Tournament Attendance Nears 1.5 Million
October 5, 2012
The 2011-12 school year marked the fifth straight that attendance at Michigan High School Athletic Association postseason tournaments totaled more than 1.47 million fans – with records set for total attendance at tournaments for six sports.
Total attendance for 2011-12 was 1,479,421 fans, with 1,050,405 at boys tournaments and 429,016 spectators at girls tournaments. Attendance is kept for all sports except golf, skiing and tennis, for which admission typically is not charged.
The previous year, total attendance was 1,522,468 – a five-year high – with 1,090,040 fans at boys tournament events and 432,368 at girls events. The 2011-12 overall attendance figure was the lowest since 2006-07 and represents a 2.8 percent drop from 2010-11, with boys attendance down 3.6 percent but girls attendance down slightly less than one percent.
Twelve sports saw increased tournament attendance last school year from 2010-11: boys soccer (33,399), cross country (19,279) team wrestling (30,415), baseball (47,692), boys lacrosse (7,899), volleyball (99,295), competitive cheer (23,511), girls lacrosse (5,526), girls soccer (26,928) and softball (41,434). Two tournaments at which boys and girls compete simultaneously, bowling (12,346) and track and field (36,904), also saw increases during 2011-12.
Three girls sports set attendance records. Cheer and girls lacrosse each set all-time highs for the eighth consecutive year, with lacrosse’s annual increases dating back to its first year as an MHSAA-sponsored sport in 2005. Volleyball set a high for the fourth straight year despite a slight decrease in District attendance – totals at Regionals, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and the Finals all increased from 2010-11, the Finals total by 27 percent.
The combined bowling tournament also set a record, besting its figure of 12,099 fans in 2009-10, and the track and field tournament set a record for a second straight year, besting the 2010-11 attendance of 36,873. The combined boys and girls cross country tournament bested its 2010-11 record total by nearly 1,000 fans.
Eight more Finals joined volleyball with increases in attendance from 2010-11. Among the most notable, Girls Basketball Finals weekend saw an increase of 9.7 percent, while attendance at Team Wrestling Finals weekend and the Track and Field Finals both were up eight percent from the year before. Finals for cheer, girls soccer, bowling, boys soccer and individual wrestling also saw small increases in 2011-12.
Football again ranked as the most-attended MHSAA tournament, with 427,520 fans. Since playoff expansion occurred in 1999, the football playoffs have been the single most attended tournament series on 10 occasions. Boys basketball was second in 2011-12 attendance with 322,988 fans, and girls basketball was third with 158,481. All three of those sports saw attendance drops from the previous year – football by 4.7 percent, boys basketball by 3.6 percent and girls basketball by five percent. Boys basketball hit a record low for the second straight year. The 2011-12 football attendance, however, was still more than 24,000 fans better than in 2009-10, and girls basketball attendance was roughly 5,000 fans more than in 2008-09.
WISL Honoree Thunberg Embraces Leadership Opportunities in Every Role
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
March 3, 2025
Through several professional roles in education, Jennifer Thunberg always has maintained a strong connection with athletics and provided leadership – locally, within her league and sport community, and currently at the statewide level serving on the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
To recognize her vast an ongoing contributions, Thunberg has been named the 39th recipient of the MHSAA’s Women In Sports Leadership Award.
Each year, the Representative Council considers the achievements of women coaches, officials and athletic administrators affiliated with the MHSAA who show exemplary leadership capabilities and positive contributions to athletics. Thunberg will receive her award during the Division 1 Girls Basketball Final, March 22 at the Breslin Student Events Center in East Lansing.
A standout herself as a three-sport athlete at Bay City Central and then volleyball player at Saginaw Valley State University, Thunberg began her coaching career at Central in 1997 and teaching career there in 2001. After coaching the volleyball junior varsity two seasons while still playing collegiately, she led the varsity to a 249-201-43 record over 10 seasons before moving on to Pinconning High School, where she served as athletic director from 2008-14.
Thunberg returned to Central as an assistant principal and became the school’s athletic director in 2017. She remained in that position until becoming principal at Freeland Middle School two years ago.
“A lot of the women who are on that (WISL Award) list are women who have been mentors of mine – who I have worked very closely with – and to be included in that group of women, I’m humbled and honored,” Thunberg said. “Jean LaClair (Bronson, 2015) has been a mentor of mine since I began my coaching career, and I can’t say enough about her. (There are many) between the volleyball world and athletic director world, and I’m just honored to be part of it.”
