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.
MHSAA TV Live Broadcasts Return
September 8, 2020
By John Johnson
MHSAA Director of Broadcast Properties
A new season of live high school sports coverage is underway on the NFHS Network and MHSAA.tv, with the coming week’s schedule packed with boys soccer and girls volleyball action.
More games than ever before will be available online beginning this season, with approximately 260 MHSAA member schools taking part in the School Broadcast Program with Pixellot units being installed at their athletic facilities or schools still producing games using traditional hands-on student crews.
Pixellot is the NFHS Network’s automated production solution. More than 400 Pixellot units are already installed or about to be installed in high school stadiums and gymnasiums around the state. The NFHS Network has been offering schools up to two free Pixellot units since early July – with the schools only needing to cover installation costs.
Additionally, MHSAA regulations regarding live video broadcasts and streaming have been relaxed during the pandemic to allow schools to use their choice of means to distribute games to fans who are unable to attend because of government-imposed spectator limits. Third-party broadcasters – like local television stations and cable television outlets – also are allowed to originate games live.
In the coming week, more 300 events 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 can also type their school name into the search field on the MHSAA.tv page to search for events. Here is a list of varsity sports events being broadcast over the coming week:
GIRLS VOLLEYBALL (Home team listed first)
Wednesday – Sept. 9
Multi-team Event @ Pontiac Notre Dame Prep - 5 PM
Niles vs. Berrien Springs - 6 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore vs. Portage Northern - 6:30 PM
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood vs. Royal Oak Shrine Catholic - 6:30 PM
Petoskey vs. Traverse City Central - 6:30 PM
Traverse City West vs. Gaylord - 7 PM
Cadillac vs. Alpena - 7 PM
Macomb Lutheran North vs. Allen Park Cabrini - 7 PM
Hemlock vs. St. Louis - 7:30 PM
Thursday – Sept. 10
Grand Rapids Christian vs. Grand Haven - 5 PM
Mt Morris vs. TBD - 5:30 PM
Grand Blanc vs. Linden - 5:45 PM
Grand Rapids Catholic Central vs. Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills - 6 PM
Armada vs. Richmond - 6 PM
Harbor Beach vs. Brown City - 6 PM
Kinde North Huron vs. Mayville - 6 PM
DeWitt vs. Williamston - 6 PM
Fowlerville vs. St Johns - 6 PM
Auburn Hills Oakland Christian vs. Rochester Hills Lutheran Northwest - 6:30 PM
South Lyon East vs. White Lake Lakeland - 6:30 PM
Flint Powers Catholic vs. Midland - 6:30 PM
South Lyon vs. Waterford Kettering - 6:30 PM
Macomb L'Anse Creuse North vs. New Baltimore Anchor Bay - 6:30 PM
Negaunee vs. Ishpeming - 6:30 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian vs. Wayland - 7 PM
Hopkins vs. Wyoming Godwin Heights - 7 PM
Fremont vs. Big Rapids - 7 PM
Maple City Glen Lake vs. Buckley - 7 PM
Bear Lake vs. Mason County Eastern - 7 PM
Gladstone vs. Escanaba - 7 PM
Friday – Sept. 11
Marquette vs. Eben Junction Superior Central - 6:30 PM
Saturday – Sept. 12
Cadillac vs. Big Rapids - TBA
Novi vs. TBD - 8 AM
Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian vs. TBD - 8:30 AM
Corunna vs. TBD - 8:30 AM
Mt Morris vs. TBD - 8:30 AM
East Kentwood vs. Rockford - 8:30 AM
Multi-team Event @ Mason – Part 1 - 8:30 AM
Caro vs. TBD - 9 AM
Cedar Springs vs. Greenville - 9 AM
Multi-team Event @ Petoskey - 9 AM
Cadillac vs. Essexville Garber - 9 AM
Pellston vs. TBD - 9 AM
Multi-team Event @ Petoskey - 1 PM
Multi-team Event @ Mason- - Part 2 - 1:30 PM
Peck vs. TBD - 6 PM
Monday – Sept. 14
Multi-team Event @ Pontiac Notre Dame Prep - 5 PM
Fenton vs. Holly - 5:15 PM
Flint Kearsley vs. Swartz Creek - 5:15 PM
Linden vs. Flushing - 5:15 PM
Bay City John Glenn vs. Essexville Garber - 5:30 PM
