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WISL Honoree Leads by Making Connections

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

January 29, 2020

Nikki Norris received her life’s education from professional educators. Her father Howes Smith served as an assistant principal and then principal at Ithaca High School, and her mother Maple was a teacher. Howes’ mom also taught.

Their influence and example certainly rubbed off on Nikki and her siblings. Norris has worked in education for more than 30 years, while her sister is a school guidance counselor and their brother a college professor.

In fact, Norris has impacted educational athletics in nearly every role possible as a teacher and athletic director at multiple schools, coach at various levels and game official. She is in her second year as athletic director at East Lansing High School after eight in that position for Corunna Public Schools. She previously taught for six years at Carson City-Crystal and then 11 at Corunna before taking over the Cavaliers’ athletic department during the summer of 2010.

She also coached volleyball at multiple levels over more than 15 years including Corunna’s varsity from 1999-2002 and 2006-09, and coached high school basketball for a combined eight years during her time at the two schools where she taught. Before and between her volleyball coaching stints, Norris also has served as an MHSAA registered volleyball official for a total of 12 years.

Norris’ many and continuing contributions will be celebrated Sunday, Feb. 2, when she receives the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s 33rd Women In Sports Leadership Award during the WISL Banquet at the Crowne Plaza Lansing West.

“I try to connect with all students, athletes or not, because there are so many kids who just need a connection," Norris said. "And if we can find it through sports, or through clubs, or teaching – I do look at them all as my own children, to a certain extent. We used to say in Corunna, 'They're all our kids.' And I want them to be successful in whatever it is they want. And if I can help them, that's what I'm there for.

“So many people did it for me. Coming from a family of educators, and my dad an administrator, I knew what that entailed as far as how they get into your heart. I want to do that for kids.”

Each year, the MHSAA Representative Council considers the achievements of women coaches, officials and athletic administrators affiliated with the MHSAA who show exemplary leadership capabilities and positive contributions to athletics.

Those who wrote letters recommending Norris for this year’s WISL Award especially noted that personal impact she has on students, staff and colleagues.

Fowlerville athletic director Brian Osborn – one of her former coaches – wrote of how Norris goes above and beyond to care for and connect with her student-athletes. Owosso athletic director Dallas Lintner wrote of Norris’ dedication to children’s safety and educational values. Fenton athletic director Mike Bakker noted how fortunate her students are that Norris made the decision to leave coaching for administration, where she can have an even larger impact.

“Someone asked me once, why do you want to be an athletic director? Well, I can go from impacting 100 kids a day, at that time (as a coach and teacher), to maybe 600 kids a day, to now 1,200 kids a day (at East Lansing),” Norris said, then quipping, “Well, maybe (not all) 1,200 every day.”

But she does continue to lead on wide-ranging levels, both at her much larger school and beyond.

While at Corunna, Norris served as master scheduler and part of the constitution committee for the Genesee Area Conference. Her schools have hosted various MHSAA Tournament events in multiple sports, in addition to local invitationals and conference meets. She’s served on every type of MHSAA Committee, providing input on a variety of sports, site selection, officials selection and the Scholar-Athlete Award. She also annually volunteers as a tournament administrator at the MHSAA’s Volleyball Finals in November and Baseball/Softball/Girls Soccer Finals in June. 

A certified Red Cross instructor, Norris has provided CPR/AED training to coaches, bus drivers and staff members. Corunna in multiple years received the state’s HEARTSafe School designation recognizing preparedness to respond to cardiac emergencies.

As a member of the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA), she has facilitated sessions and presented at its conferences and served on the newsletter committee.

She was named the MIAAA’s Region 7 “Athletic Director of the Year” in 2016. She also has received “Certified Athletic Administrator” designation from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA).

“Nikki is one of the most genuine, caring and hard-working people I’ve ever met in athletics,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “She has worked extremely hard in both Corunna and East Lansing to develop a first-class program that produced high-character people. Nikki is truly a role model to everyone in the world of athletic administration.”

