New Math: Division & Multiplication Problems
July 25, 2017
By Jack Roberts
MHSAA Executive Director
This is the second part in a series on MHSAA tournament classification, past and present, that will be published over the next two weeks. This series originally ran in this spring's edition of MHSAA benchmarks.
High school tournament classifications went viral before there was social media and most of us knew what “viral” meant.
Much as a virus infects computers today or has created epidemics of disease around the world for centuries, high school tournament classification – once introduced – tends to spread uncontrollably. Once started, it tends to keep expanding and rarely contracts.
While we are still some distance from providing every team a trophy as a result of expanding high school tournament classification across the country, there is criticism nevertheless that we are headed in that direction – a philosophy which is supposed to exist only in local youth sports for our youngest children.
Michigan could be blamed for all this. Michigan is generally accepted as the first state to provide different classifications for season-ending tournaments for different sized schools. It started a century ago. Today, every state has various classifications for its tournaments in most if not all sports. And it is a bit ironic that Michigan – creator of the classification chaos – more than most other states has kept the number of tournament classes or divisions under control.
Yes, there is evidence that tournament classifications have expanded over the years in Michigan, especially with the relatively recent introduction of tournaments in football and the late 1990s’ move from classes to divisions in most MHSAA tournaments. But the MHSAA Representative Council has held true to its word when it expanded the playoffs for football from four classes to eight divisions: this is needed because of unique factors of football, factors that exist in no other sport; and all other sports should be capped at a maximum of four classes or divisions.
Kentucky is the preeminent defender of single-class basketball. All of its 276 high schools compete for the single state championship for each gender. In Indiana, there are still open wounds from its move in 1998 from one to four classes for its 400 schools in basketball.
Multi-class tournaments have tended to increase the number of non-public school champions, which some states are trying to lower through enrollment “multipliers,” and also tend to increase the number of repeat champions, which some states are trying to affect with “success factors” which lift smaller schools into classifications for larger schools if they take home too many trophies.
While there is considerable evidence that state tournaments do as much bad as good for educational athletics, state associations persist in providing postseason tournaments because, on balance, the experiences are supposed to be good for student-athletes. And once we reach that conclusion it is just a small leap to believe that if the tournaments are good for a few, they must be better for more – which leads to creating more and more tournament classifications. One becomes two classes, then three, then four and so forth.
While the argument is that more classifications or divisions provides more students with opportunities to compete and win, it is undeniable that the experience changes as the number of tournament classifications expands. It is not possible for state associations to provide the same level of support when tournament classifications expand to multiple venues playing simultaneously. For example, there is less audio and video broadcast potential at each venue, and less media coverage to each venue. Focus is diluted and fans diminished at each championship.
No one can argue reasonably that today's two-day MHSAA Football Finals of eight championship games has the same pizazz as the one-day, four-games event conducted prior to 1990.
In some states the number of divisions has grown so much that it is difficult to see much difference between the many season-ending state championship games and a regular-season event in the same sport.
It is a balancing act. And Michigan has been studying that balance longer than any other state, and charting a steadier course than most.
Addition by Division
The shift to Divisions for MHSAA Tournament play in numerous sports has added up to a greater number of champions for teams and individuals across the state. Following are the sports currently employing a divisional format, and the procedures for determining enrollment and classification.
In 23 statewide or Lower Peninsula tournaments, schools which sponsor the sport are currently divided into nearly equal divisions. They are:
- Baseball - 4 Divisions
- Boys Bowling - 4 Divisions
- Girls Bowling - 4 Divisions
- Girls Competitive Cheer - 4 Divisions
- LP Boys Cross Country - 4 Divisions
- LP Girls Cross Country - 4 Divisions
- LP Boys Golf - 4 Divisions
- LP Girls Golf - 4 Divisions
- Ice Hockey - 3 Divisions
- Boys Lacrosse - 2 Divisions
- Girls Lacrosse - 2 Divisions
- Boys Skiing - 2 Divisions
- Girls Skiing - 2 Divisions
- LP Boys Soccer - 4 Divisions LP
- Girls Soccer - 4 Divisions
- Girls Softball - 4 Divisions
- LP Boys Swimming & Diving - 3 Divisions
- LP Girls Swimming & Diving - 3 Divisions
- LP Boys Tennis - 4 Divisions
- LP Girls Tennis - 4 Divisions
- LP Boys Track & Field - 4 Divisions
- LP Girls Track & Field - 4 Divisions
- Wrestling - 4 Divisions
Lists of schools for each division of these 23 tournaments are posted on MHSAA.com approximately April 1. Listings of schools in Upper Peninsula tournaments for their sports are also posted on MHSAA.com. The lists are based on school memberships and sports sponsorships in effect or anticipated for the following school year, as known to the MHSAA office as of a date in early March.
In football, the 256 schools which qualify for MHSAA 11-player playoffs are placed in eight equal divisions annually on Selection Sunday. Beginning in 2017, the 8-player divisions will be determined in a like manner on Selection Sunday as well, with 32 qualifying schools placed in two divisions.
