Lothrop vs. Byron Area - 6:30 PM
Novi vs. Howell - 6:30 PM
Oakland Christian vs. Southfield Christian - 6:30 PM
Ovid-Elsie vs. Durand - 6:30 PM
Harbor Beach vs. Memphis - 6:45 PM
East Lansing vs. Potterville - 7 PM
Garden City vs. Riverview Gabriel Richard - 7 PM
Hopkins vs. Belding - 7 PM
Kalamazoo Christian vs. Grand Rapids Covenant Christian - 7 PM
Marquette vs. Kingsford - 7 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Rochester Adams - 7 PM
Saginaw Heritage vs. Mount Pleasant - 7 PM
Houghton vs. Hancock - 7:15 PM
Brethren vs. Onekama - 7:30 PM
Dryden vs. Genesee - 7:30 PM
Unionville Sebewaing vs. Bad Axe - 7:30 PM
Saturday – Oct. 24
White Lake Lakeland vs. TBA - 8:30 AM
East Kentwood vs. Caledonia - 9 AM
Fremont vs. Cedar Springs - 9 AM
Midland vs. TBA - 9 AM
Millington vs. TBA - 9 AM
Niles vs. TBA - 9 AM
Part 1 | Multi-team Event @ Pentwater - 9 AM
Rockford vs. Holland West Ottawa - 9 AM
Saline vs. TBA - 9 AM
Part 1 | Multi-team Event @ Calumet - 10 AM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Bloomfield Hills Marian - 10 AM
Williamston vs. TBA - 10 AM
Grand Rapids Christian vs. Traverse City West - 11 AM
East Kentwood vs. Grand Haven - 11:30 AM
Rockford vs. Jenison - 11:30 AM
Freeland vs. TBA - 12 PM
Part 2 | Multi-team Event @ Calumet - 1 PM
East Kentwood vs. Grandville - 2 PM
Part 2 | Multi-team Event @ Pentwater - 2 PM
Rockford vs. Hudsonville - 2 PM
Monday - Oct. 26
Freeland vs. TBA - 5 PM
Kingsley vs. TBA - 5 PM
Troy vs. Hartland - 5 PM
Troy Athens vs. Grosse Pointe South - 5 PM
Flint Kearsley vs. Holly - 5:15 PM
Flushing vs. Swartz Creek - 5:15 PM
Linden vs. Fenton - 5:15 PM
Mason vs. Haslett - 6 PM
Corunna vs. Brandon - 6:15 PM
Otisville LakeVille vs. Millington - 6:15 PM
Dollar Bay vs. Chassell - 6:20 PM
Clare vs. Grayling - 7:30 PM
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. Grant - 5 PM
Multi-team Event @ New Lothrop - 5 PM
Multi-team Event @ Plainwell - 5 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Holly - 5 PM
Cass City vs. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker - 6 PM
Eaton Rapids vs. Portland - 6 PM
Fowlerville vs. Charlotte - 6 PM
Multi-team Event @ Grand Rapids Christian - 6 PM
Munising vs. Norway - 6 PM
Vermontville Maple Valley vs. TBA - 6 PM
Williamston vs. Lansing Catholic - 6 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. Clinton Twp. Chippewa Valley - 6:15 PM
St Johns vs. Portland - 6:20 PM
Bloomfield Hills Roeper vs. Novi Christian - 6:30 PM
Erie-Mason vs. Sand Creek - 6:30 PM
Grosse Pointe North vs. Fraser - 6:30 PM
Ishpeming vs. Gwinn - 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 School vs. Huron Valley Lutheran - 6:30 PM
Gladstone vs. Negaunee - 6:45 PM
Harbor Beach vs. Marlette - 6:45 PM
Chesaning vs. Durand - 7 PM
Garden City vs. Dearborn Heights Crestwood - 7 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian vs. Lansing Catholic - 7 PM
Hopkins vs. Allegan - 7 PM
Marquette vs. Escanaba - 7 PM
St Charles vs. Blanchard Montabella - 7 PM
Kingsford vs. Crystal Falls Forest Park - 7:15 PM
Bad Axe vs. Caro &