MI Student Aid to Present MHSAA Media
September 1, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Just as the Michigan High School Athletic Association hopes students will pursue the many benefits of taking part in educational athletics, MI Student Aid – a division of the Michigan Department of Treasury – encourages students to pursue postsecondary educational opportunities by providing financial assistance toward attaining that goal.
Sharing in the desire to make Michigan students aware of all possibilities available, MI Student Aid has signed on to work with the MHSAA to present the opportunities provided by both to a statewide audience via the MHSAA’s radio, video, social media and online initiatives.
MI Student Aid – a part of the Student Financial Services Bureau located within the Department of Treasury – encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information, including various student financial assistance programs to help make college more affordable for Michigan students. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 savings programs (MET/MESP) and eight additional aid programs within its Student Scholarships and Grants division.
Among MHSAA broadcast ventures that will be presented by MI Student Aid during the 2016-17 school year are the five-minute “This Week in High School Sports” program that airs on more than 80 radio stations statewide, and the weekly video highlights from Michigan programming produced for the NFHS Network, dispersed to statewide media and published online on the MHSAA Website.
“We value the life lessons learned on the athletic field, and MI Student Aid promotes continuing education for our student-athletes by providing financial assistance in pursuing those opportunities,” said John E. “Jack” Roberts, Executive Director of the MHSAA. “We are always seeking to make students and their families aware of all that can be gleaned from educational athletics, and we’re glad to provide an avenue for MI Student Aid to promote the options available to help in financing the continuation of their studies.”
In addition to radio and video contributions, MI Student Aid will have an on-site presence at MHSAA championship events throughout this school year and serve as the presenting sponsor of weekly football and boys and girls basketball statewide reports on Second Half.
MI Student Aid also will have an opportunity to connect with students and their families through a presence on the MHSAA’s social media platforms.
“We are extremely excited to be partnered with Michigan High School Athletic Association,” said Anne Wohlfert, Director of the Student Financial Services Bureau. “Students and families oftentimes encounter barriers when paying for college, and MHSAA provides a platform that allows our resources and services to be transparent, directly to the audience we are trying to reach. Our mission and values closely align with that of MHSAA, which made this partnership an easy decision. We are looking forward to a long-lasting, successful partnership with them.”
Click for information on MI Student Aid and connect with MI Student Aid via social media on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
Representative Council Approves Field Hockey Framework, Adds to Ice Hockey Schedule
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 21, 2025
The Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association approved a series of proposals during its Winter Meeting on March 21 in East Lansing that lay the groundwork for the inaugural MHSAA-sponsored girls field hockey season that will be played this fall.
The Council approved four proposals put forth by the Field Hockey Committee, including one that set the first practice date for this upcoming season as Aug. 11, 2025, with the first contest date Aug. 15 and the first MHSAA Final to be played Oct. 25. Another approved proposal implements MHSAA Handbook regulations setting contest limits for teams at 18 dates and four scrimmages, introducing the fifth-quarter rule and creating guidelines for multi-team tournaments and cooperative programs.
The Council also approved a proposal for a single-division MHSAA Girls Field Hockey Tournament with four Regionals. The Michigan Power Ratings formula will be used to identify the top four teams statewide during the regular season, and those teams will receive top seeds and be placed one apiece in each Regional, with the rest of the Regional assignments then based on geography.
The final Field Hockey Committee proposal approved by the Council adopted overtime procedures for MHSAA Tournament play – 6-on-6 with goalies and 1-on-1 with an attacking player and a goalie – that will be optional for regular-season bracketed tournament play.
Two more Council actions will affect scheduling for the 2025-26 winter season.
In ice hockey, the Council voted to increase the number of regular-season games allowed to 27 with one scrimmage, approving an Ice Hockey Committee proposal that requested the addition of two contests.
To alleviate a Finals facility issue for competitive cheer, the Council approved a Competitive Cheer Committee proposal that adjusts the season calendar for the 2025-26 season only and places the MHSAA championship meets one week later. The first competitive cheer practice date will be Nov. 10, 2025, the first contest date Nov. 24, with Districts now scheduled for Feb. 20-21, 2026; Regionals for Feb. 28 and Finals for March 6-7 at McGuirk Arena at Central Michigan University. CMU has hosted the MHSAA Competitive Cheer Finals the last three seasons, but is scheduled to host the 2026 Mid-American Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships during the MHSAA’s previously scheduled Competitive Cheer Finals dates.
Dates for the 2026-27 and future competitive cheer seasons will return to their previously-approved schedule, with Finals to be held during the last Saturday (and previous day Friday) in February.
The Council also voted to make permanent the “AD Connection Program” that has been piloted the last two school years and matches first-year high school athletic directors with recently-retired mentors, who provide assistance to those new administrators as they transition into athletic administrator roles. The program connected 248 first-year athletic directors with mentors during its pilot period.
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.