2013-14 School Year Classifications Announced

March 20, 2013

Classifications for Michigan High School Athletic Association elections and postseason tournaments in traditionally classified sports (A, B, C, D) for the 2013-14 school year have been announced, with enrollment breaks for postseason tournaments set up by divisions to be posted Monday on the MHSAA Website.

Classifications for the upcoming school year are based on a second semester count date, which for MHSAA purposes was February 13. The enrollment figure submitted for athletic classification purposes may be different from the count submitted for school aid purposes, as it does not include students ineligible for athletic competition because they reached their 19th birthday prior to September 1 of the current school year and will not include alternative education students if none are allowed athletic eligibility by the local school district.

After all the counts are submitted, tournament-qualified member schools are ranked according to enrollment, and then split as closely into quarters as possible. For 2013-14, there are 756 tournament-qualified member schools and 189 schools in each class.

Effective with the 2013-14 school year, schools with 893 or more students are in Class A in MHSAA postseason tournament competition. The enrollment limits for Class B are 429-892; Class C is 207-428; and schools with enrollments of 206 and fewer are Class D. The break between Classes A and B decreased 18 students from 2012-13, the break between Classes B and C decreased 20 students, and the break between Classes C and D is 10 students fewer than the current school year.

The new classification breaks will see 24 schools move up in class for 2013-14, while 20 schools will move down.

Schools were recently notified of their classification. MHSAA Executive Director John E. "Jack" Roberts said schools may not subsequently lower their enrollment figure. However, if revised enrollment figures should be higher and indicate that a school should be playing in a higher class, that school would be moved up.

Schools have the option to play at any higher classification for a minimum of two years, but must exercise the option by April 15 for fall sports, August 15 for winter sports, and October 15 for spring sports.

MHSAA tournament sports that will be conducted in traditional classifications for 2013-14 are Basketball and Girls Volleyball. Football will use traditional classifications to determine playoff points. 

Sports which will compete in nearly equal divisions are: Baseball, Bowling, Girls Competitive Cheer, Lower Peninsula Cross Country, Lower Peninsula Golf, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Lower Peninsula Soccer, Skiing, Softball, Lower Peninsula Swimming and Diving, Lower Peninsula Tennis, Lower Peninsula Track and Field and Wrestling.  

Visit the respective sport pages on the MHSAA Website on Monday to review the divisional alignments.

The divisions and qualifiers for the MHSAA Football Playoffs will be announced on Selection Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013. 

A complete list of school enrollments used to determine classifications for the 2013-14 school year can be found on the Enrollment & Classification page of the MHSAA Website.

Here is a complete list of schools changing classification for 2013-14. (Note: This list does not include schools opting up in class/division for tournaments, which can be found on the Administrators page of the MHSAA Website under Enrollment and Classification):


Moving Up From Class B to Class A

Haslett

Detroit Osborn

Warren Regina

South Lyon East

Middleville Thornapple Kellogg

Trenton

 

Moving Down From Class A to Class B

Coldwater

Fowlerville

Fruitport

Detroit Henry Ford

Inkster

Milan

Redford Union

Romulus

Detroit Southeastern

 

Moving Up From Class C to Class B

Dearborn Advanced Technology Academy

Ypsilanti Arbor Preparatory

Delton Kellogg

Harrison

Houghton

Detroit Plymouth Educational Center Prep

Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central

Detroit University Prep Science & Math

Grand Rapids Wellspring Preparatory

Detroit Westside Academy


Moving Down From Class B to Class C

Southfield Bradford

Farwell

Detroit Henry Ford Academy School for Creative Studies

Houghton Lake

Kalkaska

Lakeview

 

Moving Up From Class D to Class C

Beal City

Detroit Dr. Benjamin Carson HS for Science & Medicine

Kimball Landmark Academy

St. Ignace LaSalle

Mendon

Mio-Au Sable

Detroit Universal Academy

Pittsford


Moving Down From Class C to Class D

Albion

Detroit Collegiate Prep

Harper Woods HEART Academy

Marcellus

Stephenson

 

New Postseason Eligible Tournament Schools in 2013-14

Detroit Jalen Rose Leadership Academy

Detroit University Prep Science & Math

Grand Rapids West MI Aviation Academy

Kalamazoo Lakeside Academy

Marquette North Star Academy

Wetmore Munising Baptist


Enrollment Breaks by Classes – 2013-14

(Number of schools in parentheses)

Class A: 893 and above (189 schools)

Class B: 429 – 892 (189)

Class C: 207 – 428 (189)

Class D: 206 and below (189)

Record Girls Tournament Attendance Drives MHSAA Spectatorship Past 1.4 Million Again

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

December 18, 2024

A record number of spectators at girls postseason events pushed Michigan High School Athletic Association attendance during the 2023-24 school year past 1.4 million fans for the second straight, with the total of 471,651 spectators for girls competitions breaking the previous all-time best set in 2014-15.

Total, MHSAA tournament events drew 1,449,574 spectators at competitions for which admission is charged – just over a half-percent decrease from 2022-23 but still the second highest overall postseason attendance over the last seven years. Attendance at MHSAA boys tournament events during 2023-24 was 1,008,070, a three-percent decrease from the year before. The MHSAA annually tracks attendance for all sports except golf, skiing and tennis, as single tickets are not sold for those sports.

Record spectator turnout for the Softball and Track & Field Tournaments drove the girls overall increase. Softball set an overall tournament record with 49,636 fans, besting the previous record set just the year before by nearly 2,000, and also set an individual-round record with 4,935 fans at Quarterfinals. Track & Field – with girls and boys competing together – drew a record 42,899 spectators overall, and a Regional record of 25,661. Both track totals bested previous records set during the 2020-21 school year.

Several more sports saw attendance increases during 2023-24. Girls basketball overall postseason attendance was up significantly and for the third-straight year, this time to 158,126 fans for a nine-percent increase from 2022-23. The Individual Wrestling Tournament drew 48,237 fans, an eight-percent increase from the previous season, and set records at the District (13,308) and Regional (11,089) levels. Overall attendance for competitive cheer (29,297, up 12 percent), girls lacrosse (5,627, up six percent), boys lacrosse (17,107, up less than one percent) and boys swimming & diving (6,116, up 33 percent) all were up as well from 2022-23.

Competitive cheer’s increase was keyed in part by record attendance at the District level (14,528). Baseball Districts (36,553), Boys Lacrosse Quarterfinals (3,021) and Girls Diving Regionals (879) also set records.

Football remains the most-attended MHSAA Tournament sport and drew 363,563 spectators for its playoff series – a decrease of nearly five percent from the previous year but including the highest attendance during the Semifinal rounds (32,596) since 2012-13. Boys basketball attendance again ranked second at 280,800 fans, down four percent from the previous year but with increases for the Regional and Quarterfinal rounds. Girls basketball remained third for overall attendance and first among girls sports, followed again by volleyball – which drew 113,239 fans, only 313 fewer than the year before as postseason attendance in that sport has seen less than a percentage point change year to year over the last three seasons.

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.