2026-27 MHSAA Officials Registration Underway
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 15, 2026
The Michigan High School Athletic Association is accepting registrations online for game officials for the 2026-27 school year.
The MHSAA registered 9,330 officials for the 2025-26 school year, an increase of 4.9 percent from the previous year’s total.
All officials who register may sign up for up to two sports as part of their registration. Officials also will receive membership in the National Association of Sports Officials (NASO), which comes with a variety of educational and training resources and the NASO’s Shield liability insurance that will provide $6 million in coverage for officials while they are working both MHSAA and non-MHSAA events.
For new and returning officials, a $70 fee covers registration for up to two sports. Officials may register for additional sports at $16 per sport.
To avoid a $30 late fee, all fall sport registration applications must be received by Aug. 17, 2026. Winter sports registrations must be received by Nov. 16 to avoid the late fee, and spring sports registrations must be received by March 24, 2027.
Online registration can be accessed on the Officials page. More information about officials registration may be obtained by contacting the MHSAA by phone at (517) 332-5046 or by e-mail at [email protected].
New officials and those who didn’t officiate during 2025-26 must complete an officials' registration test, derived from the MHSAA Officials Guidebook, and the online MHSAA Principles of Officiating course. Additional exams must be taken by those registering for football or basketball for the first time or those who were not registered for those sports during the previous school year. Links to the Officials Guidebook, Principles of Officiating presentation and the football and basketball mechanics manuals can be found by following the “New Officials” link on the Officials page of the MHSAA Website and completing the registration process.
There also are opportunities to officiate for students at least 14 years old and in grades 9-12 through the MHSAA Legacy Program. Juniors and seniors may officiate subvarsity contests, while freshmen and sophomores may officiate contests at the middle school/junior high levels. Mentor officials will work events with Legacy participants to provide guidance and support. Find information on the Legacy Program by clicking “Officials Registration” on the Officials page of the MHSAA Website and reading under “Student Legacy Program Requirements.”
While on MHSAA.com to register for the upcoming school year, officials also can register for Officiate Michigan Day 2026, set for July 25 in Grand Rapids.
Doors open at 7:30 a.m., with the first session at 9 a.m. at DeVos Place. The day-long event will feature dynamic speakers and presenters providing knowledge in several sports and all levels including collegiate and professional.
Cost is $45 if officials register by the end of June, and $50 beginning July 1. More information is on the way; keep posted at MHSAA.com/OMD.
Six Members Elected to MHSAA Representative Council
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 23, 2025
Elections were completed recently to fill positions on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s legislative body, its Representative Council, with six members receiving re-election from their respective constituencies and two new members also selected to join the Council beginning with its Fall meeting this December.
Five of the six re-elected members ran unopposed. Jay Alexander, executive director of athletics for Detroit Public Schools, was re-elected to continue representing DPS. Camden-Frontier superintendent Chris Adams was re-elected to continue representing Class C and D schools in the southeastern section of the Lower Peninsula, and Gobles athletic director/director of operations Chris Miller was re-elected to continue representing Class C and D schools in the southwestern section. Kingsford athletic director Chris Hartman was re-elected to continue representing Class A and B schools in the Upper Peninsula, and Boyne City principal Adam Stefanski was re-elected to continue serving junior high/middle schools.
Winning re-election by a majority vote was Mt. Morris athletic director Jeff Kline, who will continue serving as a statewide representative. All six were elected to serve two-year terms.
Additionally, Richland Gull Lake athletic director Karyn Furlong has been selected to serve the second year of the two-year term representing Class A and B schools in the southwestern section of the Lower Peninsula, taking the place of recently-retired Portage Northern athletic director Chris Riker. Ellsworth Public Schools superintendent Aaron Gaffney was selected to serve the second year of the term representing Class C and D schools in the northern section of the Lower Peninsula, previously represented by past Harbor Springs athletic director Anna Novak, who left that district for another position in education.
The Representative Council is the 19-member 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 Council meets three times annually. Five members of the Council convene monthly during the school year to form the MHSAA’s Executive Committee, which reviews appeals of Handbook regulations by member schools.
Additional elections took place to select representatives to the Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee. Menominee assistant principal/athletic director Sam Larson was re-elected to continue representing Class C schools, and Paradise-Whitefish Township Schools superintendent Vincent Gross was re-elected to continue representing Class D schools. Both of those elections were uncontested. Houghton athletic director Rob Fay was elected by majority vote to represent Class A-B schools.
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.