An earlier start to competition for fall golf and tennis teams and new format for early-round playoff seeding in 11-player football are among the most notable changes as more than 100,000 high school athletes from Michigan High School Athletic Association member high schools prepare for the first day of practices Monday, Aug. 10.

Girls golf and boys tennis teams in the Lower Peninsula and girls tennis teams in the Upper Peninsula this fall may begin play Thursday, Aug. 14, after three separate days of practice, which is a day sooner than past seasons. Cross country, field hockey, boys soccer, girls volleyball and Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving teams may begin competing Aug. 19, and the first varsity football games may be played Aug. 27.

The 11-Player Football Playoffs will begin Oct. 30 and 31 with a new seeding system. Beginning this season, the playoff field in each of eight 11-player divisions will first be organized into eight-team Regionals. The eight teams in each Regional will then be seeded based on playoff-point average, with seeds 1, 4, 5 and 8 comprising one District and seeds 2, 3, 6 and 7 comprising the other. The winners of those Districts will play in the Regional Final.

Another golf change also relates to postseason play, as golfers must now play in at least eight dates of a school team’s competition schedule to be eligible for the MHSAA Tournament. If a school’s varsity team plays fewer than 16 regular-season dates of competition, a student must instead participate in at least 50 percent of the varsity’s regular-season dates to be eligible for the postseason.

Field hockey will begin its second season of MHSAA sponsorship with the addition of a 10-minute reduced-player overtime for all regular-season varsity games. Unless part of a regular-season bracketed tournament, a game still tied at the end of the 10-minute overtime will be declared a tie.

A few game-action rules changes also will be quickly noticeable to participants and spectators.  

• High school volleyball teams now are permitted to designate up to two liberos prior to each set, although only one libero can be in the game at a time.
• Also in volleyball, players on the serving team are forbidden to raise their hands above their heads during service until the ball has passed beyond the net.
• In football, a rule formerly applied to defensive players prohibiting them from using their hands to slap an opponent’s head has been expanded to penalize players on both sides of the ball for slapping an opponent’s head.
• In soccer, goalkeepers will be allowed eight seconds instead of the previously-permitted six before releasing the ball. A corner kick will be awarded if the goalkeeper holds the ball past eight seconds.
• Also in soccer, a change on penalty kicks states encroachment will be penalized only if the offense has a clear impact on the penalty kick.

The 2026 Fall campaign culminates with postseason tournaments beginning with the Upper Peninsula Girls Tennis Finals during the week of Sept. 28 and wrapping up with the 11-Player Football Finals on Nov. 27 and 28. Here is a complete list of fall tournament dates: 

Cross Country 
U.P. Finals – Oct. 24 
L.P. Regionals – Oct. 30-31 
L.P. Finals – Nov. 7 

Field Hockey
Regionals – Oct. 14-26
Semifinals – Oct. 28
Final – Oct. 31

11-Player Football 
Selection Sunday – Oct. 25 
District Semifinals – Oct. 30-31 
District Finals – Nov. 6-7
Regional Finals – Nov. 13-14 
Semifinals – Nov. 21
Finals – Nov. 27-28

8-Player Football 
Selection Sunday – Oct. 25 
Regional Semifinals – Oct. 30-31 
Regional Finals – Nov. 6-7 
Semifinals – Nov. 14 
Finals – Nov. 21

L.P. Girls Golf 
Regionals – Oct. 5-10 
Finals – Oct. 16-17 

Boys Soccer 
Districts – Oct. 14-24 
Regionals – Oct. 27-31 
Semifinals – Nov. 4 
Finals – Nov. 7 

L.P. Girls Swimming & Diving 
Diving Regionals – Nov. 12
Swimming/Diving Finals – Nov. 20-21 

Tennis 
U.P. Girls Finals – Sept. 30-Oct. 3 
L.P. Boys Regionals – Oct. 7-10 
L.P. Boys Finals – Oct. 14-15 (Division 1), Oct. 16-17 (Division 3), Oct 21-22 (Division 4), and Oct. 23-24 (Division 2) 

Girls Volleyball 
Districts – Nov. 2-7 
Regionals – Nov. 10 & 12 
Quarterfinals – Nov. 17 
Semifinals – Nov. 19-20 
Finals – Nov. 21 

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.