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.
200+ Volleyball Matches on MHSAA TV
October 5, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
More than 700 events in multiple sports at multiple levels of play fill the coming week’s schedule for the NFHS Network and MHSAA.tv.
More than 300 varsity events – nearly 200 of them in volleyball – will be available. 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.
Here is a list of Varsity sports events taking place over the coming week on the NFHS Network/MHSAA.tv (Home team generally listed first):
Football
Friday - October 9
Redford Union vs. Garden City - 5 PM
Kingston vs. Merritt Academy - 6:45 PM
Saranac vs. Pewamo-Westphalia - 6:45 PM
Hartland vs. Northville - 6:45 PM
Lowell vs. Byron Center - 6:50 PM
Manchester vs. TBA - 7 PM
Waterford Kettering vs. White Lake Lakeland - 7 PM
Rockford vs. Grand Haven - 7 PM
Mason vs. Fowlerville - 7 PM
Novi vs. Howell - 7 PM
Vicksburg vs. Paw Paw - 7 PM
Mason vs. Fowlerville - 7 PM
Lake Orion vs. Clarkston - 7 PM
Saline vs. Temperance Bedford - 7 PM
Comstock Park vs. Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian - 7 PM
Caro vs. Marlette - 7 PM
Corunna vs. Owosso - 7 PM
Hemlock vs. Carrollton - 7 PM
Peck vs. Caseville - 7 PM
Portage Northern vs. Portage Central - 7 PM
Chesaning vs. Durand - 7 PM
New Lothrop vs. Ovid-Elsie - 7 PM
Wayland Union vs. Ada Forest Hills Eastern - 7 PM
Frankenmuth vs. Alma - 7 PM
Birmingham Groves vs. Birmingham Seaholm - 7 PM
Brighton vs. Plymouth - 7 PM
Reed City vs. Newaygo - 7 PM
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood vs. Macomb Lutheran North - 7 PM
Watervliet vs. Kalamazoo Hackett - 7 PM
Vermontville Maple Valley vs. Merrill - 7 PM
Otisville LakeVille vs. Byron - 7 PM
Walled Lake Northern vs. South Lyon East - 7 PM
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore vs. Sterling Heights - 7 PM
West Bloomfield vs. Oxford - 7 PM
Millington vs. Midland Bullock Creek - 7 PM
Sturgis vs. Dowagiac Union - 7 PM
Bay City John Glenn vs. Essexville Garber - 7 PM
Harbor Beach vs. Memphis - 7 PM
Freeland vs. Saginaw Swan Valley - 7 PM
Walled Lake Central vs. Waterford Mott - 7 PM
Holt vs. East Lansing - 7 PM
Vassar vs. Bad Axe - 7 PM
East Kentwood vs. Jenison - 7 PM
Maple City Glen Lake vs. Mancelona - 7 PM
Cedar Springs vs. Grand Rapids South Christian - 7 PM
South Lyon vs. Walled Lake Western - 7 PM
Petoskey vs. Cadillac - 7 PM
Macomb L'Anse Creuse North vs. New Baltimore Anchor Bay - 7 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore vs. St. Joseph - 7 PM
Grand Blanc vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill - 7 PM
Troy Athens vs. Berkley - 7 PM
Ortonville Brandon vs. Lake Fenton - 7 PM
Norway vs. Gwinn - 8 PM
Saturday - October 10
Brethren vs. Baldwin - 1 PM
Warren De La Salle Collegiate vs. DeWitt - 3 PM
Boys Soccer
Tuesday - Oct. 6
St. Joseph vs. Kalamazoo Central - 6:30 PM
Lake Orion vs. Bloomfield Hills - 7 PM
Troy vs. Birmingham Seaholm - 7 PM
Novi vs. Brighton - 7 PM
Troy Athens vs. Rochester Adams - 7 PM
Wednesday - Oct. 7
Manchester vs. Bronson - 5:30 PM
