MHSAA Fall Playoffs, Skiing to Resume
December 18, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Dec. 18 - The three remaining Fall tournaments still to be completed this 2020 season by the Michigan High School Athletic Association will resume, with teams allowed to restart practice Monday, Dec. 21, according to an announcement today allowing those activities to resume by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and a plan approved by the MHSAA’s Representative Council.
The MHSAA’s Football, Girls Volleyball and Girls Swimming & Diving teams and individuals still participating in tournament play will be allowed to do so as part of an MDHHS pilot rapid testing program designed to gain insight and collect data on the spread of COVID-19 as the MDHHS plans to provide expanded rapid testing availability to schools in January. It is anticipated that specifics and details of the Fall tournament pilot testing program will be coming from the MDHHS.
• The Football Playoffs will begin again Saturday, Jan. 2, with Regional Finals for 11-player teams and Semifinals for 8-player teams. The 8-player championship games in both divisions and all 11-player Semifinals will be played the following Saturday, Jan. 9. The football season will conclude with the 11-Player Finals in all divisions the weekend of Jan. 15-16. All Semifinals in both 11 and 8-player will be played at home sites. Sites for championship games will be finalized soon and posted to the MHSAA Website.
• The Girls Volleyball Tournament will begin again with Quarterfinals on Tuesday, Jan. 5. Semifinals and Finals will be played Jan. 7-9 at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek.
• The Girls Swimming & Diving Finals with return with its three Lower Peninsula Finals competed during the weekend of Jan. 15-16 with one division at each of three locations. Diving would be completed Jan. 15, with swimming the following day..
All previous safety protocols remain in place, and no spectators will be allowed at the Fall tournament events
All indoor Winter sports – which are not part of the pilot rapid testing program – remain on pause from the MDHHS until Jan. 16, although girls and boys alpine skiing season – competed outdoors and following safety protocols including all activity must be outdoors – will be allowed to begin practice Monday, Dec. 21. The Council will meet again Tuesday, Dec. 22, to discuss details for the rest of Winter sports.
All Spring 2021 sports are expected to begin on time and play complete seasons concluding with their traditional MHSAA Tournament dates in May and June.
The Representative Council is the legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five members 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.
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.
MHSAA Spring Sports Lineup Welcomes Boys Volleyball, Revamped LP Girls Tennis Finals
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
April 14, 2026
The inaugural season of boys volleyball as a Michigan High School Athletic Association-sponsored tournament sport has begun, headlining changes this spring as 12 sports are underway for an estimated 110,000 athletes competing for member high schools.
The MHSAA sponsors postseason competition each spring in baseball, girls and boys lacrosse, girls soccer, softball, girls and boys track & field, boys golf (Lower and Upper Peninsula) and girls golf (UP), and girls (LP) and boys (UP) tennis – and for the first time this year, boys volleyball, with 117 schools scheduled to participate in the first MHSAA Tournament in that sport.
Varsity teams have been classified into Divisions 1 and 2 and will compete across 16 Regionals – eight per division – with winners advancing to Quarterfinals on June 2 and then Semifinals and Finals to be played June 5 and 6, respectively, at Battle Creek’s Kellogg Arena, which also serves as home to the MHSAA Girls Volleyball Semifinals and Finals.
Another notable championship change will come in Lower Peninsula girls tennis, which like LP boys tennis this past fall, will begin a pilot program showcasing Finals for all four divisions at the same location – Midland Tennis Center – over a two-week period. Division 4 will begin play with its two-day event May 27-28, followed by Division 1 on May 29-30, Division 2 on June 3-4 and Division 3 played June 5-6.
Additionally, a few on-field rules changes may be especially noticeable this spring.
In girls lacrosse, a change this spring requires, when a goal circle foul is committed, the offending player to move four meters away (instead of behind) from the player taking the free position.
In boys lacrosse, a change was made so that no defensive player other than a properly-equipped goalkeeper can enter the team’s own crease with the perceived intent of blocking a shot or acting as a goalkeeper. A defensive player doing so receives a personal foul for illegal equipment.
Two more changes in boys lacrosse enhance safety. The definition for a holding penalty has been expanded to include hooking, lifting or pinning an opponent’s body with the crosse. Also, a player losing a helmet will receive a technical foul for illegal procedure to encourage players to properly wear helmets and chin straps to ensure they stay on during play.
Also, as with boys soccer this past fall, a pair of changes in girls soccer address sportsmanship. The first allows game officials to take action against a team’s head coach in addition to any cautions or ejections issues to players and personnel in that team’s bench area – making the head coach more accountable for behavior on the sideline.
The second change allows for only the team captain to speak with an official during the breaks between periods (halftime and during overtime), unless another coach, player, etc., is summoned by the official – with the penalty a yellow card to the offending individual.
The 2025-26 Spring campaign culminates with postseason tournaments, as the championship schedule begins with the Upper Peninsula Girls & Boys Golf and Boys Tennis Finals on May 27 and wraps up with Girls Soccer, Baseball and Softball Finals on June 13. Here is a complete list of spring tournament dates:
Baseball
Districts – May 26-30
Regional Semifinals – June 3
Regional Finals, Quarterfinals – June 6
Semifinals – June 11-12
Finals – June 13
Golf
LP Boys Regionals – May 26-30
UP Girls & Boys Finals – May 27
LP Boys Finals – June 5-6
Boys Lacrosse
Regionals – May 8-27
Quarterfinals – May 29-30
Semifinals – June 2-3
Finals – June 6
Girls Lacrosse
Regionals – May 14-30
Semifinals – June 2-3
Finals – June 5
Girls Soccer
Districts – May 20-22, 26-30
Regionals – June 2-6
Semifinals – June 9-10
Finals – June 12-13
Softball
Districts – May 26-30
Regionals – June 6
Quarterfinals – June 9
Semifinals – June 11-12
Finals – June 13
Tennis
LP Girls Regionals – May 13-16
UP Boys Finals – May 27
LP Girls Finals – May 27-30, June 3-6
Track & Field
Regionals – May 14-16
Finals – May 30
Boys Volleyball
Regionals – May 26-30
Quarterfinals – June 2
Semifinals – June 5
Finals – June 6