MHSAA Network Receives MAB Awards
March 5, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
The MHSAA Network was honored Wednesday night with three awards from the Michigan Association of Broadcasters at its annual Broadcast Excellence Awards presentation for 2019 at the conclusion of the Great Lakes Media Show at the Lansing Center.
This Week In High School Sports, the network’s five-minute weekly flagship program – powered by Michigan Student Aid – which is heard on more than 100 over-the-air and internet audio outlets across the state during the Fall and Winter sports seasons, won the Best of category for Sports Program for Statewide Radio Networks. The program also received a Merit Award in the category.
The MHSAA Network origination of the 2019 Division 1 Boys Basketball Final – presented by Sparrow Health – also took a Merit Award in the Sports Play-by-Play category. The 64-62 win for Ypsilanti Lincoln, decided on a putback at the buzzer by Jalen Fisher, had Topher Goggin and Jeff Sommerville of MHSAA Network affiliate WQBX in Alma on the call, John Kreger as the host and Mike Stump as the sideline reporter.
“We’ve always felt that we were providing quality coverage of high school sports and had never entered the MAB awards program prior to this past year,” said John Johnson, MHSAA Director of Sports Broadcast Properties, who also hosts This Week in High School Sports. “It’s humbling to receive such an honor from those in the broadcasting community that we serve.”
The MHSAA Network produces audio coverage of the Association’s championships in Boys Soccer, Girls Volleyball and Football in the Fall; Ice Hockey and Basketball in the Winter; and Lacrosse, Girls Soccer, Baseball and Softball in the Spring – 90 games in all. All games can be heard on the MHSAANetwork.com website, and the Basketball Finals in March are broadcast by 20 to 40 over-the-air radio stations. In addition to This Week In High School Sports, the Network also produces the weekly 60-second vignette – Be The Referee – which takes a look into the fine art of officiating. Those programs are also available at MHSAANetwork.com and the MHSAA Website.
Six Members Elected to MHSAA Representative Council
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 23, 2025
Elections were completed recently to fill positions on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s legislative body, its Representative Council, with six members receiving re-election from their respective constituencies and two new members also selected to join the Council beginning with its Fall meeting this December.
Five of the six re-elected members ran unopposed. Jay Alexander, executive director of athletics for Detroit Public Schools, was re-elected to continue representing DPS. Camden-Frontier superintendent Chris Adams was re-elected to continue representing Class C and D schools in the southeastern section of the Lower Peninsula, and Gobles athletic director/director of operations Chris Miller was re-elected to continue representing Class C and D schools in the southwestern section. Kingsford athletic director Chris Hartman was re-elected to continue representing Class A and B schools in the Upper Peninsula, and Boyne City principal Adam Stefanski was re-elected to continue serving junior high/middle schools.
Winning re-election by a majority vote was Mt. Morris athletic director Jeff Kline, who will continue serving as a statewide representative. All six were elected to serve two-year terms.
Additionally, Richland Gull Lake athletic director Karyn Furlong has been selected to serve the second year of the two-year term representing Class A and B schools in the southwestern section of the Lower Peninsula, taking the place of recently-retired Portage Northern athletic director Chris Riker. Ellsworth Public Schools superintendent Aaron Gaffney was selected to serve the second year of the term representing Class C and D schools in the northern section of the Lower Peninsula, previously represented by past Harbor Springs athletic director Anna Novak, who left that district for another position in education.
The Representative Council is the 19-member 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 Council meets three times annually. Five members of the Council convene monthly during the school year to form the MHSAA’s Executive Committee, which reviews appeals of Handbook regulations by member schools.
Additional elections took place to select representatives to the Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee. Menominee assistant principal/athletic director Sam Larson was re-elected to continue representing Class C schools, and Paradise-Whitefish Township Schools superintendent Vincent Gross was re-elected to continue representing Class D schools. Both of those elections were uncontested. Houghton athletic director Rob Fay was elected by majority vote to represent Class A-B schools.
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.