Ithaca vs. Midland Bullock Creek - 5:30 PM
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore vs. Roseville - 6 PM
Corunna vs. Holly - 6:15 PM
Freeland vs. Frankenmuth - 7 PM
Clare vs. LeRoy Pine River - 7 PM
South Lyon vs. TBA - 7 PM
Waterford Kettering vs. TBA - 7 PM
Hemlock vs. Saginaw Nouvel - 7 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian vs. TBA - 7:15 PM
Thursday - Oct. 8
Warren De La Salle Collegiate vs. New Baltimore Anchor Bay - 5 PM
Ithaca vs. Alma - 5:30 PM
Waterford Kettering vs. Pontiac - 6 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore vs. TBA - 6:30 PM
Cadillac vs. Traverse City Central - 6:45 PM
Petoskey vs. Gaylord - 6:45 PM
East Grand Rapids vs. TBA - 6:45 PM
Grand Blanc vs. Troy Athens - 7 PM
Saline vs. Temperance Bedford - 7 PM
Troy vs. Rochester - 7 PM
West Bloomfield vs. TBA - 7 PM
Birmingham Groves vs. Birmingham Seaholm - 7 PM
Northville vs. Salem - 7 PM
Bloomfield Hills vs. North Farmington - 7 PM
Novi vs. Plymouth - 7 PM
Friday - Oct. 9
South Lyon East vs. Farmington - 4 PM
Garden City vs. Dearborn Heights Crestwood - 4 PM
Warren Woods Tower vs. Fraser - 5 PM
Mason vs. St. Johns - 5 PM
Novi vs. Northville - 7 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere vs. St. Clair - 7 PM
Saturday - Oct. 10
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Dearborn Divine Child - 10 AM
Comstock Park vs. Grandville Calvin Christian - 10 AM
Stevensville Lakeshore vs. TBA - 11:30 AM
Monday - Oct. 12
Warren Woods Tower vs. Marysville - 5 PM
Bad Axe vs. Bay City John Glenn - 5 PM
Manchester vs. Blissfield - 5:30 PM
Royal Oak Shrine Catholic vs. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest - 5:30 PM
Chesaning vs. Saginaw Swan Valley - 6 PM
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore vs. Harrison Twp. L'Anse Creuse - 6 PM
Romulus Summit Academy North vs. Detroit Cass Tech - 6 PM
Grand Blanc vs. Bay City Central - 6 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore vs. Niles - 6:30 PM
Macomb L'Anse Creuse North vs. Grosse Pointe North - 6:30 PM
Saginaw Heritage vs. Davison - 6:45 PM
Petoskey vs. Traverse City West - 6:45 PM
Saline vs. Monroe - 7 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere vs. Ferndale - 7 PM
Novi vs. TBA - 7 PM
West Bloomfield vs. Royal Oak - 7 PM
Lake Orion vs. Clarkston - 7 PM
Troy vs. Warren De La Salle Collegiate - 7 PM
South Lyon vs. South Lyon East - 7 PM
Northville vs. TBA - 7 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian vs. TBA - 7:15 PM
Girls Volleyball
Tuesday - Oct. 6
Dearborn Heights Robichaud vs. Dearborn Heights Crestwood - 4 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere vs. New Haven - 6 PM
Vermontville Maple Valley vs. TBA - 6 PM
DeWitt vs. Fowlerville - 6 PM
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore vs. Sterling Heights - 6 PM
Williamston vs. Grand Ledge - 6 PM
Sturgis vs. Edwardsburg - 6 PM
Wayland Union vs. Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills - 6 PM
Mayville vs. Bay City All Saints - 6 PM
Chesaning vs. Ovid-Elsie - 6:15 PM
