2013-14 Fall Practice Begins Next Week
August 7, 2013
Approximately 110,000 student-athletes begin practice next week in eight sports in which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors postseason tournaments, signaling the beginning of the 2013-14 Fall sports season.
Practice sessions begin Monday (Aug. 12) in football, followed by all other sports Wednesday (Aug. 14). Practice in football must begin on Aug. 12 for all schools wishing to begin regular-season games the weekend of Aug. 29-31. Schools must have 12 days of preseason practice at all levels before their first game, which may not occur before 16 calendar days. All football schools also must conduct at least three days of practice before beginning contact, and those sessions may not include any pads.
In golf and tennis, competition may commence no earlier than after three separate days of team practice, and not before seven calendar days. The first day competition may take place in golf and tennis is Aug. 21. In all other fall sports, contests can take place after seven days of practice for the team and not before nine calendar days. The first day competition may take place in cross country, tennis, soccer, swimming and diving, and volleyball in the fall is Aug. 23.
This year, only one football date precedes Labor Day, and most varsity games will take place on Thursday, Aug. 29, that week. Subvarsity competition may begin on Wednesday, Aug. 28. In Week 1, 253 games will be played on Thursday, 74 contests will be played on Friday, and 12 games will be played on Saturday.
There are several significant rules changes on football for 2013:
- Pass interference no longer is an automatic first down if against the defense, or results in a loss of down if against the offense. Both are a 15-yard mark-off from the previous spot, and the down is replayed except when the penalty against the defense results in a first down.
- If a player’s helmet comes off during a play, it is illegal participation and a 15-yard penalty if that player continues to participate in a play; and a personal foul and a 15-yard penalty if a player from the opposing team initiates contact with a player whose helmet has come off.
- On a catch, an airborne receiver whose forward progress is stopped and is carried out of bounds by a defender will be ruled a legal catch. If the airborne receiver is contacted and driven out of bounds, the result of the play is an incomplete pass.
- Following a penalty on the kicking team for kick catch interference on a fair catch play, the receiving team can opt to take a free kick after the 15-yard penalty has been enforced.
In soccer, Michigan has adopted the National Federation rule involving the disqualification from a game when a player receives a second yellow card and the subsequent red card. Now, in addition to the player being ejected from the contest, that team will have to continue the game a player down. A player receiving a yellow card must leave the game immediately, but now may reenter at the next available opportunity, and no longer have to sit out for 10 minutes. There are no substantial rules change in other fall sports.
The 2013 Fall campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals the week of Oct. 1, and wraps up with the Football Playoff Finals on Nov. 29-30. Here is a complete list of fall tournament dates:
Cross Country:
U.P. Finals -- Oct. 19
L.P. Regionals -- Oct. 25 or 26
L.P. Finals -- Nov. 2
11-Player Football:
Selection Sunday - Oct. 27
Pre-Districts – Nov. 1 or 2
District Finals -- Nov. 8 or 9
Regional Finals -- Nov. 15 or 16
Semifinals -- Nov. 23
Finals -- Nov. 29-30
8-Player Football:
Selection Sunday - Oct. 27
Regional Semifinals – Nov. 1 or 2
Regional Finals -- Nov. 8 or 9
Semifinals -- Nov. 16
Finals -- Nov. 22 or 23
L.P. Girls Golf:
Regionals -- Oct. 9 or 10 or 11 or 12
Finals -- Oct. 18-19
Soccer:
Boys L.P. Districts -- Oct. 14-19
Boys L.P. Regionals – Oct. 22-26
Boys L.P. Semifinals – Oct. 30
Boys L.P. Finals -- Nov. 2
L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving
Diving Quals -- Nov. 19
Swimming/Diving Finals-Nov. 22-23
Tennis:
U.P. Girls Finals –Oct. 2 or 3 or 4 or 5
L.P. Boys Regionals -- Oct. 10 or 11 or 12
L.P. Finals --Oct. 18-19
Girls Volleyball:
Districts – Nov. 4-9
Regionals – Nov. 12 & 14
Quarterfinals – Nov. 19
Semifinals – Nov. 21-22
Finals – Nov. 23
Football Playoff Regional Seeding Highlights Changes as MHSAA Fall Sports Begin
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 7, 2026
A new format for early-round playoff seeding in 11-player football is among the most notable changes as more than 100,000 high school athletes from Michigan High School Athletic Association member high schools prepare for the first day of practices Monday, Aug. 10.
