MHSAA's Roberts Elected to NFHS Board
July 12, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts has been elected to serve a four-year term on the Board of Directors for the National Federation of State High School Associations, the national governing body for high school athletics and activities.
Roberts has served as executive director since 1986 and is the longest-tenured active state association executive director among NFHS members. The MHSAA is one of the nation’s largest state associations with more than 1,400 high schools and junior high/middle schools. The NFHS, in its press release on new officers and board members, called Roberts "one of the nation’s most articulate advocates for education-based activity programs."
After graduating from P. J. Jacobs High School in Stevens Point, Wis., and Dartmouth College and attending graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, Roberts taught English and coached football at high schools in Milwaukee and Denver until 1973, when he joined the staff of the NFHS, which at that time was located in Elgin, Illinois.
From 1973 to 1980, Roberts developed the NFHS’ volleyball, swimming & diving and ice hockey rules programs, and re-codified the Soccer Rules Book. Later, as assistant director, he was in charge of public, legislative and judicial affairs for the NFHS.
Roberts joined the staff of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in 1981 and was named executive vice president of the FCA in 1984. He served in that capacity until 1986, when he was named executive director of the MHSAA.
Roberts served a previous term on the NFHS Board of Directors from 1996 to 2000 and has been chairman of the NFHS Network Board of Directors since 2013. He also has served on two previous NFHS Strategic Planning Committees and is past chair of the board of directors of the Michigan Society of Association Executives.
PHOTO: MHSAA Executive Director Jack Roberts congratulates an MHSAA/Farm Bureau Scholar-Athlete Award winner at the Breslin Center.
2016-17 Classifications Announced
March 29, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Classifications for Michigan High School Athletic Association elections and postseason tournaments in traditionally classified sports (A, B, C, D) for the 2016-17 school year have been announced, with enrollment breaks for postseason tournaments set up by divisions 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. 10. 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 September 1 of the current school year and will not include alternative education students if none are allowed athletic eligibility by the local school district.
After all the counts are submitted, tournament-qualified member schools are ranked according to enrollment, and then split as closely into quarters as possible. For 2016-17, there are 751 tournament-qualified member schools with 187 schools in Class A, and 188 schools in Class B, Class C and Class D.
Effective with the 2016-17 school year, schools with 881 or more students are in Class A in MHSAA postseason tournament competition. The enrollment limits for Class B are 412-880; Class C is 207-411; and schools with enrollments of 206 and fewer are Class D. The break between Classes A and B increased six students from 2015-16, the break between Classes B and C decreased eight students, and the break between Classes C and D is six students fewer than the current school year.
The new classification breaks will see 22 schools move up in class for 2016-17, while 17 schools will move down.
Schools recently were notified of their classification. MHSAA Executive Director John E. "Jack" Roberts said schools may not subsequently lower their enrollment figure. However, if revised enrollment figures should be higher and indicate that a school should be playing in a higher class, that school would be moved up.
Schools have the option to play at any higher classification for a minimum of two years, but must exercise the option by April 15 for fall sports, August 15 for winter sports and October 15 for spring sports.
MHSAA tournament sports that will be conducted in traditional classifications for 2016-17 are Basketball and Girls Volleyball. Football will use traditional classifications to determine playoff points.
Sports which will compete in nearly equal divisions are: Baseball, Bowling, Girls Competitive Cheer, Lower Peninsula Cross Country, Lower Peninsula Golf, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Lower Peninsula Soccer, Skiing, Softball, Lower Peninsula Swimming and Diving, Lower Peninsula Tennis, Lower Peninsula Track and Field and Wrestling.
Visit the respective sport pages on the MHSAA Website to review the divisional alignments.
The divisions and qualifiers for the MHSAA Football Playoffs will be announced on Selection Sunday, Oct. 23, 2016.
A complete list of school enrollments used to determine classifications for the 2016-17 school year can be found on the Enrollment & Classification page of the MHSAA Website.
Here is a complete list of schools changing classification for 2016-17. (Note: This list does not include schools opting up in class/division for tournaments, which can be found on the Administrators page of the MHSAA Website, under Enrollment and Classification):
Moving Up From Class B to Class A
Coldwater
Detroit International Academy
Melvindale
New Boston Huron
Warren Fitzgerald
Moving Down From Class A to Class B
Haslett
Jackson Northwest
Lansing Eastern
Saginaw Arthur Hill
Moving Up From Class C to Class B
Canton Preparatory
Ferndale University
Flint Academy West
Grand Rapids Wellspring Preparatory
Ithaca
Montague
Sanford Meridian Early College
Tawas
Ypsilanti Arbor Preparatory
Moving Down From Class B to Class C
Allen Park Cabrini
Detroit Central Collegiate
Detroit Benjamin Carson Science & Medicine
Harrison
Jackson Lumen Christi
Jonesville
Warren Michigan Collegiate
Moving Up From Class D to Class C
Detroit Randolph Technical
Detroit Universal Academy
Kimball Landmark Academy
Kingston
Munising
Newberry
Potterville
Rudyard
Moving Down From Class C to Class D
Auburn Hills Oakland Christian
Burton Madison Academy
Lutheran Westland
Mayville
Merrill
Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary
New Postseason Eligible Tournament Schools in 2016-17
Brimley Ojibwe Charter
Center Line Michigan Math & Science
Detroit Cornerstone Leadership & Business
Detroit Delta Prep
Jackson Prep & Early College
Petoskey St. Michael Academy
Southfield Arts & Technology
Enrollment Breaks by Classes – 2016-17
(Number of schools in parentheses)
Class A: 881 and above (187 schools)
Class B: 412 – 880 (188)
Class C: 207 – 411 (188)
Class D: 206 and below (188)
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,400 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.
PHOTO: Ypsilanti Arbor Prep won the Class C girls basketball championship earlier this month, but will compete in Class B next season.