Otisville LakeVille vs. New Lothrop - 6:15 PM
Ovid-Elsie vs. Chesaning - 6:15 PM
Grand Rapids Christian vs. Byron Center Charter School - 6:15 PM
St Johns vs. Lansing Catholic - 6:20 PM
Brighton vs. Canton - 6:30 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian vs. Grand Rapids Catholic Central - 6:30 PM
Flint Powers Catholic vs. Saginaw Heritage - 6:30 PM
Suttons Bay vs. Kingsley - 6:30 PM
Highland Milford vs. White Lake Lakeland - 6:30 PM
Southfield Christian vs. Livonia Clarenceville - 6:30 PM
Manchester vs. Napoleon - 6:30 PM
Howell vs. Hartland - 6:30 PM
Frankfort vs. Leland - 6:30 PM
Watervliet vs. Fennville - 6:30 PM
South Lyon vs. Walled Lake Northern - 6:30 PM
South Lyon East vs. Walled Lake Western - 6:30 PM
Durand vs. Mt Morris - 6:55 PM
Saline vs. Ann Arbor Pioneer - 7 PM
Morley Stanwood vs. Kent City - 7 PM
West Bloomfield vs. Rochester Hills Stoney Creek - 7 PM
Maple City Glen Lake vs. Onekama - 7 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. Dearborn Divine Child - 7 PM
East Kentwood vs. Holland West Ottawa - 7 PM
Hart vs. Ravenna - 7 PM
Bear Lake vs. Big Rapids Crossroads Charter - 7 PM
Pentwater vs. Mason County Eastern - 7 PM
Kingsford vs. Iron Mountain - 7:15 PM
Caro vs. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker - 7:30 PM
Kingston vs. Akron-Fairgrove - 7:30 PM
Bad Axe vs. Cass City - 7:30 PM
Wednesday - Oct. 7
Flint Kearsley vs. Flushing - 5:15 PM
Fenton vs. Swartz Creek - 5:15 PM
Linden vs. Holly - 5:15 PM
Niles vs. Comstock - 6 PM
Corunna vs. Lake Fenton - 6:15 PM
Stevensvile Lakeshore vs. Mattawan - 6:30 PM
Allen Park Cabrini vs. Riverview Gabriel Richard Catholic - 6:30 PM
Novi vs. Livonia Franklin - 6:30 PM
Bay City John Glenn vs. Alma - 7 PM
Macomb Lutheran North vs. Waterford Our Lady - 7 PM
Freeland vs. Saginaw Swan Valley - 7 PM
Frankenmuth vs. Essexville Garber - 7 PM
Bloomfield Hills Marian vs. Farmington Hills Mercy - 7:15 PM
Warren Regina vs. Royal Oak Shrine Catholic - 7:15 PM
Hemlock vs. Standish-Sterling - 7:30 PM
Clare vs. Pinconning - 7:30 PM
Thursday - Oct. 8
Armada vs. Armada - 4:30 PM
Saline vs. TBA - 5 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. TBA - 5 PM
Romulus Summit Academy North vs. TBA - 5:30 PM
Durand vs. Clarkston Everest Collegiate - 5:55 PM
Fowlerville vs. Williamston - 6 PM
Vicksburg vs. Paw Paw - 6 PM
Peck vs. Caseville - 6 PM
Sturgis vs. Dowagiac Union - 6 PM
Kinde North Huron vs. Dryden - 6 PM
Holt vs. St Johns - 6 PM
Lowell vs. East Grand Rapids - 6:15 PM
New Lothrop vs. Montrose - 6:15 PM
Highland Milford vs. Wixom St. Catherine - 6:15 PM
Ovid-Elsie vs. Ashley - 6:30 PM
Huron Valley Lutheran vs. Novi Christian Academy - 6:30 PM
Sterling Heights Parkway Christian vs. Allen Park Inter-City Baptist - 6:30 PM
Manchester vs. Hanover-Horton - 6:30 PM
Walled Lake Western vs. South Lyon - 6:30 PM
Walled Lake Northern vs. Walled Lake Central - 6:30 PM
Oakland Christian vs. Brighton Charyl Stockwell - 6:30 PM
Saginaw Heritage vs. Flint Carman-Ainsworth - 6:30 PM
Ann Arbor Greenhills vs. Ann Arbor Pioneer - 6:30 PM
White Lake Lakeland vs. Waterford Mott - 6:30 PM
