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 Districts Kick Off on MHSAA TV
October 13, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
The first round of District play in the 2020 MHSAA Lower Peninsula Boys Soccer Tournament highlights another full week of activity on the NFHS Network and MHSAA.tv.
Games this week begin Wednesday (Oct. 14).Here’s the schedule:
Wednesday – Oct. 13
Grosse Pointe North vs. Detroit Cass Tech - 4 PM
Macomb 'Anse Creuse North vs. Port Huron - 4 PM
Garden City vs. Detroit Cesar Chavez Academy - 5 PM
Lake Orion vs. Utica Eisenhower - 5 PM
Birmingham Seaholm vs. Birmingham Groves - 5:30 PM
Reed City vs. Hart - 5:30 PM
Brownstown Woodhaven vs. Taylor Preparatory - 6 PM
Fenton vs. Davison - 6 PM
Northville vs. Walled Lake Western - 6 PM
South Lyon East vs. Milan - 6 PM
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore vs. St. Clair Shores South Lake - 6 PM
St. Joseph vs. Sturgis - 6 PM
Waterford Mott vs. Utica - 6 PM
East Lansing vs. Swartz Creek - 7 PM
Hemlock vs. Saginaw Swan Valley - 7 PM
Saline vs. Belleville - 7 PM
Thursday – Oct. 15
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood vs. Madison Heights Lamphere - 4 PM
Manchester vs. Ann Arbor Greenhills - 5 PM
East Grand Rapids vs. Wyoming - 6 PM
Grand Blanc vs. Lapeer - 6 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian vs. Grand Rapids Covenant Christian - 6 PM
Novi vs. Brighton - 6 PM
Petoskey vs. Bay City Western - 6 PM
Clare vs. Pinconning - 7 PM
Comstock Park vs. Portland - 7 PM
Bloomfield Hills vs. Troy - 7:30 PM
Friday - Oct. 16
Vicksburg vs. Niles - 6 PM
During the coming week, nearly 700 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.
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
Friday - Oct. 16
Dearborn Heights Robichaud vs. Dearborn Heights Annapolis - 4:30 PM
Lowell vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern - 6:55 PM
Brownstown Woodhaven vs. Trenton - 7 PM
Caro vs. Cass City - 7 PM
Chesaning vs. Byron - 7 PM
Clare vs. Harrison - 7 PM
Comstock Park vs. Sparta - 7 PM
Corunna vs. Lake Fenton - 7 PM
Dearborn Divine Child vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood - 7 PM
Detroit Catholic Central vs. River Rouge - 7 PM
Frankenmuth vs. Birch Run - 7 PM
Grand Rapids Catholic Central vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern - 7 PM
Grosse Pointe North vs. Warren Woods-Tower - 7 PM
Holt vs. Portage Northern - 7 PM
Hopkins vs. Wyoming Godwin Heights - 7 PM
Houghton vs. Negaunee - 7 PM
Howell vs. Brighton - 7 PM
Kingsley vs. Sault Ste. Marie - 7 PM
Lake Orion vs. Farmington - 7 PM
Livonia Clarenceville vs. Oakland Christian - 7 PM
Manchester vs. Michigan Center - 7 PM
Maple Valley vs. Webberville - 7 PM
Marquette vs. Escanaba - 7 PM
Mason vs. Lansing Catholic - 7 PM
Mayville vs. International Academy of Flint - 7 PM
Millington vs. Hemlock - 7 PM
Montrose vs. Otisville LakeVille - 7 PM
New Lothrop vs. Durand - 7 PM
Niles vs. Buchanan - 7 PM
Northville vs. Novi - 7 PM
Ortonville Brandon vs. Clio - 7 PM
Ovid-Elsie vs. Mt Morris - 7 PM
Peck vs. North Huron - 7 PM
Petoskey vs. TBA - 7 PM
Plainwell vs. Three Rivers - 7 PM
Portage Central vs. Battle Creek Central - 7 PM
Rockford vs. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer - 7 PM
Saline vs. Ann Arbor Skyline - 7 PM
South Lyon vs. Highland Milford - 7 PM
South Lyon East vs. Waterford Kettering - 7 PM
St Johns vs. Fowlerville - 7 PM
St Johns vs. Fowlerville - 7 PM
St. Joseph vs. Richland Gull Lake - 7 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore vs. Battle Creek Lakeview - 7 PM
Stockbridge vs. Wyoming Lee - 7 PM