All fall sports teams may begin practicing Monday. Girls golf and boys tennis teams in the Lower Peninsula and girls tennis teams in the Upper Peninsula may begin competition Aug. 14. Cross country, field hockey, boys soccer, girls volleyball and Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving teams may begin competing Aug. 19, and the first varsity football games may be played Aug. 27.
The 11-Player Football Playoffs will begin Oct. 30 and 31 with a new seeding system. Beginning this season, the playoff field in each of eight 11-player divisions will first be organized into eight-team Regionals. The eight teams in each Regional will then be seeded based on playoff-point average, with seeds 1, 4, 5 and 8 comprising one District and seeds 2, 3, 6 and 7 comprising the other. The winners of those Districts will play in the Regional Final.
A golf change also relates to postseason play, as golfers must now play in at least eight dates of a school team’s competition schedule to be eligible for the MHSAA Tournament. If a school’s varsity team plays fewer than 16 regular-season dates of competition, a student must instead participate in at least 50 percent of the varsity’s regular-season dates to be eligible for the postseason.
Field hockey will begin its second season of MHSAA sponsorship with the addition of a 10-minute reduced-player overtime for all regular-season varsity games. Unless part of a regular-season bracketed tournament, a game still tied at the end of the 10-minute overtime will be declared a tie.
A few game-action rules changes also will be quickly noticeable to participants and spectators.
- High school volleyball teams now are permitted to designate up to two liberos prior to each set, although only one libero can be in the game at a time.
- Also in volleyball, players on the serving team are forbidden to raise their hands above their heads during service until the ball has passed beyond the net.
- In football, a rule formerly applied to defensive players prohibiting them from using their hands to slap an opponent’s head has been expanded to penalize players on both sides of the ball for slapping an opponent’s head.
- In soccer, goalkeepers will be allowed eight seconds instead of the previously-permitted six before releasing the ball. A corner kick will be awarded if the goalkeeper holds the ball past eight seconds.
- Also in soccer, a change on penalty kicks states encroachment will be penalized only if the offense has a clear impact on the penalty kick.
The 2026 Fall campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals during the week of Sept. 28 and wrapping up with the 11-Player Football Finals on Nov. 27 and 28. Here is a complete list of fall tournament dates:
Cross Country
U.P. Finals – Oct. 24
L.P. Regionals – Oct. 30-31
L.P. Finals – Nov. 7
Field Hockey
Regionals – Oct. 14-26
Semifinals – Oct. 28
Final – Oct. 31
11-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 25
District Semifinals – Oct. 30-31
District Finals – Nov. 6-7
Regional Finals – Nov. 13-14
Semifinals – Nov. 21
Finals – Nov. 27-28
8-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 25
Regional Semifinals – Oct. 30-31
Regional Finals – Nov. 6-7
Semifinals – Nov. 14
Finals – Nov. 21
L.P. Girls Golf
Regionals – Oct. 5-10
Finals – Oct. 16-17
Boys Soccer
Districts – Oct. 14-24
Regionals – Oct. 27-31
Semifinals – Nov. 4
Finals – Nov. 7
L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving
Diving Regionals – Nov. 12
Swimming/Diving Finals – Nov. 20-21
Tennis
U.P. Girls Finals – Sept. 30-Oct. 3
L.P. Boys Regionals – Oct. 7-10
L.P. Boys Finals – Oct. 14-15 (Division 1), Oct. 16-17 (Division 3), Oct 21-22 (Division 4), and Oct. 23-24 (Division 2)
Girls Volleyball
Districts – Nov. 2-7
Regionals – Nov. 10 & 12
Quarterfinals – Nov. 17
Semifinals – Nov. 19-20
Finals – Nov. 21
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.