Schools have the option to play in any higher division in one or more sports for a minimum of two years.
The deadlines for "opt-ups" are as follows:
- Applications for fall sports must be submitted by April 15
- Applications for winter sports must be submitted by Aug. 15
- Applications for spring sports must be submitted by Oct. 15
Subsequent to the date of these postings for these tournaments, no school will have its division raised or lowered by schools opening or closing, schools adding or dropping sports, schools exercising the option to play in a higher division, or approval or dissolution of cooperative programs.
When the same sport is conducted for boys and girls in the same season (e.g., track & field and cross country), the gender that has the most sponsoring schools controls the division breaks for both genders.
Falcons Prove 'Sharpest' of Rochester Powers in Taking Back D1 Title
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
March 2, 2023
MOUNT PLEASANT – The joyful outpouring and high-pitched shrieks that rocked McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant at 8:20 p.m. Thursday were six years in the making.
That was the exact moment when the final scores were read and Rochester realized it had edged its archrival from down the road, three-time reigning champion Rochester Adams, by less than a single point to win its first MHSAA Division 1 competitive cheer championship since 2017.
There were screams, leaps, smiles and hugs – the kind of pure emotion that is rare, but happens in high-level sporting competition.
“It doesn’t feel real,” Rochester senior Ava Grabke said amongst the chaos. “All the hard work we’ve put in this season, really all of these years, finally did pay off.”
Rochester won with a three-round total of 790.62, with Adams less than a point behind at 789.72.
The third high school in the Rochester Community Schools district, Rochester Hills Stoney Creek (787.56), placed third, followed by Brighton (317.10) and Grandville (316.80).
The back story is that Rochester has the most cheer titles in state history (now 15), but in recent years, rival Adams has had the upper hand – winning the past three Division 1 championships and edging the Falcons at this season’s District and Regional, making the Highlanders favorites to “four-peat” at the Final.
Instead, it was Rochester, under the direction of first-year coach Samantha Koehler, which got off to a great start in Round 1 and held off a fierce challenge from Adams.
“We had one of our best Round 1 performances of the season today and, obviously, there’s no better time for that than the state finals,” said Koehler, who was a highly-successful head coach at Plymouth before taking over the Rochester program last year from legendary coach Susan Wood.
“It just goes to show that every round matters – every point, every decimal.”
Rochester had a 1.4-point lead after the first round, but Adams trimmed that to 0.9 points by getting the best score in Round 2 – setting the stage for a pressure-packed Round 3.
Stoney Creek and Hartland were also within striking distance and went early in Round 3, but were unable to make a big move.
Rochester vs. Adams took place in the sixth and seventh spots, respectively, in the Round 3 rotation. Both teams were outstanding under pressure and, fittingly, ended up with identical scores of 321.10 in the final round – giving Rochester the overall win by that nine tenths of a point.
“I think going first in that opening round hurt us a little bit,” said ninth-year Adams coach Brooke Miller. “We started a little lower than we expected and even though we won Round 2 and tied them in Round 3, we couldn’t overcome it.”
It was the fourth Finals runner-up finish to go with the three championships for the Highlanders, who had 12 seniors out of 28 athletes on the roster.
Among those seniors, Katie Burgin, Alex Ris and Ashley Rosati were all returning all-state second-team selections, and Emma Maynard and Peyton Regalado were honorable mention choices in 2022.
“Knowing we lost by less than a point is hard to take,” said Adams senior Ava Bolin. “But at the same time, there’s no better feeling than knowing when you get off the mat for the last time that there’s nothing else you could have done. That’s how we felt today.”
Koehler said the rivalry between the three Rochester schools and Oakland Activities Association Red rivals is incredibly intense, but for the most part, very positive. She has an ongoing group chat with Miller and Stoney Creek coach Tricia Williams where they wish each other the best.
“I really don’t have an explanation about how our three Rochester schools are 1, 2, 3 in the state, other than iron sharpens iron,” said Koehler. “We see them pretty much every weekend during the season, and it’s always super close. We know we have to keep working and improving to keep up with them.”
The victory was particularly sweet for the Falcons’ nine seniors, especially after failing to qualify for the Finals in 2021 and then placing fifth last year.
Rochester’s nine seniors were Grabke, Amelia Craft, Emily Isabell, Juliet Jones, Elizabeth Dyki, Maeve Losh, Martina Dedvukaj, Shreya Pillai and Wanja Kamau – all of whom enjoyed one final group rendition of the Rochester program’s theme song, “You Gotta Be” by Des’ree, this time on the McGuirk championship mat.
“It felt great,” Dedvukaj said with a smile. “It was like all the hard work and everything that happened over the past four years led us to this moment.”
PHOTOS (Top) Rochester competes during Thursday’s Division 1 Final at McGuirk Arena. (Middle) Rochester Adams takes the mat on the way to a runner-up finish.