MHSAA 2026-27 School Year Classifications Announced
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 7, 2026
Classifications for Michigan High School Athletic Association elections and postseason tournaments for the 2026-27 school year have been announced, with enrollment breaks for postseason tournaments posted to each sport’s page on the MHSAA Website.
Classifications for the upcoming school year are based on a second semester count date, which for MHSAA purposes was Feb. 11. The enrollment figure submitted for athletic classification purposes may be different from the count submitted for school aid purposes, as it does not include students ineligible for athletic competition because they reached their 19th birthday prior to Sept. 1 of the current school year and will not include alternative education students if none are allowed athletic eligibility by the local school district.
All sports’ tournaments are conducted with schools assigned to equal or nearly equal divisions, with lines dependent on how many schools participate in those respective sports.
For 2026-27, there are 755 tournament-qualified member schools. Schools recently were notified of their classification, and sport-by-sport divisions were posted to the MHSAA Website today (April 7). MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said a school may not subsequently lower its enrollment figure. However, if a revised enrollment figure is higher and indicates that a school should be playing in a higher division, that school would be moved up.
Five MHSAA Finals champions from fall and winter this school year will change divisions for 2026-27, including a few which have dominated over the first half of this decade.
Whitmore Lake’s girls cross country team will compete in Lower Peninsula Division 3 this upcoming fall coming off three straight Division 4 titles, and Farmington Hills Mercy’s girls swimming & diving team will be moving to Division 3 after winning the last three Division 2 championships. Allen Park’s competitive cheer team, which has won the last three Division 2 championships, will compete in Division 1 next winter. Reigning LPD4 girls golf champion Grand Rapids NorthPointe Christian will move into Division 3 this fall, and Division 3 girls volleyball champion Kingsley will be moving into Division 2.
Among spring sports teams currently competing, Pickford’s boys track & field team won the last three Upper Peninsula Division 2 titles and will move to Division 3 for 2027 after competing in Division 2 again this spring, while Newberry – winners of the last two UP Division 3 titles – will move into Division 2 in 2027 after competing in Division 3 this season. The Pickford and Newberry girls teams, both coming off Finals championships last spring as well, will make the same switches for 2027. Powers North Central boys golf, which won the last two UP Division 3 titles, will compete in Division 3 again this spring but move to Division 2 next year.
Schools also may request to play in a higher classification or division in a sport for a minimum of two years. Requests to opt up in fall sports for 2026-27 must be submitted by May 1, winter sports by Aug. 15 and spring sports by Oct. 15
Visit the respective sport pages at MHSAA.com to review the divisional alignments for all MHSAA-sponsored tournament sports. Click the “SPORTS” menu above to access the page for each sport, then the “Assignments” link on the selected sport page and then “DIVISION LIST” to see the 2026-27 division.
Traditional classes (A, B, C, D) – formerly used to establish tournament classifications – are used only for MHSAA elections. To determine traditional classifications, after all counts are submitted, tournament-qualified member schools are ranked according to enrollment and then split as closely into quarters as possible. For 2026-27, there are 188 member schools in Class A and 189 each in Class B, Class C and Class D.
Effective with the 2026-27 school year, schools with 783 or more students are in Class A. The enrollment limits for Class B are 358-782, Class C is 167-357, and schools with enrollments of 166 and fewer are Class D. The break between Classes A and B decreased five students from 2025-26, the break between Classes B and C decreased 12 students, and the break between Classes C and D decreased four students from the 2025-26 school year.
The new classification breaks will see 20 schools move up in Class for 2026-27 while 18 schools will move down:
Moving Up from Class B to Class A
Battle Creek Harper Creek
Chelsea
Harper Woods
Linden
Parma Western
Pontiac
Wayland
Moving Down from Class A to Class B
Adrian
Bay City John Glenn
Fruitport
Grand Rapids Kenowa Hills
Marysville
Owosso
Stevensville Lakeshore
Moving Up from Class C to Class B
Detroit Communication Media Arts
Detroit The School at Marygrove
Ecorse
Fennville
Lake City
Ovid-Elsie
Moving Down from Class B to Class C
Flint Hamady
Manistee
Napoleon
Taylor Prep
Waterford Oakside Prep
Moving Up from Class D to Class C
Brimley
Coldwater Pansophia Academy
Ishpeming
Jackson Prep
Newberry
Petersburg Summerfield
Vestaburg
Moving Down from Class C to Class D
Fulton
Kalamazoo Phoenix
Mayville
Taylor Trillium Academy
Traverse City Greenspire
Vandercook Lake
New Postseason-Eligible Tournament Schools in 2026-27
Calumet Copper Island
Interlochen New Covenant Christian
West Branch Alternative Education Academy
Jackson da Vinci
Enrollment Breaks by Classes – 2026-27
(Number of schools in parentheses)
Class A: 783 and above (188 schools)
Class B: 358 – 782 (189)
Class C: 167 – 357 (189)
Class D: 166 and below (189)
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.
Council Approves Winter Start, Guidance
October 23, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association confirmed during its meeting Thursday (Oct. 22) that 2020-21 Winter sports will begin on time, and also approved a series of guidelines for those sports that schools must follow as they continue to work toward limiting the spread of COVID-19 while still providing opportunities for athletes to compete.
Most high school sports traditionally begin practice during the first three weeks of November, with competition starting during mid-November and the first weeks of December. The starts of middle school Winter sports seasons are determined by local leagues and conferences; many are slated to begin during the next few weeks.
Sport-specific guidelines for all Winter sports will be posted early next week to their respective sport pages on the MHSAA Website. A number of precautions have been put in place addressing competition limits, numbers of spectators allowed and wearing of face coverings, among a variety of topics. The guidance also specifically addresses equipment and facilities for each sport.
“The Council believes it is safer to begin Winter practices on time, and keep athletes in school programs where safety precautions are always in effect,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “With the vastly different circumstances faced by schools in different regions all over the state, an on-time start still allows schools to decide when they feel most comfortable beginning activity – and allows all of them to slowly ramp up their frequency of activity and numbers of spectators attending competitions.
“But let’s be clear: Our statewide COVID-19 numbers have to get better. In order for our schools to continue playing sports this winter, and in order for fans to be there to cheer them on, we must continue working to slow down this virus.”
As with Fall sports, scrimmages will not be allowed for Winter sports to limit mixing of communities outside of official competitions. The numbers of teams at regular-season competitions also will be limited, like during Fall, with a maximum of four schools/teams allowed in competitive cheer, gymnastics, swimming & diving and wrestling. Bowling and skiing competitions will be restricted to a maximum of 72 competitors at one event.
There are no school/team limits for basketball and ice hockey, as only two teams are able to play each other at one time and those sports may play only one game per day – with fans leaving after their game is complete. Host sites must strictly enforce spectator capacity limits on a game-by-game basis. The Council approved as part of these guidelines an allowance of two spectators per participant at all contests to begin the regular season. This guideline could be reconsidered by the Council later in the winter season, with a possibility of allowing more spectators later while still staying within possible Emergency Orders from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS).
As per MDHHS requirements, face coverings must be worn by athletes practicing and competing in basketball, competitive cheer, ice hockey and wrestling. They are not required for athletes practicing and competing in bowling, gymnastics, skiing and swimming & diving, which all allow for appropriate social distancing – but face coverings are required for those athletes when not involved in active participation.