Participation Again Outpaces Population
August 9, 2017
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan had the eighth-most participants in high school sports nationally in 2016-17 according to statistics released this week by the National Federation of State High School Associations, after ranking seventh in participation the last eight school years.
However, this year’s level of participation again bested Michigan’s national ranking for total number of residents of high school age, which fell from ninth to 10th according to U.S. Census Bureau figures.
Michigan’s participation ranking was based on a number of 295,647, with 127,277 girls and 168,370 boys taking part in high school athletics, and included sports in which the MHSAA does not conduct postseason tournaments. 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.
The state’s girls participation ranked eighth nationally, down one spot from 2015-16, while the boys participation figure also ranked eighth, down from sixth the year before. However, as with overall population, Michigan ranks 10th for both females and males ages 14-17 according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau estimates from 2016.
A total of 19 sports bested the state’s overall national participation ranking of eighth by placing seventh or higher on their respective lists. Three Michigan sports improved in national ranking during 2016-17, while five sports dropped one position and a sixth sport dropped two spots.
Michigan girls and boys golf both improved from sixth to fifth in national participation ranking, while girls basketball – with its first increase in participation after 10 straight years of decline – rose from seventh to sixth nationally. Michigan also moved up to seventh, from eighth, for 8-player football participation – significant because the state’s 11-player football participation ranking didn’t fall with that increase, remaining at sixth nationally for the fourth straight year.
Of the five sports that fell in national participation rankings in 2016-17, three stayed above population rank – boys basketball fell from sixth to seventh nationally, girls bowling from third to fourth and volleyball from fourth to sixth. Girls gymnastics (11th to 12th) and boys lacrosse (eighth to ninth) fell only one spot on their respective national lists.
The other Michigan sports that ranked eighth or higher all equaled their national rankings from 2015-16 and included baseball (eighth), boys bowling (third), competitive cheer (sixth), boys and girls cross country (both seventh), boys ice hockey (fourth), boys and girls skiing (both third), softball (seventh), boys tennis (fifth), girls tennis (third), boys track & field (seventh), girls track & field (eighth) and wrestling (seventh). Girls lacrosse (13th), boys and girls soccer (both ninth), boys swimming & diving (ninth) and girls swimming & diving (10th) all also held to their national rankings from the previous year.
National participation in high school sports in 2016-17 set a record for the 28th consecutive year with 7,963,535 participants – an increase of 94,635 from the year before. Girls participation increased for the 28th consecutive year with an additional 75,971 participants – the largest one-year jump since 2000-01 – and set an all-time high of 3,400,297. Boys participation also set another all-time high with 4,563,238, an increase of 18,664 participants from 2015-16.
Girls saw increases in all of their top-10 participatory sports, with competitive spirit (competitive cheer in Michigan) showing the largest increase of 18,712 participants nationally. Track & field, volleyball, soccer and lacrosse showed the next greatest increases among girls sports. Seven of the top 10 boys sports registered increases from 2015-16, led by soccer, track & field and cross country.
Football (1,086,748), while down two percent from 2015-16, again remained the most-played high school sport overall, followed by boys track & field (600,136), boys basketball (550,305), girls track & field (494,477) and baseball (492,935).
Girls Wrestling District, Regional Team Titles Headline 2025-26 Winter Additions, Rule Changes
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 4, 2025
The MHSAA will this season award District and Regional team championships in girls wrestling for the first time, with those additions headlining changes to winter sports as 2025-26 activities continue to get underway this month across the state.
Ice hockey, gymnastics, competitive cheer, girls and boys bowling, Upper Peninsula girls and boys swimming & diving, girls and boys wrestling and boys basketball all have begun competition for the 2025-26 season. Girls and boys skiing, Lower Peninsula boys swimming & diving and girls basketball will begin competition over the next week.
The first Finals team championship in girls wrestling was awarded to Grand Haven to conclude the 2024-25 season, with scoring based on results from individual brackets at the MHSAA Individual Finals. Team champions for District and Regional levels this winter will be determined using the same format as the sport continues to grow toward the possibility of a head-to-head team tournament. A total of 1,505 girls participated in wrestling during the 2024-25 season, more than double the 620 participants from 2021-22, the first season the MHSAA conducted a girls division at the Individual Finals.
Ice hockey teams also will enjoy a significant addition this winter, as they are now allowed to play 27 regular-season games – two more than in seasons past – plus one scrimmage. Ice hockey also has one on-ice rule change that will be noticeable: A puck resting on top of the goal netting between the crossbar and goal frame is now considered unplayable and results in an immediate game stoppage. A puck outside of the goal netting and below the crossbar remains in play for both teams.
The most noticeable rule changes in basketball this winter address goaltending. Offensive teams no longer can be called for goaltending violations, reducing ambiguity over whether a ball was a shot or a pass. Additionally, a rule change establishes that once the ball contacts the backboard, it is automatically considered to be on its downward flight – if a player touches the ball after it hits the backboard, and the ball has a possibility of entering the basket, it is to be ruled as goaltending.
Another basketball rule change expanded the definition of basket interference to include when a player slaps or strikes the backboard, causing the backboard or basket to vibrate, while the ball is on or within the basket, touching the backboard, or within the cylinder.
As were allowed during the fall Lower Peninsula girls swimming & diving season, backstroke ledges will be permitted this LP boys and UP girls and boys season in pools that maintain a 6-foot water depth. If used in competition, identical ledges must be provided by the host team for all lanes, although individual swimmers are not required to use them. Also in swimming & diving – during relay exchanges – second, third and fourth swimmers must have one foot stationary at the front edge of the deck. The remainder of their bodies may be in motion prior to the finish of the incoming swimmer.
The 2025-26 Winter campaign culminates with postseason tournaments, as the championship schedule begins with the Upper Peninsula Girls & Boys Swimming & Diving Finals on Feb. 21 and wraps up with the Girls Basketball Finals on March 21.
A one-year calendar change will move this season’s Competitive Cheer Finals one week later than usual, to March 6-7, to accommodate scheduling at McGuirk Arena at Central Michigan University. Districts this season in cheer are scheduled for Feb. 20-21, 2026, and Regionals for Feb. 28, with Finals the following weekend. 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 Friday) in February.
Here is a complete list of winter tournament dates for 2025-26:
Boys Basketball
Districts – Feb. 23, 25, 27
Regionals – March 3, 5
Quarterfinals – March 10
Semifinals – March 12-13
Finals – March 14
Girls Basketball
Districts – March 2, 4, 5
Regionals – March 9, 11
Quarterfinals – March 17
Semifinals – March 19-20
Finals – March 21
Bowling
Regionals – Feb. 18-21
Finals – Feb. 27-28
Competitive Cheer
Districts – Feb. 20-21
Regionals – Feb. 28
Finals – March 6-7
Gymnastics
Regionals – Feb. 28
Finals – March 6-7
Ice Hockey
Regionals – Feb. 16-25
Quarterfinals – Feb. 28
Semifinals – March 5-6
Finals – March 7
Skiing
Regionals – Feb. 9-13
Finals – Feb. 23
Swimming & Diving
Upper Peninsula Girls/Boys Finals – Feb. 21
Lower Peninsula Boys Diving Regionals – March 5
Lower Peninsula Boys Finals – March 13-14
Wrestling – Team
Districts – Feb. 11-12
Regionals – Feb. 18
Finals – Feb. 27-28
Wrestling – Individual
Boys Districts – Feb. 14
Girl Districts – Feb. 15
Boys Regionals – Feb. 21
Girls Regionals – Feb. 22
Finals – March 6-7