Participants fall 1.5%, but 4 records set
June 25, 2012
For the first time in eight years, participation in high school sports in which postseason tournaments are sponsored by the Michigan High School Athletic Association dropped below the 300,000 mark during the 2011-12 school year, but the decrease was still slower than the drop in the general student population at member schools.
A total of 297,317 participants took part in the 28 tournament sports offered by the Association in the past year – a 1.5 percent decrease from the 2010-11 school year figure of 301,921.
Student enrollments at MHSAA member schools were down by 3.7 percent for the past school year. Girls participation was down 1.2 percent from a year ago with 124,724; and the boys total of 172,593 was down 1.7 percent. Since 2006-07, the student population at MHSAA member schools is down from 531,903 to 487,651 – a drop of 8.2 percent. Participation in that time span has dropped from 313,093, a decrease of 5.0 percent. The totals count students once for each sport in which he or she participates, meaning students who are multiple-sport athletes are counted more than once.
Records for participation in 2011-12 were set in four sports – two for boys and two for girls. Once again, cross country and lacrosse numbers hit all-time highs in both genders.
Also of note in this year’s survey:
• Only two sports exhibited a drop in participation that was well beyond that of the drop in student enrollment. Boys golf was down 6.6 percent, and boys swimming and diving was down 4.7 percent.
• Boys tennis continues a downward slide, with this year’s participation of 6,815 the lowest point since the Association began tracking the numbers in 1991-92. Its losses since 2006-07 are the highest in terms of percentage of any sport at 21.5 percent (1,868 participants). By comparison, girls tennis participation is stable - up 0.6 percent in the same time period.
• Girls cross country set another record at 8,135, and participation in the sport is up 15.0 percent since 2006-07. In that same time period, boys cross country participation is up 6.1 percent.
• Basketball figures dropped 1.9 percent for boys and girls in 2011-12; also continuing a decline faster than the drop in student enrollments, and participation in both sports are at their lowest points since the Association began tracking the numbers in 1991-92. Since the 2006-07 survey, girls participation is down 10.9 percent and the boys number is down 8.8 percent – the second highest drops in raw numbers of all sports – girls are down 2,100 participants, boys 2,131.
• In terms of raw numbers, football has seen the biggest drop since 2006-07, down 3,203 participants – a drop of 6.9 percent
• A total of nine sports have participating dropping at a faster rate since 2006-07 than enrollment numbers would suggest – boys tennis, girls swimming & diving, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls skiing, girls gymnastics, softball, and girls track & field.
• Seven sports have seen significant increases in participation since 2006-07 – boys & girls cross country, boys and girls bowling, boys swimming & diving, and boys and girls lacrosse. In percentages, girls lacrosse is up 30.3 percent –and boys lacrosse is up 26.2 percent.
• Ten sports had increases in participation in 2011-12 (7 girls-3 boys) and 18 sports had drops (7 girls-11 boys).
The participation figures are gathered annually from MHSAA member schools to submit to the National Federation of State High School Associations for compiling its national participation survey. Results of Michigan survey from the 2000-01 school year to the present may be viewed on the MHSAA Website – mhsaa.com – and clicking on Schools > Administrators > Sports Participation.
Click for a chart showing participation figures for the 2011-12 school year from MHSAA member schools for sports in which the Association sponsors a postseason tournament:
Care for Students Drove Forsythe Honoree Isom's Work for Nearly 40 Years
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 10, 2025
For 39 years, Kris Isom poured herself into education and educational athletics as a teacher, coach, class advisor, athletic director, league president and advocate statewide as a remember of the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
To celebrate nearly a lifetime of contributions – including several that continue to impact this state’s student-athletes – Isom has been selected as the 2025 honoree for the MHSAA’s Charles E. Forsythe Lifetime Achievement Award.
The annual award is in its 48th year and named after past MHSAA Executive Director Charles E. Forsythe, the Association's first full-time and longest-serving chief executive. Forsythe Award recipients are selected each year by the MHSAA Representative Council, based on an individual's outstanding contributions to the interscholastic athletics community at the local, regional and statewide levels. Isom will be honored during the MHSAA Boys Basketball Division 4 Final on March 15 at Michigan State University’s Breslin Student Events Center.
Isom retired at the close of the 2023-24 school year after 38 at Adrian Madison and one at Clinton, where she attended high school and then began her teaching career before moving to Madison and becoming a pillar locally and statewide for nearly four decades.
In addition to serving as part of the MHSAA’s Council from 2008-23, Isom served as the president of the Tri-County Conference for more than two decades, on top of all the daily responsibilities that come with serving as a school athletic director. She also was one of the few athletic directors who also coached every year at some level, leading teams in basketball, volleyball, sideline cheer, softball and track & field.
“What I miss the most is the interaction with the kids. The coaching of course, but then everyday them coming into the office or giving me a hug or asking me what’s up,” Isom said. “It’s not always the athletes you intermingle with; it’s the kids in need, and even today when I see them or run into them, I get a hug or thank you, and that makes it all worth it.”
Isom has been recognized several times in the past for her contributions. She received the MHSAA’s Women In Sports Leadership Award in 2019, after previously being honored with an MHSAA Allen W. Bush Award in 2016 to recognize her behind-the-scenes contributions to school sports. She also was named Region 6 Athletic Director of the Year in 2000 by the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA).
