Hoopfest returns Thursday to Jenison

March 21, 2012

March Magic Hoopfest will return to Jenison Field House for this weekend’s Michigan High School Athletic Association Boys Basketball Finals, marking the fourth year the event has run concurrent with the games being played at Michigan State’s Breslin Center.

A number of favorite attractions will return this weekend, including slam dunk (on lowered rims), 3-point shootout and rainbow shot areas where fans can come at any time and participate. Also returning is the Hall of History, showcasing championship games, life-size photos and display boards from throughout the MHSAA Finals’ near century-long run.

A large video screen will play a series of “Buzzer Beaters,” “Battle of the Fans” and other MHSAA-produced videos. Also, teams of boys and girls in grades 5-8 will play in the “JumpBall Jamboree” on two center courts.

Admission to the March Magic Hoopfest is $2 per person, and fans attending the MHSAA Boys Basketball Semifinals and Finals will be admitted free with their game tickets. Hours on March 22 and 23 will be 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.; the event is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 24. More than 12,000 fans attended the 2011 event.  Jenison Field House, site of the Hoopfest, also was the site of the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals for 31 years.

The March Magic Hoopfest is being conducted in a partnership between the Greater Lansing Sports Authority, a division of the Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau; and the MHSAA, with vital support coming from the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics at Michigan State University.  To find out more general information about the event, visit the March Magic Hoopfest Website at http://www.marchmagichoopfest.com.

“March Magic Hoopfest is a great partnership between the Greater Lansing Sports Authority, Michigan State and the MHSAA,” MHSAA Director of Brand Management Andy Frushour said. “The event gives fans at the Finals an opportunity to extend their championship weekend experience, and provides those who do not attend the Finals a small taste of the excitement.”

The Greater Lansing Sports Authority (GLSA) is a division of the Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau.  The GLSA’s mission is to be the leading voice of sports tourism in the Greater Lansing area and to promote economic growth by attracting a diverse range of sporting events to the region. The GLSA strives to enhance the quality of life for area residents through the development of local sports and fitness programs for all ages, and supports the continued development and maintenance of safe, high-quality athletic facilities.

"The March Magic Hoopfest sets off a great weekend of MHSAA tournament games and helps create a multi-day event which will involve the Lansing area and thousands of visitors coming to town," said Mike Price of the Greater Lansing Sports Authority. "If you're coming to the championships, Hoopfest is a destination to visit before and after the games; and if you're not coming to the games, Hoopfest is a fun, wholesome, inexpensive, family activity."

Advisory Council Names Class Of 2020

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

April 26, 2018

By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor

Eight student-athletes who will be juniors at their schools during the 2018-19 academic year have been selected to serve two-year terms on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Student Advisory Council.

The Student Advisory Council is a 16-member group which provides feedback on issues impacting educational athletics from a student’s perspective, and also is involved in the operation of Association championship events and other programming. Members of the Student Advisory Council serve for two years, beginning as juniors. Eight new members are selected annually to serve on the SAC, with nominations made by MHSAA member schools. The incoming juniors will join the group of eight seniors-to-be appointed a year ago.

Selected to begin serving on the Student Advisory Council in 2018-19 are: Grace Beardsley, Gladwin; Kaitlyn Bricker, Pellston; Nathan Eccles, Port Huron Northern; Jack Fairman, Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood; Alexis Mohney, Mattawan; Trevin Phillips, Caro; Isabella Santiago-Lindsay, North Muskegon; and Lance Wiltse, Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary.

The first Student Advisory Council was formed for the 2006-07 school year. With the addition of this class beginning this summer, members will have represented 102 schools from 43 leagues plus independent schools that do not play in a league. Combined, the new appointees have participated in 13 MHSAA sports, and six of the eight will be the first SAC members from their respective schools.

The Student Advisory Council meets seven times each school year, and once more for a 24-hour leadership camp. In addition to assisting in the promotion of the educational value of interscholastic athletics, the Council discusses issues dealing with the 4 S’s of educational athletics: scholarship, sportsmanship, safety (including health and nutrition) and the sensible scope of athletic programs. There also is a fifth S discussed by the group – student leadership.

This school year, the Council revamped its annual “Battle of the Fans” contest to allow more schools to contend for the title, and selected the 2017-18 champion. Council members also presented Sportsmanship Summits in front of more than 1,000 students from across the state, handed out championship trophies at Finals events and provided feedback to the MHSAA Representative Council on proposed rule changes.

The new additions to the SAC will join the Class of 2019 members who were selected a year ago: Taylor Adams, Allendale; Neil Bazaj, Ann Arbor Greenhills; Megan Corbe, St. Joseph; Shane Dolan, Clarkston Everest Collegiate; Chloe Idoni, Fenton; William Jontz, Brighton; Pierce Morrissey, Big Rapids; and Abigail Nelson, Negaunee.