Century of School Sports: WISL Conference Continues to Inspire Aspiring Leaders
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 4, 2025
There has long been a mighty sense of pride at the MHSAA for its Women In Sports Leadership Conference – which remains the nation’s first, largest and longest-serving event promoting the roles of females in athletics.
The event has continued to grow tremendously since the first group of 130 administrators, coaches, high school and college students assembled in Lansing in 1989. It’s easy to argue as well that the WISL Conference has become even more impactful over its 26 editions, the most recent beginning a year ago today with the theme “Share the Vision.”
Nearly 800 participants – mostly female high school student-athletes – attended last year’s two-day event, where they were able to engage in several of 36 workshops and learn from a group of 45 speakers with expertise in a wide variety of sports-related fields. The WISL Conference has welcomed Olympians, leaders in Michigan government and Hall of Fame coaches at all levels of athletics among several who have put their voices to the goals of encouraging women and growing their presence at all levels of sport.
Attracting women back to coaching and officiating was the mission of the first WISL Conference – percentages of both had fallen dramatically since the dawn of Title IX nearly two decades prior had led to rapid growth in athletic competitive opportunities for females at various levels. The first WISL events were organized by MHSAA assistant director Suzanne Martin, under the leadership as well of then-executive director Jack Roberts, until Martin retired in December 2002. Fun fact: The first Michigan legislative resolution recognizing Feb. 5 as Girls and Women In Sports Day statewide (in addition to nationally) was presented during the 1990 WISL Conference.
Kathy Vruggink Westdorp took over the WISL program upon joining the MHSAA staff as assistant director during the 2003-04 school year after more than two decades as a teacher, coach and administrator in the Grand Rapids area. Under her leadership, WISL has continued to build and thrive – it’s currently an every-other-year event, generally hosted during the first weekend in February although the 25th WISL took place during October 2022 as part of the culmination of the MHSAA’s year-long celebration of “Title IX at 50.” Topics covered still include coaching and teaching and learning leadership, but also sports nutrition and performance, empowerment and goal-setting, and several more areas of interest.
In 1990, the MHSAA also awarded its first of now 38 Women In Sports Leadership Awards, recognizing pioneers who have elevated athletics in Michigan as pioneers, advocates, voices and leaders, particularly at the interscholastic level. The 39th Women In Sports Leadership Award winner will be announced later this month.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
Jan. 28: Michigan's National Impact Begins at NFHS' Start - Read
Jan. 21: Awards Celebrate Well-Rounded Educational Experience - Read
Jan. 14: Predecessors Laid Foundation for MHSAA's Formation - Read
Jan. 9: MHSAA Blazes Trail Into Cyberspace - Read
Dec. 31: State's Storytellers Share Winter Memories - Read
Dec. 17: MHSAA Over Time - Read
Dec. 10: On This Day, December 13, We Will Celebrate - Read
Dec. 3: MHSAA Work Guided by Representative Council - Read
Nov. 26: Finals Provide Future Pros Early Ford Field Glory - Read
Nov. 19: Connection at Heart of Coaches Advancement Program - Read
Nov. 12: Good Sports are Winners Then, Now & Always - Read
Nov. 5: MHSAA's Home Sweet Home - Read
Oct. 29: MHSAA Summits Draw Thousands to Promote Sportsmanship - Read
Oct. 23: Cross Country Finals Among MHSAA's Longest Running - Read
Oct. 15: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories - Read
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Oct. 1: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
(MHSAA file photos.)
NFHS Voice: March Madness Begins Again
March 4, 2020
By Karissa Niehoff
NFHS Executive Director
The calendar has turned to March, which in the world of high school sports can only mean one thing – Basketball. It is time for state tournaments, March Madness and, yes, the annual rhetoric about the merits of the shot clock.
For the almost one million boys and girls who participate in high school basketball, there is nothing quite like the state tournament. Although there are great memories from the one-class days, led by Carr Creek’s almost upset of powerhouse Ashland in Kentucky in 1928 and Milan’s Cinderella victory in Indiana in 1954, today, basketball provides more opportunities for girls and boys teams to be crowned state champion than any other sport.
This month, about 450 girls and boys teams will earn state basketball titles in championships conducted by NFHS member state associations. Multiple team champions are crowned for both boys and girls in all states but two, with the majority of states sponsoring tournaments in 4-6 classifications for each, and four states conducting state championships in seven classes.
That is truly March Madness, which is appropriate since the term was first used in connection with high school basketball. Although the tag line became familiar to millions on a national scale in relation to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, the NCAA shares a dual-use trademark with the Illinois High School Association (IHSA), thanks to H. V. Porter, the first full-time executive director of the NFHS.
In his final year as IHSA executive director in 1939, Porter published his “March Madness” essay in reference to the mania surrounding the IHSA’s annual state basketball tournament. Eight years later, in a 1947 Associated Press article, Porter said, “Naturally, we think basketball has done a lot for high school kids, but it’s done something for the older people, too. It has made community life in general a lot more fun each winter.”
While many things have changed in the past 73 years, the value of high school sports – and especially state basketball tournaments – remains as strong as ever today. In some states, seemingly the entire community will travel to the site of the state tournament in support of the high school team.
As a footnote to the use of March Madness, Scott Johnson – recently retired assistant executive director of the IHSA in his book “Association Work” – discovered through research that the first recorded mention of March Madness in relation to basketball occurred in 1931 by Bob Stranahan, sports editor of the New Castle Courier-Times in Indiana.
While the sport remains strong and March Madness is set to begin in earnest across the nation, there is a belief by some that the addition of a shot clock would make the game even better.
Although there are some arguments for implementing the shot clock, the
NFHS Basketball Rules Committee, similar to the other 14 NFHS rules committees, must make decisions based on what is best for the masses – the small schools with less than 100 students as well as large urban schools with 3,000-plus students. Rules changes will always be made with considerations for minimizing risks, containing costs and developing rules that are best for high school athletes.
Nine of our member state associations have elected to use a shot clock in their states, which certainly adds to the clamor for its implementation nationally. And, we at the NFHS have read the headlines, seen the social media posts and received the phone calls advocating for the shot clock’s adoption. However, the Basketball Rules Committee will continue to assess the shot clock based on the aforementioned considerations, as well its members representing all areas of the country.
We encourage everyone to support their local high school teams by attending this year’s exciting state basketball tournaments.
Dr. Karissa L. Niehoff is in her second year as executive director of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in Indianapolis, Indiana. She is the first female to head the national leadership organization for high school athletics and performing arts activities and the sixth full-time executive director of the NFHS, which celebrated its 100th year of service during the 2018-19 school year. She previously was executive director of the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference for seven years.