Sparrow to Present MHSAA Hoops Finals
March 15, 2016
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Sparrow Health System of Lansing, a provider of medical expertise and information to Michigan High School Athletic Association schools, their athletes, parents and staff, will serve as the presenting sponsor of this season’s Girls & Boys Basketball Finals to be played over the next two weeks.
Sparrow, a member of the prestigious Mayo Clinic Care Network, is mid-Michigan’s premier healthcare organization with more than 10,000 caregivers. Sparrow’s Sports Medicine division offers programs for athletes at all levels and includes primary care physicians, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists and athletic and performance trainers.
The MHSAA Girls Basketball Finals will begin with Semifinals this Thursday (March 17) and Friday, with all four Finals on Saturday. The Boys Basketball Semifinals and Finals will be played next week, March 24-26. All games will be played at the Breslin Student Events Center at Michigan State University.
Sparrow lends its expertise through the MHSAA Website and on-site at various MHSAA tournament events. Resources from Sparrow staff, including information on current health and safety topics and trends, are accessible online through the Health & Safety page of the MHSAA Website, where an “Ask the Expert” feature connects users with sports health-related questions to Sparrow Caregivers.
“Sparrow Health System’s contributions have allowed us to bolster our ability to provide assistance on health and wellness topics to our athletes, parents, coaches and administrators,” said John E. “Jack” Roberts, executive director of the MHSAA. “We are pleased to have Sparrow involved with two of our most attended events and the opportunities they provide to make contact with many of our constituents.”
The Girls and Boys Basketball Finals weekends drew a combined 62,654 fans in 2015.
In addition to its presence at MHSAA Tournament events, Sparrow also provides speakers at MHSAA functions and events throughout the state, offering guidance on health issues for student-athletes. Sparrow physicians have spoken during MHSAA staff training sessions, Student Advisory Council meetings and athletic director orientations.
“Sparrow is proud to be the official health system of the MHSAA,” said Michael Shingles, D.O., Sparrow Sports Medicine medical director and team orthopedic surgeon for Michigan State University. “We provide some of the most advanced care in the mid-Michigan region and world. We are particularly excited to have a new Sports Medicine practice specifically for athletes like those participating in the high school basketball playoffs at the Breslin Center.”
Sparrow is mid-Michigan’s premier health care organization and includes hospitals in Lansing, St. Johns, Ionia and Carson City as well as Physicians Health Plan, Sparrow Physicians Health Network, the Sparrow Medical Group and the Michigan Athletic Club. Sparrow is affiliated with Michigan State University’s three human health colleges. Through these partnerships and the dedication of 10,000 caregivers, Sparrow pursues a vision to be nationally recognized as a leader in quality and patient experience.
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.
Addition of Girls Wrestling Team Championship Highlights Winter Sports Changes
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 5, 2024
With the first wrestling matches of the 2024-25 season taking place Wednesday, and the first girls and boys skiing and Lower Peninsula boys swimming & diving meets able to be scheduled for this weekend, teams will be competing in all 13 winter sports for which the Michigan High School Athletic Association sponsors postseason tournaments.
Those sports are or will soon join competition already underway in girls and boys basketball, girls and boys bowling, girls competitive cheer, girls gymnastics, boys ice hockey, and Upper Peninsula girls and boys swimming & diving.
This season, for the first time, an MHSAA Finals team championship will be awarded in girls wrestling. After first introducing a girls championship bracket to the Individual Wrestling Finals for the 2021-22 season, the MHSAA will honor its first team champion based on those individual finishes. The format will be similar to how MHSAA team championships were awarded for boys wrestling prior to the creation of the dual format Team Finals with the 1987-88 season.
Also on the wrestling mat, a competition rule change alters the penalty for using a wrestler at an ineligible weight class – dependent on when the ineligible wrestler is discovered.
Beginning this season, the use of an ineligible wrestler – if discovered during the involved match – will result in six team points being awarded to the opponent, plus the head coach of the team with the ineligible wrestler will be assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty resulting in a one-point team score deduction. If the ineligible wrestler is discovered after the involved match, any points earned by the offending wrestler will be removed from the team score, along with the point for unsportsmanlike conduct, and six points will be added to the offended team’s total. In both instances, neither wrestler involved in the match in question may compete again in that dual. If the ineligible wrestler is discovered after the dual is completed, the teams have left the mat area and the scorebook has been signed by the official, the results and team score will stand.
A pair of wrestling playing rules changes also will be immediately noticeable. The number of match points awarded for a takedown was increased from two to three. Also, near-fall points will now be awarded based on the number of seconds during which the near-fall criteria are met – beginning with two points for two seconds, up to four points for four seconds.
Postseasons for basketball and bowling also will incorporate slight changes. In basketball, entire District brackets will be seeded for the first time, instead of the previous top two teams receiving seeds only. Michigan Power Ratings (MPR) data will still be used to seed those full brackets. In bowling, Regionals may now take place as early in the week as Wednesday and Thursday, as long as the Team and Singles competitions are competed on consecutive days. Previously, those were competed only on Fridays and Saturdays, respectively.
The 2024-25 Winter campaign culminates with postseason tournaments, as the championship schedule begins with the Upper Peninsula Girls & Boys Swimming & Diving Finals on Feb. 15 and wraps up with the Girls Basketball Finals on March 22. Here is a complete list of winter tournament dates:
Boys Basketball
Districts – Feb. 24, 26, 28
Regionals – March 4, 6
Quarterfinals – March 11
Semifinals – March 13-14
Finals – March 15
Girls Basketball
Districts – March 3, 5, 7
Regionals – March 10, 12
Quarterfinals – March 18
Semifinals – March 20-21
Finals – March 22
Bowling
Regionals – Feb. 19-22
Finals – Feb. 28-March 1
Competitive Cheer
Districts – Feb. 14-15
Regionals – Feb. 22
Finals – Feb. 28-March 1
Gymnastics
Regionals – March 1
Finals – March 7-8
Ice Hockey
Regionals – Feb. 17-26
Quarterfinals – March 1
Semifinals – March 6-7
Finals – March 8
Skiing
Regionals – Feb. 10-14
Finals – Feb. 24
Swimming & Diving
Upper Peninsula Girls/Boys Finals – Feb. 15
Lower Peninsula Boys Diving Regionals – March 6
Lower Peninsula Boys Finals – March 14-15
Wrestling – Team
Districts – Feb. 5-6
Regionals – Feb. 12
Finals – Feb. 21-22
Wrestling – Individual
Districts – Feb. 8
Boys Regionals – Feb. 15
Girls Regionals – Feb. 16
Finals – Feb. 28-March 1