Corunna vs. Goodrich - 6:15 PM
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood vs. Grosse Pointe Woods University Liggett - 6:30 PM
Calumet vs. Marquette - 6:45 PM
Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian vs. Comstock Park - 7 PM
Morley Stanwood vs. Holton - 7 PM
Harrison vs. Sanford Meridian - 7:30 PM
Tuesday – Sept. 15
East Grand Rapids vs. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern - 6 PM
Peck vs. TBD - 6 PM
Kinde North Huron vs. Kingston - 6 PM
Williamston vs. Eaton Rapids - 6 PM
Romulus Summit Academy North vs. Dearborn Henry Ford Academy - 6 PM
Harbor Beach vs. Ubly - 6 PM
Cedar Springs vs. Middleville Thornapple Kellogg - 6 PM
Wayland vs. Lansing Catholic - 6 PM
Mayville vs. Akron-Fairgrove - 6 PM
Chesaning vs. Durand - 6:15 PM
Gladstone vs. Ishpeming - 6:30 PM
Westland Huron Valley Lutheran vs. Bloomfield Hills Roeper - 6:30 PM
St. Clair Shores Lake Shore vs. Marine City - 6:30 PM
Northville vs. Canton - 6:30 PM
Painesdale Jeffers vs. Dollar Bay - 6:30 PM
Galesburg-Augusta vs. Kalamazoo Christian - 6:30 PM
Grand Blanc vs. Flint Powers Catholic - 6:30 PM
Negaunee vs. Escanaba - 6:30 PM
Novi vs. Hartland - 6:30 PM
Brighton vs. Salem - 6:30 PM
South Lyon vs. South Lyon East - 6:30 PM
Sterling Heights Parkway Christian vs. TBD - 6:30 PM
Calumet vs. Hancock - 6:45 PM
Marquette vs. Wakefield-Marenisco - 7 PM
Big Rapids vs. Newaygo - 7 PM
Plymouth Christian Academy vs. Livonia Clarenceville - 7 PM
Cass City vs. Vassar - 7:30 PM
St Charles vs. TBD - 7:30 PM
BOYS SOCCER (Home team listed first)
Tuesday – Sept. 8
Ithaca vs. Alma - 5:30 PM
St. Joseph vs. Kalamazoo Loy Norrix - 6:30 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore vs. Portage Central - 6:30 PM
Cedar Springs vs. Middleville Thornapple Kellogg - 6:45 PM
East Grand Rapids vs. TBD - 6:45 PM
Bloomfield Hills vs. TBD - 7 PM
Saline vs. DeWitt - 7 PM
Livonia Clarenceville vs. Bloomfield Hills Roeper - 7 PM
Walled Lake Western vs. South Lyon East - 7 PM
Walled Lake Central vs. Waterford Kettering - 7 PM
Freeland vs. Birch Run - 7 PM
White Lake Lakeland vs. South Lyon - 7 PM
Brighton vs. Howell - 7 PM
Wednesday – Sept. 9
Plainwell vs. TBD - 6 PM
Hemlock vs. Standish-Sterling - 7 PM
Thursday – Sept. 10
Manchester vs. Stockbridge - 5:30 PM
Warren De La Salle Collegiate vs. Detroit Catholic Central - 6 PM
Chesaning vs. Otisville LakeVille - 6 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore vs. Richland Gull Lake - 6:30 PM
Grand Rapids Catholic Central vs. Middleville Thornapple Kellogg - 6:45 PM
Clare vs. Ogemaw Heights - 7 PM
Bloomfield Hills vs. Oxford - 7 PM
South Lyon vs. Walled Lake Northern - 7 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep School vs. TBD - 7 PM
Troy vs. Berkley - 7 PM
Livonia Clarenceville vs. Romulus Summit Academy North - 7 PM
South Lyon East vs. Walled Lake Central - 7 PM
Brighton vs. Novi - 7 PM
Howell vs. Salem - 7 PM
West Bloomfield vs. Utica - 7 PM
Freeland vs. Bay City John Glenn - 7 PM
Friday – Sept. 11
East Grand Rapids vs. TBD - 4 PM
White Lake Lakeland vs. Walled Lake Western - 4:45 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere vs. Warren Woods-Tower - 7 PM
Saturday – Sept. 12
Multi-team Event @ Pontiac Notre Dame Prep - 9 AM
Monday – Sept. 14
Ithaca vs. Hemlock - 5:30 PM
Manchester vs. Quincy - 5:30 PM
Vicksburg vs. Allegan - 6 PM
Grand Blanc vs. Midland - 7 PM
Madison Heights Lamphere vs. Macomb L'Anse Creuse North - 7 PM
Grand Rapids South Christian vs. East Kentwood - 7:15 PM
Tuesday – Sept. 15
Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood vs. Macomb Lutheran North - 4:30 PM
Stevensville Lakeshore vs. Battle Creek Central - 6:30 PM
Petoskey vs. Cadillac - 6:45 PM
Grand Rapids Catholic Central vs. Cedar Springs - 6:45 PM
Livonia Clarenceville vs. Plymouth Christian Academy - 7 PM
Pontiac Notre Dame Prep vs. TBD - 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.