During her time at Madison, she saw several of her school’s athletic programs enjoy success. Among recent highlights, Madison’s competitive cheer team finished Division 4 runner-up in 2022, the girls track & field team won a Lower Peninsula Division 3 Finals championship in 2017 and finished runner-up in 2016, and the 2016 volleyball team reached the Class C Semifinals with her daughter Rachel a contributor.
Kristen Isom indeed was a significant contributor to MHSAA work from a behind-the-scenes point of view, as she was a frequent host of District, Regional and Quarterfinal competitions and also MHSAA Coaches Advancement Program (CAP) sessions at her school. She also has been a longtime member of the MIAAA and National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association.
“For nearly four decades, Kristen Isom served as an excellent example of how to navigate the daily challenges of athletic administration while making a difference in the lives of her students and an impact on educational athletics on a larger scale as well,” said MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl. “She often showed a way forward as the MHSAA worked through complex topics, and always with the best interests of students first and foremost.”
A graduate of Clinton High School, Isom received her bachelor’s degree in science and teaching certification in physical education and health in 1984 from Michigan State University. She earned her master’s in elementary education in 1986 from Eastern Michigan University and also has completed graduate courses from Fresno Pacific University.
In addition to the MIAAA and NIAAA, Isom also has been a member of the Michigan Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (MAHPERD) and the Michigan State University Alumni Association. She’s been active with the Clinton United Church of Christ and Land & Lakes Ladies Club in various service efforts, and participated in local Meals on Wheels and roadside cleanup projects.
Isom is married to her husband Jerry, and she’s also maintained her real estate license for 30 years and is continuing in that work.
“Obviously (the Forsythe Award) being a high achievement, and being nominated by your peers, it doesn’t get any better than that. They know everything that goes into this job,” Isom said. “I think, like my daughter said, most people said you got paid to go watch games – that’s a perception many people have and that’s OK, because everybody’s job has ups and downs.
“But to have done something 38 years, at the same place, there must have been something you’re doing right, and you must have enjoyed it. And it’s hard to find that. It kinda makes you feel like everything you’ve done was worthwhile, that you made a difference in someone’s life.”
Past recipients
1978 - Brick Fowler, Port Huron; Paul Smarks, Warren
1979 - Earl Messner, Reed City; Howard Beatty, Saginaw
1980 - Max Carey, Freesoil
1981 - Steven Sluka, Grand Haven; Samuel Madden, Detroit
1982 - Ernest Buckholz, Mt. Clemens; T. Arthur Treloar, Petoskey
1983 - Leroy Dues, Detroit; Richard Maher, Sturgis
1984 - William Hart, Marquette; Donald Stamats, Caro
1985 - John Cotton, Farmington; Robert James, Warren
1986 - William Robinson, Detroit; Irving Soderland, Norway
1987 - Jack Streidl, Plainwell; Wayne Hellenga, Decatur
1988 - Jack Johnson, Dearborn; Alan Williams, North Adams
1989 - Walter Bazylewicz, Berkley; Dennis Kiley, Jackson
1990 - Webster Morrison, Pickford; Herbert Quade, Benton Harbor
1991 - Clifford Buckmaster, Petoskey; Donald Domke, Northville
1992 - William Maskill, Kalamazoo; Thomas G. McShannock, Muskegon
1993 - Roy A. Allen Jr., Detroit; John Duncan, Cedarville
1994 - Kermit Ambrose, Royal Oak
1995 - Bob Perry, Lowell
1996 - Charles H. Jones, Royal Oak
1997 - Michael A. Foster, Richland; Robert G. Grimes, Battle Creek
1998 - Lofton C. Greene, River Rouge; Joseph J. Todey, Essexville
1999 - Bernie Larson, Battle Creek
2000 - Blake Hagman, Kalamazoo; Jerry Cvengros, Escanaba
2001 - Norm Johnson, Bangor; George Lovich, Canton
2002 - John Fundukian, Novi
2003 - Ken Semelsberger, Port Huron
2004 - Marco Marcet, Frankenmuth
2005 - Jim Feldkamp, Troy
2006 - Dan McShannock, Midland; Dail Prucka, Monroe
2007 - Keith Eldred, Williamston; Tom Hickman, Spring Lake
2008 - Jamie Gent, Haslett; William Newkirk, Sanford Meridian
2009 - Paul Ellinger, Cheboygan
2010 - Rudy Godefroidt, Hemlock; Mike Boyd, Waterford
2011 - Eric C. Federico, Trenton
2012 - Bill Mick, Midland
2013 - Jim Gilmore, Tecumseh; Dave Hutton, Grandville
2014 - Dan Flynn, Escanaba
2015 - Hugh Matson, Saginaw
2016 - Gary Hice, Petoskey; Gina Mazzolini, Lansing
2017 - Chuck Nurek, Rochester Hills
2018 - Gary Ellis, Allegan
2019 - Jim Derocher, Negaunee; Fredrick J. Smith, Stevensville
2020 - Michael Garvey, Lawton
2021 – Leroy Hackley Jr., Byron Center; Patti Tibaldi, Traverse City
2022 – Bruce Horsch, Houghton
2023 – Karen Leinaar, Frankfort
2024 – Sean Jacques, Calumet
PHOTO Retired Adrian Madison athletic director Kristen Isom presents the Division 4 finalist trophy to Ewen-Trout Creek in 2022. (Photo by Andrew Frushour.)