Schools Approve 6th-Grade Membership
December 7, 2015
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
By a vote of 561 in favor and 87 opposed, the membership of the Michigan High School Athletic Association has approved an amendment to the MHSAA Constitution that for the first time in 2016-17 will permit schools to join the MHSAA at the 6th-grade level.
Currently, MHSAA membership is open to schools at the 7th- and 8th-grade level as junior high/middle schools and at the 9th through 12th grades at the high school level. The MHSAA’s total membership of 1,458 schools consists at this time of 705 junior high/middle schools and 753 high schools.
The revision in the MHSAA Constitution does not require school districts to become member schools at the junior high/middle school level and does not require school districts to sponsor any interscholastic 6th-grade programs. If a school district’s MHSAA Membership Resolution lists a junior high/middle school as an MHSAA member school, and if the school sponsors a 6th-grade team in any sport or permits a 6th-grade student to participate with 7th- and/or 8th-grade students in any sport, then all MHSAA Regulations apply to all 6th-graders in all sports involving 6th-graders on teams sponsored by that school. If the school does not allow any 6th-graders to participate in a sport, MHSAA rules do not apply in that sport.
“There are a variety of reasons school districts so overwhelmingly supported this change,” MHSAA Executive Director John E. “Jack” Roberts said. “Some wanted the change so they could better market school sports to younger students. Some districts have their 6th-graders in the same buildings and even classrooms with 7th- and 8th-graders and see the natural fit. Some of our smaller junior high/middle schools need 6th-graders to fill out teams.”
MHSAA services, including catastrophic accident medical insurance and concussion care gap insurance, will be provided without charge for 6th-graders whose districts secure MHSAA membership, beginning with the 2016-17 school year.
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,400 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.
MHSAA Student Advisory Council Names Members from Class of 2028
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
May 4, 2026
Eight student-athletes who will be juniors at their schools during the 2026-27 academic year have been selected to serve two-year terms on the Michigan High School Athletic Association’s Student Advisory Council.
The Student Advisory Council is a 16-member group which provides feedback on issues impacting educational athletics from a student’s perspective, and also is involved in the operation of MHSAA championship events and other programming. Members of the Student Advisory Council serve for two years, beginning as juniors. Eight new members are selected annually to serve on the SAC, with nominations made by MHSAA member schools. The incoming juniors will join the group of eight seniors-to-be appointed a year ago.
Selected to begin serving on the Student Advisory Council in 2026-27 are Addi Diepenbrock, Ada Forest Hills Eastern; Avery Edwards, Kingsford; Maci Godfrey, Hudson; Karly Grant, St Ignace; Liam Arnold, Macomb Dakota; Kyle Hunter, Detroit Voyageur College Prep; Rahul Prasanna, Novi; and Eli Wolters, Holland.
Those eight new members were selected from 127 applicants, the second-largest group of applicants during the 20 years of the council. The first Student Advisory Council was formed for the 2006-07 school year. With the addition of this class beginning this summer, members will have represented 155 schools from 53 leagues plus independent schools that do not play in a league. Combined, the new appointees have participated in 12 MHSAA sports, and six will be the first SAC members from their respective schools.
The Student Advisory Council generally meets eight times each school year, and once more for a 24-hour leadership camp. In addition to assisting in the promotion of the educational value of interscholastic athletics, the Council discusses issues dealing with the 4 S’s of educational athletics: scholarship, sportsmanship, safety (including health and nutrition) and the sensible scope of athletic programs. There also is a fifth S discussed by the group – student leadership.
This school year, the Council handed out championship trophies at Finals events, led sessions during four Sportsmanship Summits, provided feedback to the MHSAA Representative Council on proposed rule changes, and provided behind-the-scenes social media coverage at MHSAA championship events. They also were featured in public service announcement videos broadcast throughout the last school year.
The new additions to the SAC will join the Class of 2027 members who were selected a year ago: Nichole James, Detroit Edison; Mia McGregor, Mio; Camryn Siegers, Holland Christian; Lucy Weber, Fenton; Brody Hammer, Middleville Thornapple Kellogg; Sam Bentley, Ypsilanti Lincoln; Mason Mireles, Hartford; and Joey Smokevitch, Johannesburg-Lewiston.