2014-15 Classifications Announced
March 24, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Classifications for Michigan High School Athletic Association elections and postseason tournaments in traditionally classified sports (A, B, C, D) for the 2014-15 school year have been announced, with enrollment breaks for postseason tournaments set up by divisions posted on the MHSAA Website.
Classifications for the upcoming school year are based on a second semester count date, which for MHSAA purposes was Feb. 12. 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 2014-15, there are 749 tournament-qualified member schools with 187 schools in Class A, B and C and 188 schools in Class D.
Effective with the 2014-15 school year, schools with 882 or more students are in Class A in MHSAA postseason tournament competition. The enrollment limits for Class B are 424-881; Class C is 215-423; and schools with enrollments of 214 and fewer are Class D. The break between Classes A and B decreased 11 students from 2013-14, the break between Classes B and C decreased five students, and the break between Classes C and D is nine students fewer than the current school year.
The new classification breaks will see 21 schools move up in class for 2014-15, while 26 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 2014-15 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 to review the divisional alignments.
The divisions and qualifiers for the MHSAA Football Playoffs will be announced on Selection Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014.
A complete list of school enrollments used to determine classifications for the 2014-15 school year can be found on the Enrollment & Classification page of the MHSAA Website.
Here is a complete list of schools changing classification for 2014-15. (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
Fruitport
Hazel Park
Romulus
Stevensville Lakeshore
Moving Down From Class A to Class B
Detroit Denby Tech & Prep
Detroit Osborn
Haslett
South Lyon East
Warren Regina
Moving Up From Class C to Class B
Detroit Benjamin Carson HS for Science & Medicine
Detroit Consortium College Prep
Detroit Henry Ford Academy School for Creative Studies
Hamtramck Frontier International Academy
Harper Woods
Hemlock
Kalkaska
Lakeview
Southfield Bradford
Wyoming Lee
Moving Down From Class B to Class C
Capac
Detroit Plymouth Educational Center
Ferndale University
Grand Rapids Wellspring Prep
Jackson Lumen Christi
Mason County Central
Millington
Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central
Napoleon
Roscommon
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep
Moving Up From Class D to Class C
Detroit University YES Academy
Eau Claire
Lutheran Westland
Marcellus
Rogers City
Taylor Preparatory
Traverse City Grand Traverse Academy
Moving Down From Class C to Class D
Detroit Universal Academy
Detroit Winans Academy of Performing Arts
Flint International Academy
Kimball Landmark Academy
Mendon
Mio-Au Sable
Newberry
Pittsford
St. Ignace LaSalle
Three Oaks River Valley
New Postseason Eligible Tournament Schools in 2014-15
Inkster Peterson Warren Academy
Lapeer
*Detroit Public Safety Academy will become tournament eligible in 2015-16.
Enrollment Breaks by Classes – 2014-15
(Number of schools in parentheses)
Class A: 882 and above (187 schools)
Class B: 424 – 881 (187)
Class C: 215 – 423 (187)
Class D: 214 and below (188)
Pay-to-Play's Extent Unchanged in 15-16
July 21, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The percentage of Michigan High School Athletic Association high schools that assessed participation fees to help fund interscholastic athletics held steady at 51.5 percent in 2015-16 for the second straight school year after reaching a high of nearly 57 percent two years ago.
A total of 557 high schools – or 74 percent of the MHSAA membership – responded to the 2015-16 survey for a five percent increase from the year before and the highest feedback rate since 2010-11, when 74 percent of member high schools also responded. A total of 287 high schools, or 51.5 percent that took the survey, charged fees this school year, compared to the same percentage of 522 respondents in 2014-15.
There were 755 senior high schools in the MHSAA membership in 2015-16. This was the 12th survey of schools since the 2003-04 school year, when members reported fees were being charged by 24 percent of schools. The percentage of member schools charging fees crossed 50 percent in 2010-11 and reached 56.6 percent in 2013-14 before decreasing the following school year.
Class B schools continued to see a decline in fees in 2015-16, with 48 percent of respondents from that class assessing fees compared to 52 percent in 2014-15 and 62 percent of Class B schools in 2013-14. Class C and D saw minimal increases in the percentages of schools assessing fees this year, and for the second straight school year 70 percent of Class A respondents assessed fees.
Charging a standardized fee for each team on which a student-athlete participates – regardless of the number of teams – remains the most popular method among schools assessing fees, with that rate rising five percent to 44 percent total of schools that assessed fees in 2015-16. Schools charging a one-time standardized fee per student-athlete remained nearly constant, falling only from 28 to 27 percent over the last year. The survey showed a slight decrease in schools assessing fees based on tiers of the number of sports a student-athlete plays (for example, charging a larger fee for the first team and less for additional sports) and also a slight decrease in fees being assessed based on the specific sport being played.
The amounts of most fees also remained consistent from 2014-15 to 2015-16: the median annual maximum fee per student at $150, the median annual maximum family fee at $300 and the median per-team fee at $75. The median fee assessed by schools that charge student-athletes once per year did increase $20 to $120.
The survey for 2015-16 and surveys from previous years can be found on the MHSAA Website.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,400 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.