A 1987 graduate of Ithaca High School, Norris received her bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in exercise health science from Alma College – where she also competed as a runner and thrower in track & field – and then earned master’s degrees in biological sciences from Michigan State University and educational leadership from American College of Education.

Norris lives in Bancroft and is the mother to two daughters, Meredith and Elizabeth Norris. Neither is planning to go into education – but sports is a big part of both their current lives and likely futures, and no doubt the impact of growing up in a sports family has played a significant part. (Their dad, Dr. Robert Norris, played basketball at Alma College and serves as physician for the MSU hockey, volleyball and baseball programs and Lansing Lugnuts.)

Meredith was named the state’s Miss Volleyball Award winner in 2017 as a senior at Corunna and plays currently at Michigan State. Elizabeth is a senior at Corunna and was a finalist for the same award this past fall, and will continue her academic and volleyball careers at University of North Dakota. Meredith is majoring in kinesiology, and Elizabeth is planning on orthopedic surgery.

“I look at the names that are on the (WISL Award) list, and there are so many deserving women who over my career I've looked up to and aspired to be like when I 'grow up,'" Norris said. "So to even be considered in that group is amazing, humbling. It's an honor."

Past recipients of the Women In Sports Leadership Award

 
1990 – Carol Seavoy, L’Anse 
1991 – Diane Laffey, Harper Woods
1992 – Patricia Ashby, Scotts
1993 – Jo Lake, Grosse Pointe
1994 – Brenda Gatlin, Detroit
1995 – Jane Bennett, Ann Arbor
1996 – Cheryl Amos-Helmicki, Huntington Woods
1997 – Delores L. Elswick, Detroit
1998 – Karen S. Leinaar, Delton
1999 – Kathy McGee, Flint 
2000 – Pat Richardson, Grass Lake
2001 – Suzanne Martin, East Lansing
2002 – Susan Barthold, Kentwood
2003 – Nancy Clark, Flint
2004 – Kathy Vruggink Westdorp, Grand Rapids 
2005 – Barbara Redding, Capac
2006 – Melanie Miller, Lansing
2007 – Jan Sander, Warren Woods
2008 – Jane Bos, Grand Rapids
2009 – Gail Ganakas, Flint; Deb VanKuiken, Holly
2010 – Gina Mazzolini, Lansing
2011 – Ellen Pugh, West Branch; Patti Tibaldi, Traverse City
2012 – Janet Gillette, Comstock Park
2013 – Barbara Beckett, Traverse City
2014 – Teri Reyburn, DeWitt
2015 – Jean LaClair, Bronson
2016 – Betty Wroubel, Pontiac
2017 – Dottie Davis, Ann Arbor
2018 – Meg Seng, Ann Arbor
2019 – Kris Isom, Adrian

PHOTOS: (Top) East Lansing athletic director Nikki Norris confers with Grand Ledge athletic director Steve Baker during a 2018 football game. (Middle) Norris with daughters Elizabeth, left, and Meredith, after Nikki presented the Cavaliers with a District championship trophy won in 2016. (Top photo courtesy of the Lansing State Journal; middle photo courtesy of Nikki Norris.)

Second Half by MHSAA

Week 9 Football Playoff Listing

October 22, 2013

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Here is a list of Michigan High School Athletic Association football playing schools, displaying their win-loss records and playoff averages through the eighth week of the season. Schools on this list are in enrollment order. An asterisk (*) beside a record indicates that a team has eight or fewer games scheduled. A caret (^) beside a school’s name indicates that a team is one win away from playoff qualification.

Those schools with 11-player teams with six or more wins playing nine-game schedules, or five or more wins playing eight games or fewer, will qualify for the MHSAA Football Playoffs beginning Nov. 1-2. Schools with 5-4, 4-3 or 4-4 records may qualify if the number of potential qualifiers by win total does not reach the 256 mark. Schools with six or more wins playing nine-game schedules or five or more wins playing eight games or fewer may be subtracted from the field based on playoff average if the number of potential qualifiers exceeds the 256 mark.