Southfield Christian vs. Lutheran Westland - 6:30 PM
Grand Blanc vs. Lapeer - 6:30 PM
Escanaba vs. Stephenson - 7 PM
West Bloomfield vs. Birmingham Seaholm - 7 PM
Marcellus vs. Bloomingdale - 7 PM
Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian vs. Wyoming Kelloggsville - 7 PM
Hart vs. Muskegon - 7 PM
Garden City vs. Melvindale - 7 PM
Grandville Calvin Christian vs. Wyoming Lee - 7 PM
Bloomfield Hills vs. Lake Orion - 7 PM
Rockford vs. Jenison - 7 PM
Troy vs. Troy Athens - 7 PM
Caro vs. Unionville Sebewaing - 7:30 PM
Livonia Clarenceville vs. Plymouth Christian Academy - 7:30 PM
Friday - Oct. 9
Riverview Gabriel Richard Catholic vs. Madison Heights Bishop Foley - 7 PM
Macomb Lutheran North vs. Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood - 7 PM
Marian vs. St. Catherine of Siena Academy - 7:15 PM
Dearborn Divine Child vs. Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard - 7:15 PM
Saturday - Oct. 10
Caro vs. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker - TBA
Wayland Union vs. Shelby - 8 AM
Multi-team Event @ Plainwell – Part 1 - 8 AM
Caro vs. Oscoda - 8:30 AM
Troy Athens vs. TBA - 8:30 AM
Suttons Bay vs. TBA - 8:30 AM
Grandville vs. East Grand Rapids - 8:30 AM
East Kentwood vs. Grand Rapids Northview - 8:30 AM
Multi-team Event @ St. Johns - 9 AM
Frankenmuth vs. Bay City Central - 9 AM
Hopkins vs. Allegan - 9 AM
Niles vs. Edwardsburg - 9 AM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. New Baltimore Anchor Bay - 9:30 AM
Escanaba vs. Gladstone - 10 AM
DeWitt vs. TBA - 10 AM
Morley Stanwood vs. TBA - 10 AM
Caro vs. TBA - 10 AM
Multi-team Event @ Plainwell – Part 2 - 12 PM
Monday - Oct. 12
Warren Woods-Tower vs. TBA - 4:30 PM
Norway vs. Escanaba - 6 PM
Munising vs. Powers North Central - 6 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore vs. Portage Northern - 6:30 PM
Big Rapids vs. Morley Stanwood - 7 PM
Plymouth Christian Academy vs. Lutheran Westland - 7 PM
Grandville Calvin Christian vs. Wyoming Kelloggsville - 7 PM
Pentwater vs. Baldwin - 7 PM
Tuesday - Oct. 13
Dearborn Heights Robichaud vs. Hamtramck - 4 PM
Multi-team Event @ Dollar Bay - 4:20 PM
Multi-team Event @ Galesburg-Augusta - 5 PM
East Lansing vs. TBA - 5 PM
Holt vs. TBA - 5 PM
Bay City John Glenn vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill - 5:30 PM
Wayland Union vs. Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills - 6 PM
Sturgis vs. Vicksburg - 6 PM
Mayville vs. Caseville - 6 PM
Vermontville Maple Valley vs. Stockbridge - 6 PM
Romulus Summit Academy North vs. Dearborn Henry Ford Academy - 6 PM
Plainwell vs. Hopkins - 6 PM
Grand Rapids Christian vs. East Grand Rapids - 6 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere vs. Warren Mott - 6 PM
Mt Morris vs. Otisville LakeVille - 6:15 PM
Chesaning vs. Montrose - 6:15 PM
Hartland vs. Canton - 6:15 PM
Novi vs. Northville - 6:30 PM
Whitmore Lake vs. Allen Park Inter-City Baptist - 6:30 PM
South Lyon vs. South Lyon East - 6:30 PM
Southfield Christian vs. Plymouth Christian - 6:30 PM
Walled Lake Northern vs. Highland Milford - 6:30 PM