Girls Golf, Boys Track & Field, Girls Wrestling Set MHSAA Participation Records in 2025-26
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 16, 2026
EAST LANSING, Mich. – July 16 – Girls golf, boys track & field and girls wrestling enjoyed record participation during the 2025-26 school year as 277,533 athletes total competed in Michigan High School Athletic Association-sponsored tournament sports representing 755 member high schools.
Girls golf set a participation record for the second-straight school year, this time with 4,355 athletes – an increase of 9.7 percent from the record total of the year prior. Boys track & field also set a participation record for the second straight year, this time with 25,053 athletes, up 1.2 percent from 2024-25. Girls wrestling continued its rapid growth, counting a record 1,783 participants this past winter – a jump of 18.5 percent from the year before – to give wrestling, boys and girls combined, a record total of 12,647 athletes despite a small decrease in the number of boys competing on the mat.
This past year’s overall participation total was 1,849 students more than in 2024-25, helped in part by the additions of field hockey and boys volleyball to the MHSAA postseason lineup but also despite a decrease in enrollment at member high schools of 441 students (approximately one tenth of a percent). Boys participation was up one percent to 162,984 athletes, while girls participation was down just two tenths of a percent to 114,157. MHSAA participation totals count students once for each sport in which they participate, meaning students who are multiple-sport athletes are counted more than once.
The addition of field hockey brought 1,169 participants to the girls total, which was also a 15-percent increase for that sport compared to the previous school year. Boys volleyball also saw participation increase during its first year of MHSAA sponsorship, up 49 percent to 2,261 athletes.
A few more sports also saw participation increases in 2025-26. Gymnastics was up 6.2 percent to 528 athletes, boys golf was up 5.4 percent to 7,819, boys soccer increased 2.3 percent to 14,435 participants, and competitive cheer increased 2.1 percent to 6,454. The boys golf total was its highest since 2005-06.
Among sports that saw participation decreases during 2025-26, boys basketball, boys bowling, boys lacrosse, girls soccer, girls swimming & diving and boys tennis all fell by less than one percent from the previous school year’s totals.
Football again was the most popular sport in terms of participation, with 35,635 athletes – 1.6 percent fewer than the year before but still the sport’s second-highest total over the last eight seasons. Volleyball continues to set the pace as the most popular girls sport, with its 19,297 athletes last fall a decrease of 1.9 percent from the previous year but still its second-highest total over the last eight seasons as well.
The participation figures are gathered annually from MHSAA member schools to submit to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) for compiling of its national participation survey. Results of Michigan surveys from the 2000-01 school year to present may be viewed on the Administrators page.
The following chart shows participation figures for the 2025-26 school year from MHSAA member high schools for sports in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament:
|
|
BOYS |
|
GIRLS |
|
|
Sport |
Schools (A) |
Participants |
Schools (A) |
Participants (B) |
|
Baseball |
643/8 |
15,685 |
- |
-/12 |
|
Basketball |
732/7 |
20,408 |
662 |
12,783/17 |
|
Bowling |
411/19 |
4,304 |
375 |
2,638/25 |
|
Competitive Cheer |
- |
- |
338 |
6,454 |
|
Cross Country |
650 |
7,934 |
626 |
6,676 |
|
Field Hockey |
- |
- |
43 |
1,169 |
|
Football - 11 player |
517/54 |
32,898 |
- |
-/63 |
|
8-player |
129/15 |
2,658 |
- |
-/16 |
|
Golf |
545/45 |
7,735 |
420 |
4,355/84 |
|
Gymnastics |
- |
- |
89 |
528 |
|
Ice Hockey |
282/26 |
3,024 |
- |
-/39 |
|
Lacrosse |
172/5 |
4,979 |
133 |
3,038/9 |
|
Skiing |
103/2 |
730 |
97 |
630/4 |
|
Soccer |
481/13 |
14,398 |
458 |
11,822/37 |
|
Softball |
- |
- |
613 |
11,040 |
|
Swimming & Diving |
253/19 |
3,972 |
274 |
4,631/58 |
|
Tennis |
285/9 |
6,086 |
324 |
9,557/23 |
|
Track & Field |
681/2 |
25,050 |
677 |
17,756/3 |
|
Volleyball |
136/2 |
2,259 |
710 |
19,297/2 |
|
Wrestling |
517 |
10,864 |
390 |
1,783 |
(A) The first number is the number of schools reporting sponsorship on the Sports Participation Survey, including primary and secondary schools in cooperative programs as of May 15, 2026. The second number indicates the number of schools that had girls playing on teams consisting primarily of boys.