Suttons Bay vs. Mesick - 7 PM
Traverse City West vs. Cadillac - 7 PM
Troy vs. Pontiac - 7 PM
Walled Lake Western vs. Walled Lake Northern - 7 PM
White Lake Lakeland vs. Walled Lake Central - 7 PM
Whitmore Lake vs. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest - 7 PM
Norway vs. Manistique - 8 PM
Saturday - Oct. 17
Traverse City St. Francis vs. Ogemaw Heights Oct 17, 2020 - 1 PM
Girls Volleyball
Tuesday - Oct. 13
Dearborn Heights Robichaud vs. Hamtramck - 4 PM
Multi-team Event @ Dollar Bay - 4:20 PM
East Lansing vs. TBA - 5 PM
Galesburg-Augusta vs. Martin - 5 PM
Holt vs. TBA - 5 PM
Bay City John Glenn vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill - 5:30 PM
Grand Rapids Christian vs. East Grand Rapids - 6 PM
Mayville vs. Caseville - 6 PM
Plainwell vs. Hopkins - 6 PM
Romulus Summit Academy North vs. Dearborn Henry Ford Academy - 6 PM
Sturgis vs. Vicksburg - 6 PM
Vermontville Maple Valley vs. Stockbridge - 6 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere vs. Warren Mott - 6 PM
Hartland vs. Canton - 6:15 PM
Mt Morris vs. Otisville LakeVille - 6:15 PM
Brighton vs. Howell - 6:30 PM
Chesaning vs. Montrose - 6:30 PM
Erie-Mason vs. Ottawa Lake Whiteford - 6:30 PM
Grand Blanc vs. Midland Dow - 6:30 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian vs. Thornapple Kellogg - 6:30 PM
Macomb L'Anse Creuse North vs. Utica Eisenhower - 6:30 PM
Maple City Glen Lake vs. Frankfort - 6:30 PM
Negaunee vs. Calumet - 6:30 PM
New Lothrop vs. Ovid-Elsie - 6:30 PM
Novi vs. Northville - 6:30 PM
South Lyon vs. South Lyon East - 6:30 PM
Southfield Christian vs. Plymouth Christian Academy - 6:30 PM
Walled Lake Northern vs. Highland Milford - 6:30 PM
Whitmore Lake vs. Allen Park Inter-City Baptist - 6:30 PM
Harbor Beach vs. Sandusky - 6:45 PM
Bear Lake vs. Marion - 7 PM
Bloomfield Woodhaven vs. Dearborn Edsel Ford - 7 PM
Brethren vs. Manistee Catholic Central - 7 PM
Garden City vs. Riverview - 7 PM
Grandville vs. Hudsonville - 7 PM
Kingsley vs. Leland - 7 PM
Pentwater vs. Baldwin - 7 PM
Rockford vs. Grand Haven - 7 PM
Waterford Our Lady vs. Warren Regina - 7 PM
West Bloomfield vs. Berkley - 7 PM
Caro vs. Vassar - 7:30 PM
Cass City vs. TBA - 7:30 PM
Dryden vs. Akron-Fairgrove - 7:30 PM
Wednesday - Oct. 14
Flushing vs. Linden - 5:15 PM
Holly vs. Fenton - 5:15 PM
Grosse Pointe North vs. Marysville - 6:30 PM
Petoskey vs. Gaylord - 6:30 PM
St. Joseph vs. Richland Gull Lake - 6:30 PM
Wayland Union vs. Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills - 6:30 PM
Traverse City West vs. Alpena - 6:45 PM
Bay City John Glenn vs. Birch Run - 7 PM
Bridgeport vs. Saginaw Swan Valley - 7 PM
Cadillac vs. Traverse City Central - 7 PM
Morley Stanwood vs. White Cloud - 7 PM
Waterford Our Lady vs. Riverview Gabriel Richard - 7 PM
Dearborn Divine Child vs. Wixom St. Catherine - 7:15 PM
Clare vs. Farwell - 7:30 PM
Harrison vs. Gladwin - 7:30 PM
Hemlock vs. Millington - 7:30 PM
Thursday - Oct. 15
New Lothrop vs. Beal City - 5:30 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Clio - 5:30 PM
Armada vs. Yale - 6 PM
DeWitt vs. St Johns - 6 PM
Fowlerville vs. Mason - 6 PM
Mayville vs. Kingston - 6 PM
Plainwell vs. Three Rivers - 6 PM
Wayland Union vs. Wyoming - 6 PM
Williamston vs. Lansing Waverly - 6 PM
Warren Woods-Tower vs. St. Clair Shores Lakeview - 6:15 PM
Dollar Bay vs. L'Anse - 6:20 PM
Blanchard Montabella vs. Remus Chippewa Hills - 6:30 PM
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood vs. Royal Oak Shrine Catholic - 6:30 PM
Flint Powers Catholic vs. Flint Carman-Ainsworth - 6:30 PM
Galesburg-Augusta vs. Saugatuck - 6:30 PM
