NFHS Voice: Football Powerful in Healing
December 27, 2019
By Karissa Niehoff
NFHS Executive Director
Dates of some tragedies are etched in our memories forever. On September 11, we pause to remember the thousands who perished in 2001 as a result of the attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Many individuals remember where they were when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963 and/or when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down on April 4, 1968.
Unfortunately, in the past 20 years, there are several dates stamped in our memories because of shootings in our nation’s schools, such as the ones at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, on April 20, 1999, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on February 14, 2018.
And on December 14, 2012, the nation wept when 26 people, including 20 children, were killed during the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. While this tragedy tore the hearts of people nationwide, it was profoundly personal to me.
I was executive director of the Connecticut Association of Schools-Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference and, on that day, was attending a meeting with the Commissioner of Education and the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents. The commissioner was interrupted to take a private call, left immediately, and shortly thereafter the news of a “school shooting” reached the nation.
Suddenly, what previously was important became insignificant as we were all shocked at yet another senseless act of violence. As details of the shooting rampage were released, the incident became more and more horrific. The principal of Sandy Hook Elementary at the time, Dawn Hochsprung, was one of the six adults who perished that day. She was a personal friend of mine.
So, like millions of Americans earlier this month, I was overcome with emotion when Newtown High School won the CIAC Class LL State Football Championship – seven years to the exact day of the Sandy Hook tragedy. Newtown won the state title on the last play of the game as Jack Street – a fourth-grader at Sandy Hook in 2012 – threw a touchdown pass just as the fog lifted enough to be able to see downfield.
Once again, high school sports, and football in particular, was a unifying activity for a community. Amid the sorrow of the day, this incredible storybook finish by the Newtown High School football team gave everyone in the community – at least for a moment – the strength to continue the healing process.
We have seen time after time when high school sports provided students, parents and those in our communities a means to come together, to band together and to rise above struggles arm in arm. This was but the latest example.
The grieving process will continue for those people who lost loved ones in the Sandy Hook tragedy, but this amazing effort by these high school football players brought smiles and tears of joy to a community that has not had many of those emotions for the past seven years.
Bobby Pattison, the Newtown High School football coach, had the following to say after the state title:
“The great thing about football and sports in general, moments like this bring people together,” Pattison said. “These guys had an outstanding year. To win a state championship, to win on the last play, it’s been a tremendous accomplishment. And these boys deserve it. They’re a great bunch.”
The value of high school football for communities across America? We would suggest what happened in Newtown, Connecticut, this season says it all.
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.
Century of School Sports: On This Day, December 13, We Will Celebrate
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 10, 2024
This Friday, December 13, 2024, the Michigan High School Athletic Association will commemorate its 100th anniversary, a special day selected from a milestone school year as the MHSAA continues to celebrate a “Century of School Sports.”
But why December 13?
Short answer: On that day, the first Representative Council of the newly-formed MHSAA met for the first time.
Longer explanation: The MHSAA’s predecessor – the Michigan Interscholastic Athletic Association – had provided oversight of school athletics from 1909-24, and adjourned its final annual meeting Dec. 5, 1924. The reasons for the end of the MIAA and formation of the MHSAA are fascinating on their own, and we’ll cover that at a later date.
But as for this important date we are discussing this week:
- At the end of the MIAA, all that remained was a committee elected to represent various sections of the state and various sizes and types of schools during the transition – a 12-member Representative Council.
- Prior to the MIAA’s conclusion, a basketball rules interpretation meeting had been scheduled and publicized for Saturday, Dec. 13, 1924, in Ann Arbor. Several athletic directors, basketball coaches and officials were expected to attend, and it was decided to also conduct the first meeting of the Representative Council that day as well.
- The Council meeting was held at the Michigan Union. Ten of 12 Council members were present, with the board including representatives from multiple regions and both peninsulas, schools large and small, public and nonpublic; junior high schools and the state department of education, and with expertise in physical education, administration and coaching – in essence, the same mix that makes up much of the Council a century later.
- Officers were elected, funds were transferred from the former MIAAA to the new MHSAA, a committee was appointed to begin discussing policies for junior high sports as they had begun to emerge, and the first Executive Committee – then known as the “Committee on Appeals” was formed to consider appeals of eligibility decisions made by the state director. The 1925 MHSAA Basketball Tournament was discussed and a committee formed to work toward those arrangements. Finally, a football eligibility situation was considered and a member school suspended, to be reinstated two months later after satisfying a series of conditions to make restitution for the use of ineligible players.
And the rest is history, with more made every year.
To commemorate this 100th anniversary, the MHSAA has received tributes from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, and the Michigan Legislature signed as well by Sen. Sam Singh and Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou from the MHSAA office’s legislative districts.
The gubernatorial declaration states in part, “We honor the MHSAA’s rich legacy and the countless athletes, coaches, and volunteers who have contributed to the success of Michigan high school sports. The MHSAA’s commitment to enhancing the lives of student-athletes and strengthening communities across the state is truly remarkable.”
The legislature’s proclamation adds, “May this day serve as a testament to the MHSAA’s remarkable achievements and its enduring commitment to the advancement of high school athletics and the well-being of student-athletes across Michigan.”
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
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
PHOTOS At left, gubernatorial and legislative commemorations recognize the MHSAA's 100th anniversary. At middle, the book "Athletics in Michigan High Schools - The First Hundred Years" is opened to the chapter introducing the early days of the MHSAA.