MHSAA's Hampton Retires After Half-Century of School Sports Service
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 30, 2021
Longtime assistant director Nate Hampton has retired after 32 years on staff with the Michigan High School Athletic Association and 50 serving in education and educational athletics.
After 18 years working in schools, Hampton began his tenure as part of the MHSAA staff on Sept. 5, 1989, and his impact has been felt across many sports and subjects over the decades. He has served as the MHSAA’s administrator for the majority of its most-played sports – football, girls and boys basketball and girls & boys track and field – as well as serving as staff liaison to the MHSAA Athletic Equity Committee and Upper Peninsula Athletic Committee.
His longtime guidance will continue to be felt nationally as well. Hampton served multiple terms on committees for the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), including the football and basketball rules committees.
“Nate has been a giant in high school athletics in Michigan over half a century and through eras that have seen the shaping of school sports as they’re played today,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “The knowledge and leadership he’s provided locally, statewide and nationally has benefitted thousands of athletes and their families, both in how educational athletics are administered on the field and off.”
Hampton received the Michigan High School Coaches Association’s Jack Johnson Distinguished Service Award in 2020 for his many contributions. He previously received a Citation from the NFHS in 2011 and also has been recognized by several other Michigan organizations including the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and Michigan Interscholastic Track Coaches Association.
Hampton is a 1966 graduate of Detroit Eastern High School. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree from Morgan State University (Md.) and a master’s from Eastern Michigan University.
Prior to joining the MHSAA staff, Hampton taught and coached one school year at Dearborn Heights Robichaud High School followed by 15 years total with the Highland Park School District where he coached three sports, taught and served as athletic director during his tenure. In 1987, Hampton began as supervisor of athletics and physical education for the Saginaw Public School District, where he was responsible for all phases of the athletic programs for both high schools, five middle schools and 24 elementary schools.
Hampton also served on the MHSAA Representative Council prior to joining the staff.
The majority of Hampton’s duties have been assumed by recently-hired assistant director William McKoy, who joined the staff earlier this month after previously serving as athletic director at Romulus Summit Academy North.
PHOTO: MHSAA assistant director Nate Hampton, second from right, thanks a national anthem soloist during the 2019 Boys Basketball Finals at Breslin Center.
Council Discusses Transfer, 5th-Quarter Rules in Charting Future Work During Fall Meeting
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 18, 2025
The Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association considered several reports concerning ongoing business relevant to its member schools, discussed topics surrounding the MHSAA’s transfer and 5th-quarter rules, and conducted its annual elections among other activities during its Fall Meeting on Dec. 5 in East Lansing.
Generally, the Council takes only a few actions during its Fall Meeting, with topics often introduced for additional consideration and action during its meetings in March and May. The Council took only one action at this meeting, to approve its annual audit, but discussed several topics that will be delved into further throughout the remainder of this school year.
A significant portion of Council discussion regarded the MHSAA transfer and 5th-quarter allowance rules. The transfer conversation focused primarily on students who play as part of non-MHSAA sports organizations during their first year or years of high school but wish to then play at a member high school. The Council also received an update on the Transfer Tracker tool under development that will provide schools greater guidance on eligibility determinations by monitoring when students change schools after ninth grade.
The 5th-quarter conversation considered how allowances made in recent years in basketball, football, soccer, lacrosse, baseball and field hockey have aligned with the intent of that allowance – to help schools save subvarsity teams from elimination because of low participation by allowing athletes to play on varsity and subvarsity teams simultaneously over a set number of periods each week.
The Council received updates on this fall’s inaugural MHSAA Field Hockey Tournament and also on the first boys volleyball season to be played during Spring 2026. MHSAA staff also informed the Council on a baseball rule proposal that would require a double first base, recent viewership of NFHS Network broadcasts, and MHSAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee discussions especially concerning the statewide shortage of athletic trainers in schools. Additional updates were provided on MHSAA athletic director Update meeting and in-service programs and other administrative topics.
The Fall Meeting also saw elections of Council officers for the upcoming year. Brighton athletic director John Thompson was reelected president after completing the previous president’s term this summer and fall. Calumet teacher and past athletic director Sean Jacques was reelected as Council vice president after completing Thompson’s term, and Vic Michaels, director of physical education and athletics for the Archdiocese of Detroit, was reelected as secretary-treasurer.
Additionally, Wyoming Godfrey-Lee Schools superintendent Arnetta Thompson and Freeland Middle School principal Jennifer Thunberg were appointed for second two-year terms on the Council.
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.