Once the 256 qualifying schools are determined, they will be divided by enrollment groups into eight equal divisions of 32 schools, and then drawn into regions of eight teams each and districts of four teams each.

Those schools with 8-player teams will be ranked by playoff average at season’s end, and the top 16 programs will be drawn into regions of eight teams each for the playoff in that division, which also begins Nov. 1-2.

To review a list of all football playoff schools, individual school playoff point details and to report errors, visit the Football page of the MHSAA Website.

The announcement of the qualifiers and first-round pairings for both the 11 and 8-player playoffs will take place on Oct. 27 on the Selection Sunday Show at 7 p.m. on FOX Sports Detroit. The playoff qualifiers and pairings will be posted to the MHSAA Website following the Selection Sunday Show.
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11-Player Playoff Listing

1. Sterling Heights Stevenson, 2781, 4-4, 51.500                 
2. Utica Eisenhower, 2772, 4-4, 53.750                                    
3. Clarkston, 2737, 7-1, 95.500                                     
4. Macomb Dakota, 2693, 8-0, 108.000                                    
5. Howell ^, 2672, 5-3, 64.625                                      
6. Grand Blanc, 2624, 6-2, 81.625                                               
7. East Kentwood ^, 2612, 5-3, 66.750                                     
8. Rockford, 2572, 7-1, 92.750                                     
9. Clinton Township Chippewa Valley, 2506, 7-1, 95.875  
10. Lake Orion, 2490, 6-2, 78.375                                                
11. Dearborn Fordson ^, 2309, 5-3, 68.589                             
12. Holland West Ottawa ^, 2293, 5-3, 66.000                       
13. Northville, 2275, 7-1, 97.250                                 
14. Detroit Cass Tech, 2262, 8-0, 107.000                                                
15. Brighton ^, 2164, 5-3, 69.000                                                                
16. Monroe ^, 2145, 5-3, 62.500                                 
17. Detroit Catholic Central, 2132, 7-1, 94.161                      
18. Plymouth ^, 2126, 5-3, 61.625                                              
19. Canton, 2078, 7-1, 95.750                                       
20. Novi, 1986, 4-4, 52.375                                                            
21. Livonia Stevenson, 1983, 4-4, 49.000                                 
22. Macomb L'Anse Creuse North, 1965, 7-1, 89.500         
23. West Bloomfield ^, 1941, 5-3, 63.750                                                
24. New Baltimore Anchor Bay, 1899, 4-4, 48.875                               
25. Saline, 1897, 7-1, 94.275                                         
26. Westland John Glenn ^, 1880, 5-3, 61.375                      
27. Holt, 1866, 4-4, 53.250                                                             
28. Warren Mott, 1796, 8-0, 99.000                                           
29. Romeo, 1793, 4-4, 54.750                                                       
30. Oxford, 1782, 4-4, 51.625                                                       
31. Rochester Hills Stoney Creek, 1759, 6-2, 79.250           
32. Hudsonville ^, 1736, 5-3, 70.875                                          
33. Ann Arbor Skyline, 1715, 4-4, 49.250                                 
34. Grand Ledge, 1715, 4-4, 51.250                                           
35. Belleville ^, 1714, 5-3, 64.750                                                
36. Davison, 1692, 4-4, 44.250                                                     
37. Walled Lake Northern, 1688, 6-2, 80.125                         
38. Traverse City West ^, 1653, 5-3, 66.500                            
39. Rochester, 1615, 4-4, 52.125                                 
40. Waterford Kettering ^, 1604, 5-3, 66.125                        
41. Temperance Bedford, 1600, 8-0, 114.000                        
42. Grosse Pointe South ^, 1598, 5-3, 62.500                        
43. Rochester Adams ^, 1582, 5-3, 67.000                                              
44. Saginaw Heritage ^, 1575, 5-3, 60.250                               
45. Warren DeLaSalle ^, 1564, 5-3, 74.500                                              
46. Walled Lake Western, 1556, 8-0, 108.000                        
