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."
MI Student Aid to Present MHSAA Media
September 1, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Just as the Michigan High School Athletic Association hopes students will pursue the many benefits of taking part in educational athletics, MI Student Aid – a division of the Michigan Department of Treasury – encourages students to pursue postsecondary educational opportunities by providing financial assistance toward attaining that goal.
Sharing in the desire to make Michigan students aware of all possibilities available, MI Student Aid has signed on to work with the MHSAA to present the opportunities provided by both to a statewide audience via the MHSAA’s radio, video, social media and online initiatives.
MI Student Aid – a part of the Student Financial Services Bureau located within the Department of Treasury – encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information, including various student financial assistance programs to help make college more affordable for Michigan students. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 savings programs (MET/MESP) and eight additional aid programs within its Student Scholarships and Grants division.
Among MHSAA broadcast ventures that will be presented by MI Student Aid during the 2016-17 school year are the five-minute “This Week in High School Sports” program that airs on more than 80 radio stations statewide, and the weekly video highlights from Michigan programming produced for the NFHS Network, dispersed to statewide media and published online on the MHSAA Website.
“We value the life lessons learned on the athletic field, and MI Student Aid promotes continuing education for our student-athletes by providing financial assistance in pursuing those opportunities,” said John E. “Jack” Roberts, Executive Director of the MHSAA. “We are always seeking to make students and their families aware of all that can be gleaned from educational athletics, and we’re glad to provide an avenue for MI Student Aid to promote the options available to help in financing the continuation of their studies.”
In addition to radio and video contributions, MI Student Aid will have an on-site presence at MHSAA championship events throughout this school year and serve as the presenting sponsor of weekly football and boys and girls basketball statewide reports on Second Half.
MI Student Aid also will have an opportunity to connect with students and their families through a presence on the MHSAA’s social media platforms.
“We are extremely excited to be partnered with Michigan High School Athletic Association,” said Anne Wohlfert, Director of the Student Financial Services Bureau. “Students and families oftentimes encounter barriers when paying for college, and MHSAA provides a platform that allows our resources and services to be transparent, directly to the audience we are trying to reach. Our mission and values closely align with that of MHSAA, which made this partnership an easy decision. We are looking forward to a long-lasting, successful partnership with them.”
Click for information on MI Student Aid and connect with MI Student Aid via social media on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.