2016-17 Parade of Champions
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 23, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Birch Run, Detroit Edison Public School Academy, Plymouth Christian Academy and Zeeland East celebrated their first Michigan High School Athletic Association team championships this school year, as 97 schools total won one or more of the 129 Finals titles awarded during 2016-17.
Teams earning the first MHSAA championship in any sport for their schools were Birch Run in girls bowling, Detroit Edison PSA in girls basketball, Plymouth Christian in girls volleyball and Zeeland East in boys track & field.
A total of 31 teams won first MHSAA titles in their respective sports. A total of 54 champions were repeat winners from 2015-16 – and 28 of those won for at least the third straight season, while 14 extended title streaks to at least four consecutive years.
The Birmingham Brother Rice boys lacrosse team has the longest title streak of 13 seasons, while the Petoskey boys skiing team and Marquette girls track & field team share the second-longest streak at seven straight championships.
Marquette claimed the most MHSAA team titles, five, winning in Division 1 boys skiing and Division 1 girls skiing, Upper Peninsula boys swimming & diving, and Upper Peninsula Division 1 boys track & field and girls track & field. All five were repeat championship wins. No other school won four or more titles, but six more schools won three: Birmingham Brother Rice, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood, East Grand Rapids, Midland Dow, Negaunee and Rockford.
Also claiming multiple championships were Detroit Catholic Central, Detroit Country Day, East Kentwood, Escanaba, Grand Rapids Catholic Central, Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, Ishpeming, Ishpeming Westwood, Jackson Lumen Christi, Lowell, Munising, Pewamo-Westphalia, Powers North Central, Rochester, St. Ignace and Vandercook Lake.
Sixteen of the MHSAA's 28 championship tournaments are unified, involving teams from the Upper and Lower Peninsulas, while separate competition to determine titlists in both Peninsulas is conducted in remaining sports.
For a sport-by-sport listing of MHSAA champions for 2016-17: Click Here.
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.
PHOTO: The Saline baseball team celebrates its first MHSAA championship Saturday at Michigan State University.
Representative Council Approves Field Hockey Framework, Adds to Ice Hockey Schedule
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 21, 2025
The Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association approved a series of proposals during its Winter Meeting on March 21 in East Lansing that lay the groundwork for the inaugural MHSAA-sponsored girls field hockey season that will be played this fall.
The Council approved four proposals put forth by the Field Hockey Committee, including one that set the first practice date for this upcoming season as Aug. 11, 2025, with the first contest date Aug. 15 and the first MHSAA Final to be played Oct. 25. Another approved proposal implements MHSAA Handbook regulations setting contest limits for teams at 18 dates and four scrimmages, introducing the fifth-quarter rule and creating guidelines for multi-team tournaments and cooperative programs.
The Council also approved a proposal for a single-division MHSAA Girls Field Hockey Tournament with four Regionals. The Michigan Power Ratings formula will be used to identify the top four teams statewide during the regular season, and those teams will receive top seeds and be placed one apiece in each Regional, with the rest of the Regional assignments then based on geography.
The final Field Hockey Committee proposal approved by the Council adopted overtime procedures for MHSAA Tournament play – 6-on-6 with goalies and 1-on-1 with an attacking player and a goalie – that will be optional for regular-season bracketed tournament play.
Two more Council actions will affect scheduling for the 2025-26 winter season.
In ice hockey, the Council voted to increase the number of regular-season games allowed to 27 with one scrimmage, approving an Ice Hockey Committee proposal that requested the addition of two contests.
To alleviate a Finals facility issue for competitive cheer, the Council approved a Competitive Cheer Committee proposal that adjusts the season calendar for the 2025-26 season only and places the MHSAA championship meets one week later. The first competitive cheer practice date will be Nov. 10, 2025, the first contest date Nov. 24, with Districts now scheduled for Feb. 20-21, 2026; Regionals for Feb. 28 and Finals for March 6-7 at McGuirk Arena at Central Michigan University. CMU has hosted the MHSAA Competitive Cheer Finals the last three seasons, but is scheduled to host the 2026 Mid-American Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships during the MHSAA’s previously scheduled Competitive Cheer Finals dates.
Dates for the 2026-27 and future competitive cheer seasons will return to their previously-approved schedule, with Finals to be held during the last Saturday (and previous day Friday) in February.
The Council also voted to make permanent the “AD Connection Program” that has been piloted the last two school years and matches first-year high school athletic directors with recently-retired mentors, who provide assistance to those new administrators as they transition into athletic administrator roles. The program connected 248 first-year athletic directors with mentors during its pilot period.
The Representative Council is the legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five members are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee.
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.