Council Reinstates 2020 Football Season
September 3, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Fall 2020 football season has been reinstated today by the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association after Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 176 lifted restrictions that previously did not allow the sport to be played.
Whitmer’s executive order also allows for an immediate start of competition boys soccer; Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving and girls volleyball on Wednesday (Sept. 9) for schools located in Regions 1-5 and 7 based on the MI Safe Start Plan. It also sets spectator limits of two per participant for outdoor and indoor events in Phase 4 of the MI Safe Start Plan.
Statewide football, and competition in those regions for volleyball, soccer and swimming & diving, had been restricted as part of EO 160, which ordered gyms and pools to remain closed and required social distancing in competition to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in areas under Phase 4 of the Safe Start plan. Schools in Regions 6 and 8 have been able to play volleyball, soccer and swim because those regions have been under fewer restrictions while in Phase 5 of the reopening process.
The MHSAA’s Council had authorized on Aug. 20 the start of competition in volleyball, soccer and swim statewide, pending the authorization of that activity in the specific regions by Whitmer’s office. The Council also on Aug 14. postponed the Fall 2020 football season to Spring 2021, but voted today to allow for a shortened season this fall.
Schools are not required to play any of those sports this fall, and may postpone until the spring. However, the MHSAA will conduct its postseason events in those four sports only for the Fall 2020 season.
“We are thankful for the opportunity for kids to get back on the field in all fall sports, and we appreciate Governor Whitmer providing that opportunity with Executive Order 176 ,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “We share the Governor’s priorities of putting health and safety first, and the COVID-19 guidance and protocols designed by the MHSAA at her request have led to the safe starts in all sports across the state.
“Thirty three other states are currently participating in all fall sports, and the MHSAA and its member schools are committed to doing this as safely as possible. We are ready to again provide those experiences to students and communities that have hoped for a return of some normalcy. Given the challenges of online education in many school districts across the state, providing sports and a daily routine may be more important than ever in motivating students and providing a safe outlet for physical activity, competition and socialization.”
Football teams previously had been allowed to practice in helmets only during the traditional first week of practice, which began Aug. 10, and then during Council-approved offseason “contact” days beginning Aug. 24. With the reinstatement of this fall’s season, football teams must cease all activity until Tuesday, Sept. 8, then practice two days in helmets and shoulder pads before adding full pads Sept. 10.
They may begin regular-season games Sept. 18, and will play six games beginning with their originally-scheduled Week 4 contests. All football teams in 11 and 8-player football will qualify for the playoffs during this fall’s shortened season, and then advance through their usual postseason progression with 8-Player Finals the weekend of Nov. 27-28 and 11-Player Finals the weekend of Dec. 4-5.
All other Fall 2020 tournaments will be conducted as previously scheduled.
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.
MHSAA 2025-26 School Year Classifications Announced
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 7, 2025
Classifications for Michigan High School Athletic Association elections and postseason tournaments for the 2025-26 school year have been announced, with enrollment breaks for postseason tournaments posted to each sport’s page 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 Sept. 1 of the current school year and will not include alternative education students if none are allowed athletic eligibility by the local school district.
All sports’ tournaments are conducted with schools assigned to equal or nearly equal divisions, with lines dependent on how many schools participate in those respective sports.
For 2025-26, there are 754 tournament-qualified member schools. Schools recently were notified of their classification, and sport-by-sport divisions were posted to the MHSAA Website today. MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said a school may not subsequently lower its enrollment figure. However, if a revised enrollment figure is higher and indicates that a school should be playing in a higher division, that school would be moved up.
Three MHSAA Finals champions crowned during the first two seasons of this 2024-25 school year are set to move to new divisions for 2025-26. The Orchard Lake St. Mary’s (11-player Division 2) and Deckerville (8-player Division 1) football teams won titles in November but will move into 11-player Division 3 and 8-player Division 2, respectively, this upcoming season. Holland Christian’s boys tennis team – champion in Lower Peninsula Division 4 this past fall – will move into Lower Peninsula Division 3.
Schools also may request to play in a higher classification or division in a sport for a minimum of two years. Requests to opt up in fall sports for 2025-26 must be submitted by May 1, winter sports by Aug. 14 and spring sports by Oct. 15
Visit the respective sport pages on the MHSAA Website to review the divisional alignments for all MHSAA-sponsored tournament sports. Click the “SPORTS” menu at the top of this page to access the page for each sport, then the “Assignments” link on the selected sport page and then “DIVISION LIST” to see the 2025-26 division. Boys volleyball, which will begin play with MHSAA sponsorship in 2025-26, will be classified in September, providing more time to identify the number of schools that will have varsity teams in that sport for its inaugural season.
Traditional classes (A, B, C, D) – formerly used to establish tournament classifications – are used only for MHSAA elections. To determine traditional classifications, after all counts are submitted, tournament-qualified member schools are ranked according to enrollment and then split as closely into quarters as possible. For 2025-26, there are 188 member schools each in Class A and Class B, and 189 member schools each in Class C and Class D.
Effective with the 2025-26 school year, schools with 788 or more students are in Class A. The enrollment limits for Class B are 370-787, Class C is 171-369, and schools with enrollments of 170 and fewer are Class D. The break between Classes A and B decreased five students from 2024-25, the break between Classes B and C decreased eight students, and the break between Classes C and D is two students higher than for the 2024-25 school year.
The new classification breaks will see 22 schools move up in Class for 2025-26 while 22 schools will move down:
Moving Up from Class B to Class A
Adrian
Bloomfield Hills Marian
Fruitport
Hastings
Marysville
Niles
Owosso
Moving Down from Class A to Class B
Battle Creek Harper Creek
Detroit East English
Linden
Sault Ste. Marie
Sparta
St. Johns
Wayland
Moving Up from Class C to Class B
Clawson
Detroit Central
Hartford
Kent City
Napoleon
Taylor Prep
Warren Michigan Collegiate
Moving Down from Class B to Class C
Clinton Township Clintondale
Constantine
Erie Mason
Fennville
Ishpeming Westwood
Ovid-Elsie
Quincy
Moving Up from Class D to Class C
Benton Harbor Countryside Academy
Detroit Crockett Midtown Science & Medicine
Kalamazoo Phoenix
Fulton
New Buffalo
New Haven Merritt Academy
Traverse City Greenspire
Ubly
Moving Down from Class C to Class D
Ann Arbor Central Academy
Eau Claire
Fowler
Ishpeming
Marine City Cardinal Mooney
Southfield Manoogian
Three Oaks River Valley
Whittemore-Prescott
New Postseason-Eligible Tournament Schools in 2025-26
Ann Arbor Michigan Islamic Academy
Athens Factoryville Christian
Flint Cultural Center
Enrollment Breaks by Classes – 2025-26
(Number of schools in parentheses)
Class A: 788 and above (188 schools)
Class B: 370 – 787 (188)
Class C: 171 – 369 (189)
Class D: 170 and below (189)
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.