(B) The second number indicates the number of additional girls playing on teams consisting primarily of boys and entered in boys competition.
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.
Nearly 100,000 Student-Athletes Set to Start MHSAA Fall Practices
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 9, 2024
Nearly 100,000 Michigan high school student-athletes are anticipated to begin Fall 2024 practices on Monday, Aug. 12, across nine sports for which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors postseason tournaments.
The fall season includes the most played sports for both boys and girls; 35,174 football players and 19,119 girls volleyball players competed during the Fall 2023 season. Teams in those sports will be joined by competitors in girls and boys cross country, Lower Peninsula girls golf, boys soccer, Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving, Upper Peninsula girls tennis and Lower Peninsula boys tennis in beginning practice next week.
Competition begins Aug. 16 for cross country, golf, soccer and tennis, Aug. 21 for swimming & diving and volleyball, and Aug. 29 for varsity football. Football teams at all levels must have 12 days of preseason practice – over a period of 16 calendar days – before their first game.
In girls volleyball this season, for the first time, the top two teams in each District bracket will be seeded based on Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) that take into account a team’s regular-season success and strength of schedule. Those two seeded teams will be determined the Sunday prior to the final week of the regular season and placed on opposite sides of their District brackets.
Boys soccer also will see a slight change to its seeding this fall, as the entire bracket will be seeded based on MPR, not just the top two teams as in previous seasons.
The 11-Player Football Finals schedule at Ford Field also will have a slightly different lineup and earlier start times. On both Friday, Nov. 29, and Saturday, Nov. 30, the first games of the day will begin at 9:30 a.m., with the final games of both days slated to start at 7 p.m. On Nov. 29, Division 8 at 9:30 a.m. will be followed by Division 4 at 12:30 p.m., Division 6 at 4 p.m. and Division 2 at 7 p.m. to conclude the day. On Nov. 30, Division 7 kicks off at 9:30 a.m., followed by Division 3 at 12:30 p.m., Division 5 at 4 p.m. and Division 1 at 7 p.m. to finish the weekend.
A few more game-action rules changes will be quickly noticeable to participants and spectators.
- In football, uniforms now must have clear contrast between the colors of the jersey and body of the numbers (excluding the border); for example, white numbers with blue outline on a white jersey are no longer allowed. The visiting teams must wear white uniforms, and home teams must wear dark jerseys that clearly contrast with white.
- In soccer, the eight-goal differential rule remains but with the addition of a running clock during the first half if the differential reaches eight.
- In volleyball, line judges beginning this fall will switch sides of the court between sets.
The 2024 Fall campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals during the week of Sept. 30 and wrapping up with the 11-Player Football Finals on Nov. 29 and 30. Here is a complete list of fall tournament dates:
Cross Country
U.P. Finals – Oct. 19
L.P. Regionals – Oct. 25 or 26
L.P. Finals – Nov. 2
11-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 27
Pre-Districts – Nov. 1 or 2
District Finals – Nov. 8 or 9
Regional Finals – Nov. 15 or 16
Semifinals – Nov. 23
Finals – Nov. 29-30
8-Player Football
Selection Sunday – Oct. 27
Regional Semifinals – Nov. 1 or 2
Regional Finals – Nov. 8 or 9
Semifinals – Nov. 16
Finals – Nov. 23
L.P. Girls Golf
Regionals – Oct. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12
Finals – Oct. 18-19
Boys Soccer
Districts – Oct. 9-19
Regionals – Oct. 22-26
Semifinals – Oct. 30
Finals – Nov. 2
L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving
Diving Regionals – Nov. 14
Swimming/Diving Finals – Nov. 22-23
Tennis
U.P. Girls Finals – Oct. 2, 3, 4 or 5
L.P. Boys Regionals – Oct. 9, 10, 11 or 12
L.P. Boys Finals – Oct. 17-19 or 21-22
Girls Volleyball
Districts – Nov. 4-9
Regionals – Nov. 12 & 14
Quarterfinals – Nov. 19
Semifinals – Nov. 21-22
Finals – Nov. 23
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.