Hoops Schedules to Switch for 2018-19
December 4, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
To accommodate the future availability of arenas used to host the Michigan High School Athletic Association girls and boys basketball championship weekends, the Representative Council approved during its Fall Meeting on Dec. 1 in East Lansing a switch in schedules for girls and boys basketball for the 2018-19 season.
Currently, and since girls basketball season moved to the winter from fall in 2007-08, the Girls Basketball Semifinals and Finals have been played first followed by the Boys Basketball Semifinals and Finals a week later, usually during the final two weekends in March. Both utilize a format of Semifinals on Thursday and Friday and all four Finals on Saturday.
However, in March 2019, Michigan State University’s Breslin Center will not be available for the traditional MHSAA boys championship weekend because of the possibility of the MSU women’s basketball program hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Breslin Center is the only available arena in Michigan large enough to host the boys Semifinals and Finals; for that reason, the Council voted to switch the schedule for that season only so the boys tournament can finish at Breslin during the weekend of March 14-16, 2019.
The girls Semifinals and Finals, played most recently at Breslin as well, are moving to Calvin College’s Van Noord Arena for this 2017-18 season and with this switch will be played at Calvin College during the weekend of March 21-23, 2019.
This switch in calendars for 2018-19 also includes a switch of starting dates for when practices may begin and first games played. Typically, practices for both begin girls and then boys during the first two weeks of November, with girls basketball teams allowed to play their first games the Monday after Thanksgiving followed by the first boys basketball games a week later. In 2018-19, the boys will begin practice first and the first boys basketball games will be able to be played that Monday after Thanksgiving, followed by the first girls games a week later. The boys District and Regional tournaments also will start a week earlier than those for the girls.
“Although it is not our preference to change schedules of events that continue to run smoothly, switching girls and boys schedules in this way allows us to keep the current tournament format and traditions that help make these two of our most popular Finals every school year,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts said. “This will keep the boys at the venue most capable of hosting them and the girls at a venue we’re excited to move to this season.”
Roberts also noted that this switch, at this time, will be for only the 2018-19 season. The current NCAA calendar for 2019-20 would allow for the MHSAA girls and boys tournaments to move back to their traditional weekends with Semifinals and Finals played at a Division I college venue, although that is not decided. Other options will be examined during 2018.
Earlier this fall, MHSAA staff surveyed school administrators on their preferences for regular season and MHSAA tournament schedules, discussed possible changes during UPDATE meetings across the state and solicited Requests for Proposals from sites to host both the girls and boys Semifinals and Finals.
The Representative Council is the 19-member legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee.
MHSAA Survey Reveals Participation Fee Usage Remains at Lower Post-Pandemic Level
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
August 6, 2025
The annual Michigan High School Athletic Association participation fee survey saw record response for the 2024-25 school year and revealed good news as the percentage of member high schools charging student-athletes to play sports remained consistent with lowered post-pandemic levels.
Of the 720 schools (95 percent of membership) which responded to the most recent survey, only 40 percent of MHSAA member high schools (286) charged participation fees in 2024-25 – consistent with the rates between 40-41 percent revealed annually by the survey the previous four school years after the COVID-19 pandemic struck during the late winter and spring of 2020. Prior to the pandemic, a high of 57 percent of member schools charged participation fees in 2013-14, and 48 percent of high schools required pay-to-play in 2019-20.
The MHSAA began conducting the participation fee survey with the 2003-04 school year. For the purposes of the survey, a participation fee is anything $20 or more regardless of what the school called the charge – registration fee, athletic fee, etc.
Class A schools, as has been the trend, made up the largest group charging fees in 2024-25, with 53 percent of respondents doing so. Class B schools followed, with 40 percent charging fees, while 34 percent of Class C schools and 32 percent of Class D schools also charged for participation.
A standardized fee for each team on which a student-athlete participates – regardless of the number of teams – has remained the norm over the history of the MHSAA’s survey, and 43 percent of schools charging a fee during 2024-25 did so in this way. That was followed by 34 percent of responding schools charging a one-time standardized fee and 17 percent assessing fees based on tiers of the number of sports a student-athlete plays (for example, charging a larger fee for the first team and less for additional sports).
For 2024-25, the median maximum amount a school charged per student-athlete for the school year was $150, and the median annual maximum charged per family was $370. For schools charging student-athletes a one-time fee to cover all sports played, the median was $125. For schools charging a fee per sport, the median was $100 for each team.
The survey for 2024-25 and surveys from previous years can be found on the Pay-To-Play Survey page.