47. Flint Carman-Ainsworth, 1488, 7-1, 86.875                     
48. Detroit U-D Jesuit, 1476, 4-4, 55.500                                 
49. Midland, 1462, 7-1, 90.750                                     
50. Ypsilanti Lincoln, 1460, 7-1, 85.875                                      
51. Pinckney ^, 1452, 5-3, 65.625                                               
52. Traverse City Central ^, 1448, 5-3, 60.571                        
53. Oak Park ^, 1438, 5-3, 64.875                                                
54. Detroit Martin Luther King *, 1432, 7-0, 103.571          
55. Royal Oak, 1414, 4-4, 47.625                                 
56. Southgate Anderson, 1409, 4-4, 48.500                           
57. Ypsilanti Community, 1399, 4-4, 45.000                            
58. Port Huron ^, 1398, 5-3, 63.107                                           
59. Wyandotte Roosevelt, 1373, 8-0, 110.000                       
60. Portage Central, 1372, 8-0, 108.000                                   
61. Lansing Everett ^, 1369, 5-3, 58.625                                   
62. Portage Northern, 1364, 6-2, 74.625                 
63. Garden City, 1362, 4-4, 47.125                                             
64. Southfield, 1356, 7-1, 95.875                                                
65. North Farmington *, 1352, 5-3, 56.286                             
66. Caledonia ^, 1350, 5-3, 60.000                                              
67. Battle Creek Lakeview, 1348, 8-0, 90.000                        
68. Birmingham Seaholm, 1337, 8-0, 103.000                        
69. Birmingham Brother Rice, 1326, 8-0, 111.200                 
70. Grosse Pointe North ^, 1323, 5-3, 65.375                        
71. Muskegon Mona Shores, 1314, 6-2, 79.500                    
72. Midland Dow, 1304, 7-1, 85.036                                          
73. Farmington Hills Harrison, 1300, 7-1, 93.750                   
74. South Lyon, 1277, 6-2, 82.250                                               
75. Swartz Creek, 1277, 4-4, 52.768                                           
76. Birmingham Groves, 1274, 7-1, 85.875                             
77. Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills ^, 1231, 5-3, 52.500                              
78. Fenton, 1188, 8-0, 101.000                                                    
79. Grand Rapids Northview, 1182, 4-4, 49.750                    
80. Mattawan, 1176, 4-4, 45.625                                                
81. Warren Woods Tower, 1170, 6-2, 62.750                         
82. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, 1151, 7-1, 92.500                  
83. Lowell, 1146, 8-0, 118.000                                                      
84. Taylor Truman, 1131, 6-2, 74.500                                        
85. East Lansing, 1124, 4-4, 52.750                                             
86. Holly, 1124, 4-4, 49.375                                                           
87. Muskegon, 1118, 7-1, 97.875                                                
88. Lapeer East, 1113, 4-4, 50.625                                              
89. Marquette *, 1110, 5-2, 73.286                                           
90. Detroit East English ^, 1109, 5-3, 59.750                           
91. Detroit Cody ^, 1106, 5-3, 57.250                                        
92. Allen Park, 1103, 6-2, 76.625                                 
93. Detroit Renaissance ^, 1097, 5-3, 53.268                         
94. Detroit Mumford, 1090, 6-2, 72.732                  
95. Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern, 1079, 6-2, 71.250               
96. St. Johns, 1079, 4-4, 47.625                                   
97. Zeeland East ^, 1071, 5-3, 67.125                                        
98. Lapeer West, 1063, 7-1, 91.375                                            
99. Redford Thurston ^, 1063, 5-3, 65.375                              
100. Auburn Hills Avondale, 1055, 4-4, 42.375                      
101. Byron Center, 1039, 6-2, 68.750                                        
102. Mt. Pleasant, 1033, 7-1, 92.875                                         
103. Riverview, 993, 6-2, 66.625                                 
104. St. Joseph, 986, 7-1, 88.875                                 
105. Orchard Lake St. Mary's, 980, 4-4, 54.625                      
106. Petoskey ^, 965, 5-3, 62.000           &a