Parade of Champions 2015-16
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
June 23, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Seven schools hoisted Michigan High School Athletic Association team championship trophies for the first time this school year, as 99 schools total won one or more of the 130 Finals championships awarded during 2015-16.
Teams earning the first MHSAA championship in any sport for their schools were Sterling Heights Parkway Christian in baseball, Detroit Henry Ford in boys basketball, Ypsilanti Arbor Prep in girls basketball, Tawas and Clarkston Everest Collegiate in boys golf, Burton Genesee Christian in boys soccer and Bloomfield Hills in boys tennis.
A total of 37 teams won their first MHSAA titles in their respective sports. A total of 50 champions were repeat winners from 2014-15 – and 25 of those won for at least the third straight season, up from 16 that accomplished the same feat a year ago. Still, championships were more spread out this school year; the 99 schools winning at least one title were nine more than in 2014-15.
The Birmingham Brother Rice boys lacrosse team has the longest title streak of 12 seasons, while the Ann Arbor Greenhills boys tennis team has won eight straight titles for the second-longest streak overall. The Gibraltar Carlson competitive cheer and Marquette girls track & field teams share the longest girls winning streaks with six straight championships apiece.
Marquette again claimed the most MHSAA team titles, six, winning in Division 1 boys skiing and Division 1 girls skiing, Upper Peninsula Division 1 girls cross country, Upper Peninsula boys swimming & diving, and Upper Peninsula Division 1 boys track & field and girls track & field. Ishpeming won five titles, and four more schools won at least three titles – Grand Rapids Forest Hills Central, Ithaca, Negaunee and Rockford (including the championship won by the combined Rockford/Sparta girls gymnastics team.)
Sixteen of the MHSAA's 28 championship tournaments are unified, involving teams from the Upper and Lower Peninsulas, while separate competition to determine titlists in both Peninsulas is conducted in remaining sports.
For a sport-by-sport listing of MHSAA champions for 2015-16 - Click Here (PDF)
PHOTO: Detroit Henry Ford boys basketball coach Kenneth Flowers hoists his team's Class B championship trophy this winter.
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.