Grand Blanc vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill - 6:30 PM
Highland Milford vs. Walled Lake Central - 6:30 PM
Ishpeming vs. Hancock - 6:30 PM
Kalamazoo Christian vs. Lawton - 6:30 PM
Macomb L'Anse Creuse North vs. Romeo - 6:30 PM
Manchester vs. Michigan Center - 6:30 PM
Marcellus vs. Three Oaks River Valley - 6:30 PM
Southfield Christian vs. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest - 6:30 PM
White Lake Lakeland vs. Walled Lake Northern - 6:30 PM
Whitmore Lake vs. Westland Huron Valley Lutheran - 6:30 PM
Calumet vs. Ishpeming Westwood - 6:45 PM
Harbor Beach vs. Cass City - 6:45 PM
Bear Lake vs. Onekama - 7 PM
Brownstown Woodhaven vs. Taylor Preparatory - 7 PM
Escanaba vs. Sault Ste. Marie - 7 PM
Grandville vs. Caledonia - 7 PM
Hopkins vs. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian - 7 PM
Marquette vs. Houghton - 7 PM
Plymouth Christian Academy vs. Oakland Christian - 7 PM
Rockford vs. East Kentwood - 7 PM
Troy Athens vs. Utica - 7 PM
Kingsford vs. Gladstone - 7:15 PM
Bad Axe vs. Vassar - 7:30 PM
Caro vs. Reese - 7:30 PM
Dryden vs. Peck - 7:30 PM
Pellston vs. Johannesburg-Lewiston - 7:30 PM
Unionville Sebewaing vs. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker - 7:30 PM
Friday - Oct. 16
Bloomfield Hills Marian vs. Dearborn Divine Child - 7:15 PM
Wixom St. Catherine vs. Farmington Hills Mercy - 7:15 PM
Saturday - Oct. 17
Bad Axe vs. TBA - 8:30 AM
Fenton vs. TBA – Part 1 - 8:30 AM
Linden vs. TBA - 8:30 AM
Multi-team Event @ St. Joseph - 8:30 AM
Chesaning vs. TBA - 9 AM
Flushing vs. Grand Blanc - 9 AM
Howell vs. TBA - 9 AM
South Lyon East vs. TBA - 9 AM
Cadillac vs. Grandville - 10 AM
New Lothrop vs. TBA - 10 AM
West Bloomfield vs. Rochester Adams - 12:30 PM
Grand Rapids Christian vs. Farmington Hills Mercy - 1 PM
Houghton vs. TBA - 3 PM
Niles vs. TBA - 5 PM
West Bloomfield vs. TBA - 7 PM
Monday - Oct. 19
Multi-team Event @ Petoskey - 5 PM
Negaunee vs. Ishpeming Westwood - 5 PM
Flushing vs. Flint Kearsley - 5:15 PM
Holly vs. Linden - 5:15 PM
Dollar Bay vs. Ewen-Trout Creek - 6:20 PM
Brighton vs. Novi - 6:30 PM
Galesburg-Augusta vs. Kalamazoo Christian - 6:30 PM
South Lyon vs. Highland Milford - 6:30 PM
South Lyon East vs. Waterford Mott - 6:30 PM
Sterling Heights Parkway Christian vs. Warren Fitzgerald - 6:30 PM
Walled Lake Northern vs. Waterford Kettering - 6:30 PM
Calumet vs. Houghton - 6:45 PM
Frankenmuth vs. Essexville Garber - 7 PM
Hemlock vs. St. Louis - 7 PM
Bay City John Glenn vs. Bay City All Saints - 7 PM
Marcellus vs. Lawrence - 7 PM
Livonia Clarenceville vs. Clawson - 7:30 PM
Tuesday - Oct. 20
Marcellus vs. TBA - 5 PM
Southfield Christian vs. Brighton Charyl Stockwell - 5:30 PM
St Ignace vs. Brimley - 5:45 PM
DeWitt vs. Williamston - 6 PM
East Lansing vs. Lansing Waverly - 6 PM
Kinde North Huron vs. Carsonville-Port Sanilac - 6 PM
Mason vs. Haslett - 6 PM
Mayville vs. Dryden - 6 PM
Norway vs. Carney-Nadeau - 6 PM
Peck vs. Genesee - 6 PM
Vermontville Maple Valley vs. Lansing Christian - 6 PM
Munising vs. Rapid River - 6 PM
Chesaning vs. New Lothrop - 6:15 PM
Mt Morris vs. Byron - 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
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore vs. St. Clair - 6:30 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
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
Grand Rapids South Christian vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Eastern - 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
Troy Athens vs. Madison Heights Bishop Foley - 7 PM
Kingsford vs. Escanaba - 7:15 PM
Cass City vs. Caro - 7:30 PM
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.