During her time as Bay City Central’s volleyball coach, Thunberg also served as president of the Michigan Interscholastic Volleyball Coaches Association (MIVCA) from 2005-08, and was instrumental in the creation of the annual Miss Volleyball Award honoring the state’s top high school senior.
As Pinconning and later Central’s athletic director, Thunberg hosted several MHSAA Tournament events and Coaches Advancement Program sessions. She also has served on MHSAA committees for volleyball rules, site selection, Scholar-Athlete Award selection and Women In Sports Leadership Conference planning.
She was one of only two female athletic directors in the Saginaw Valley League when she took that position at Central, and she served as the league’s executive director during the 2022-23 school year. The Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (MIAAA) named her its Region 8 Athletic Director of the Year in 2022.
Thunberg also served on the board for the Michigan Association of Secondary School Principals from 2015-21. She was appointed to the MHSAA’s Representative Council at its 2023-24 Fall Meeting and is serving a two-year term.
“At every stage of her educational career, Jennifer Thunberg has taken on a leadership role, and her vision and dedication to students is admired by her athletic and administrative communities across the state,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “She is a strong believer in the power of athletics to help drive a student’s all-around education, and we are thankful to have her voice representing school sports.”
A 1996 graduate of Bay City Central, Thunberg played basketball, volleyball and softball for the Wolves. At SVSU, she earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and master’s in educational leadership, and she remains among the volleyball program’s all-time leaders in single-season aces.
Thunberg earned her certified athletic administrator designation from the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association (NIAAA) in 2010, and her certified master athletic administrator designation in 2014.
In addition to leading a school and serving on the MHSAA’s Council, she’s also currently serving as president of the Bay County Sports Hall of Fame.
“I was student council president in high school, National Honor Society vice president, and whatever group I got involved in … I just liked to be involved in those organizations,” Thunberg said of taking on leadership roles. “And every single one of those organizations improved and helped me more than I’ve helped the organization. They’ve taught me things, helped me get to know more people – helped me become who I am today.”
Her husband Todd Thunberg is a teacher and Bay City Central’s girls basketball coach, and they have two daughters, 13-year-old Taylor and 11-year-old Rylee.
The first Women In Sports Leadership Award was presented in 1990.
Past recipients
1990 – Carol Seavoy, L’Anse
1991 – Diane Laffey, Harper Woods
1992 – Patricia Ashby, Scotts
1993 – Jo Lake, Grosse Pointe
1994 – Brenda Gatlin, Detroit
1995 – Jane Bennett, Ann Arbor
1996 – Cheryl Amos-Helmicki, Huntington Woods
1997 – Delores L. Elswick, Detroit
1998 – Karen S. Leinaar, Delton
1999 – Kathy McGee, Flint
2000 – Pat Richardson, Grass Lake
2001 – Suzanne Martin, East Lansing
2002 – Susan Barthold, Kentwood
2003 – Nancy Clark, Flint
2004 – Kathy Vruggink Westdorp, Grand Rapids
2005 – Barbara Redding, Capac
2006 – Melanie Miller, Lansing
2007 – Jan Sander, Warren Woods
2008 – Jane Bos, Grand Rapids
2009 – Gail Ganakas, Flint; Deb VanKuiken, Holly
2010 – Gina Mazzolini, Lansing
2011 – Ellen Pugh, West Branch; Patti Tibaldi, Traverse City
2012 – Janet Gillette, Comstock Park
2013 – Barbara Beckett, Traverse City
2014 – Teri Reyburn, DeWitt
2015 – Jean LaClair, Bronson
2016 – Betty Wroubel, Pontiac
2017 – Dottie Davis, Ann Arbor
2018 – Meg Seng, Ann Arbor
2019 – Kris Isom, Adrian
2020 – Nikki Norris, East Lansing
2021 – Dorene Ingalls, St. Ignace
2022 – Lori Hyman, Livonia
2023 – Laurie Glass, Leland
2024 – Mary Cicerone, Bloomfield Hills; Eve Claar, Ann Arbor
PHOTOS At left, Jennifer Thunberg speaks during an MASSP Conference. At right, she and her family show their support for Bay City Central. (Photos provided by Jennifer Thunberg.)