Participation Ranks 7th Nationally
August 26, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
For the sixth straight year, Michigan ranked seventh nationally in high school sports participation, according to statistics for the 2013-14 school year released recently by the National Federation of State High School Associations. That level of participation continued to best Michigan’s national ranking for total number of residents of high school age, which remained ninth for the second consecutive year.
Michigan’s participation ranking was based on a number of 299,246, with 127,275 girls and 171,971 boys taking part, and included sports in which the Michigan High School Athletic Association 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 remained seventh nationally for the third consecutive year, while the boys participation figure continued to rank sixth. According to the latest U.S. Census Bureau figures from 2013, Michigan ranks ninth in both females and males ages 14 through 17.
Michigan ranked ninth or higher nationally in participation in 26 of the 28 sports in which the MHSAA conducts a postseason tournament (not counting separately 8-player football), and 14 sports bested the state’s overall national participation ranking, placing sixth or higher on their respective lists.
Boys cross country participation improved for the second straight year, up one spot to seventh nationally. Eight-player football also jumped, three spots to 11th, while 11-player football fell only one spot to sixth on its national list despite the shift of some teams to the 8-player format.
Seven Michigan boys sports joined 11-player football in falling slightly in national rankings, although none placed lower than ninth on their respective lists. Boys basketball fell from fourth to sixth, boys ice hockey from third to fourth, boys lacrosse from seventh to eighth, boys soccer from eighth to ninth, boys swimming and diving from seventh to ninth, boys track and field from sixth to seventh and wrestling also from sixth to seventh. Baseball (seventh), boys bowling (second), boys golf (sixth), boys skiing (fourth) and boys tennis (fifth) held constant to their 2012-13 national rankings.
Twelve of 14 girls sports also ranked the same as a year ago – girls basketball at seventh nationally, girls bowling at fourth, competitive cheer fifth, girls cross country fifth, girls golf sixth, gymnastics 12th, girls lacrosse 13th, girls skiing fourth, girls soccer ninth, softball seventh, girls swimming and diving ninth and girls tennis fourth. The two remaining girls sports fell in ranking, but only slightly – track and field from seventh to eighth and volleyball from fourth to fifth nationally.
National participation in high school sports in 2013-14 set a record for the 25th consecutive year with 7,795,658 participants – an increase of 82,081 from the year before. Girls participation also set a record for the 25th straight year, increasing this time 44,941 participants to 3,267,664 total. Boys participation rose above 4.5 million for the first time with a total of 4,527,994 – 37,140 more participants than in 2012-13. Part of the boys record total can be attributed to a jump in 11-player football participation, which grew by 6,791 players over the 2012 season – the first increase in national 11-player participation in five years.
Football (1,123,852 participants including 6, 8 and 9-player teams) remained the top sport for boys participation and top high school sport overall, with baseball the largest gainer among the top 10 boys sports. Girls track and field topped the girls national participation list, with volleyball the biggest girls gainer moving to third on that list behind also basketball. Outdoor track and field (1,059,206 boys and girls combined) was the second-most participated in sport nationally, followed by basketball (974,398 boys and girls combined).
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.
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.)