Welcome to the Second Half
January 27, 2012
More than 750 high schools are members of the Michigan High School Athletic Association. And every team in every community has a story.
“Second Half” is our place to tell them.
Combined with our parent site MHSAA.com, and our broadcast home MHSAA.tv, “Second Half” completes our picture of the best Michigan high school sports have to offer.
With MHSAA.com, “Second Half” is the home of a growing number of schedules, scores, league standings and tournament information for our sports – but also much more. Now, we’ll look to provide visitors with the stories behind the scores.
You’ll find the report of a rare feat or the achievement that rallied the town. Behind-the-scenes looks at what we do at the MHSAA and what goes into 28 Finals tournaments each school year. We tell the inspiring tales of overcoming large obstacles, and the simple ones of lessons learned just by being a part of school sports. They’re the kind of stories all of us can relate to and enjoy, no matter where we live and which teams we support.
Michigan is the 10th-largest state in the nation. There are more than 58,000 square miles of land, and by vehicle it’s 625 miles from Calumet High School near the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula to Bedford High on the southeastern border with Ohio. Nearly 10 million people live, work and play here. MHSAA tournament events alone attract 1.6 million spectators each year.
With “Second Half”, we aim to make our state a little smaller.
If you like something we’re doing, let us know. If you’d like to see something else, I’d love to hear about it. My contact information is at the right of this screen, and my e-mail address is [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you – and telling the entire state about the great things you’re doing.
--Geoff Kimmerly
Century of School Sports: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
September 10, 2024
While we’ve begun commemorating our “Century of School Sports” at the MHSAA office in East Lansing, you’ll soon see symbols of this milestone at events all over the state – and our game officials and participating teams will have an opportunity to keep a memento of this celebration.
Our 100th Anniversary logo (see the above left-hand corner of our website) has been incorporated into uniform patches and championship medals that will be worn and awarded all over Michigan during the 2024-25 school year.
Medals have been given to champions going back to nearly the start of the MHSAA – a 1933 basketball tournament medal is among the oldest that have been sent back to us over the years – and medals to be awarded during District, Regional and Finals competition this fall, upcoming winter and spring have been redesigned to reflect the anniversary.
Patches, particularly those worn by our game officials, also date back to the MHSAA’s early decades – officials annually receive patches for their uniforms to signify they are registered with the MHSAA, and our collection in East Lansing goes back to the late 1940s. Several officials signed up for this school year already are receiving their 2024-25 patches, and these include a nod to 100 years. Officials selected for our Finals each season also annually receive a special patch – and for this school year, those Finals patches will reflect the anniversary.
Athletes will have an opportunity to wear a commemorative patch as well. Those taking part in several of our championship competitions will receive patches that adhere to their uniforms (in sports where adding a patch does not interfere with the uniform or competition).
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
PHOTOS Clockwise from top left: (1) 100-Year Anniversary officials patch. (2) 2024-25 Commemorative medal. (3) 2024-25 Officials Finals patch. (4) 2024-25 District medal. (5) 2024-25 Regional medal. (6) 2024-25 Final medal.