Football, Volleyball to have Spectators
January 6, 2021
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Limited numbers of spectators will be allowed for the final rounds of the Michigan High School Athletic Association Football and Girls Volleyball Tournaments, per approval received today from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).
Football teams will receive 125 tickets, to be divided among game participants for purchase by immediate family members via the GoFan digital ticketing platform. Volleyball teams will receive 50 tickets, also to be purchased by immediate family via GoFan.
Spectators in different households must be spaced out by six feet and maintain distancing at all other times including arrival and departure from the game facility. Spectators also must wear fact masks at all times.
Football restarts Saturday (Jan. 9) with 8-Player Semifinals and 11-Player Regional Finals, with championships for 8-player Jan. 16 and for 11-player Jan. 22-23 at sites to be announced. Volleyball restarts Tuesday (Jan. 12) with Quarterfinals and concludes with Semifinals and Finals that weekend, Jan. 14-16, at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.
The Lower Peninsula Girls Swimming & Diving Finals will conclude that sport’s season Jan. 15-16 at three sites. However, spectators will not be allowed at those events because those meets will include much higher numbers of participants, and adding spectators would push the total number of people in attendance past what is considered safe for indoor events.
All three Swimming & Diving Finals, as well as the Volleyball Semifinals and Finals will be streamed live on MHSAA.tv (http://www.mhsaa.tv/). FOX Sports Detroit will broadcast all Football Finals – that schedule for streaming and cable will be announced closer to those events.
MHSAA Spring Sports Lineup Welcomes Boys Volleyball, Revamped LP Girls Tennis Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 14, 2026
The inaugural season of boys volleyball as a Michigan High School Athletic Association-sponsored tournament sport has begun, headlining changes this spring as 12 sports are underway for an estimated 110,000 athletes competing for member high schools.
The MHSAA sponsors postseason competition each spring in baseball, girls and boys lacrosse, girls soccer, softball, girls and boys track & field, boys golf (Lower and Upper Peninsula) and girls golf (UP), and girls (LP) and boys (UP) tennis – and for the first time this year, boys volleyball, with 117 schools scheduled to participate in the first MHSAA Tournament in that sport.
Varsity teams have been classified into Divisions 1 and 2 and will compete across 16 Regionals – eight per division – with winners advancing to Quarterfinals on June 2 and then Semifinals and Finals to be played June 5 and 6, respectively, at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena, which also serves as home to the MHSAA Girls Volleyball Semifinals and Finals.
Another notable championship change will come in Lower Peninsula girls tennis, which like LP boys tennis this past fall, will begin a pilot program showcasing Finals for all four divisions at the same location – Midland Tennis Center – over a two-week period. Division 4 will begin play with its two-day event May 27-28, followed by Division 1 on May 29-30, Division 2 on June 3-4 and Division 3 played June 5-6.
Additionally, a few on-field rules changes may be especially noticeable this spring.
In girls lacrosse, a change this spring requires, when a goal circle foul is committed, the offending player to move four meters away (instead of behind) from the player taking the free position.
In boys lacrosse, a change was made so that no defensive player other than a properly-equipped goalkeeper can enter the team’s own crease with the perceived intent of blocking a shot or acting as a goalkeeper. A defensive player doing so receives a personal foul for illegal equipment.
Two more changes in boys lacrosse enhance safety. The definition for a holding penalty has been expanded to include hooking, lifting or pinning an opponent’s body with the crosse. Also, a player losing a helmet will receive a technical foul for illegal procedure to encourage players to properly wear helmets and chin straps to ensure they stay on during play.
Also, as with boys soccer this past fall, a pair of changes in girls soccer address sportsmanship. The first allows game officials to take action against a team’s head coach in addition to any cautions or ejections issues to players and personnel in that team’s bench area – making the head coach more accountable for behavior on the sideline.
The second change allows for only the team captain to speak with an official during the breaks between periods (halftime and during overtime), unless another coach, player, etc., is summoned by the official – with the penalty a yellow card to the offending individual.
The 2025-26 Spring campaign culminates with postseason tournaments, as the championship schedule begins with the Upper Peninsula Girls & Boys Golf and Boys Tennis Finals on May 27 and wraps up with Girls Soccer, Baseball and Softball Finals on June 13. Here is a complete list of spring tournament dates:
Baseball
Districts – May 26-30
Regional Semifinals – June 3
Regional Finals, Quarterfinals – June 6
Semifinals – June 11-12
Finals – June 13
Golf
LP Boys Regionals – May 26-30
UP Girls & Boys Finals – May 27
LP Boys Finals – June 5-6
Boys Lacrosse
Regionals – May 8-27
Quarterfinals – May 29-30
Semifinals – June 2-3
Finals – June 6
Girls Lacrosse
Regionals – May 14-30
Semifinals – June 2-3
Finals – June 5
Girls Soccer
Districts – May 20-22, 26-30
Regionals – June 2-6
Semifinals – June 9-10
Finals – June 12-13
Softball
Districts – May 26-30
Regionals – June 6
Quarterfinals – June 9
Semifinals – June 11-12
Finals – June 13
Tennis
LP Girls Regionals – May 13-16
UP Boys Finals – May 27
LP Girls Finals – May 27-30, June 3-6
Track & Field
Regionals – May 14-16
Finals – May 30
Boys Volleyball
Regionals – May 26-30
Quarterfinals – June 2
Semifinals – June 5
Finals – June 6