NFHS Voice: Security Wake-Up Call
December 4, 2019
By Karissa Niehoff
NFHS Executive Director
Given the increase in school-related shootings since the Columbine massacre 20 years ago, perhaps it is not surprising that these acts of violence are no longer confined to regular school hours.
The tragic shooting – and eventual death of an innocent 10-year-old – at a New Jersey high school football game last month made headlines across the country and was a somber reminder that events occurring after school hours are subject to the same type of senseless violence.
This was not the first shooting at a high school sporting event this year – actually it was the 23rd according to the National Center for Spectator Sport Safety and Security (NCS4) – but the death of Micah Tennant and the eventual conclusion of the game five days later at the Philadelphia Eagles’ stadium drew nationwide coverage.
Camden High School and Pleasantville High School finished the playoff game at a nearly empty Lincoln Financial Field before a few hundred family members and friends as the stadium was closed to the public. Larry White, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association executive director, said the decision to finish the game was made by both schools “to provide closure and send a powerful message that acts of violence and those who perpetrate them will not win.”
High school sporting events traditionally have been safe gathering places for fans to attend and celebrate the accomplishments of high school student-athletes – particularly the sport of football. And we must do whatever is necessary to make sure these venues remain safe and secure.
Reports have been encouraging about attendance as state football playoffs have concluded in many states. In Indiana, about 20,000 people attended the Class 5A championship at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on the day after Thanksgiving.
We want to ensure that our stadiums remain open for everyone to attend. The fans – students, parents, other family members, friends, community residents – are what make education-based athletics different from non-school sports.
More intense security plans have been in existence at college and professional sports venues for many years; it is essential that leaders in high school sports move after-school safety and security to the top of their priority lists.
In addition to school athletic events that typically start in early evening hours, security plans also should be in place for practices inside and outside the school building.
Many resources are available for high school athletic administrators to implement an after-school safety and security program, including the free online education course on the NFHS Learning Center at www.NFHSLearn.com. “Afterschool Security” provides practical strategies for developing and implementing a school safety team and an after-school activities supervision plan.
As was the case with increased security at airports after September 11, 2001, the results of heightened safety plans for after-school activities may be an inconvenience for some individuals. However, plans must be in place to ensure that high school stadiums and arenas remain open for the almost eight million participants in high school sports, as well as the estimated 350 million fans annually.
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: MHSAA Tickets Continue to Provide Fan-Friendly Value
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 19, 2025
A buck went a lot farther a century ago, and a family of four wishing to watch the MHSAA Class A Boys Basketball Final in 1928 could have done so, at the minimum, for a grand total of $2 – or $6 if they were looking to splurge on the best seats.
Of course, relating the value of money 100 years ago to now is not apples to apples. But for Michigan school sports, a deal like that is meant to last forever.
The MHSAA has made it part of long-standing philosophy to keep ticket prices for its tournament events as low as possible, continuing to provide opportunities for entire families to attend together, and hoping to provide the best bargain as tickets to sporting events at other levels have climbed much more rapidly over the decades.
For the sake of comparison, consider tickets over the years for the Boys Basketball Tournament – the first event hosted by the newly-created MHSAA in 1925.
In 1928 (the first year for which cost of admission could be found), ticket prices for the MHSAA Boys Basketball Finals at the Olympia in Detroit were listed at 75 cents, $1 and $1.50, and a newspaper report after noted that in fact the cheapest seats were sold for 50 cents apiece instead. One ticket was good for all four games.
Less than 30 years later, $1.50 still got a fan two championship games – reserved seats for 1955 Boys Basketball Finals at Jenison Field House cost $1.50 per session, with Class C and B Finals in the afternoon and Class A and D in the evening. A decade after that, in 1965, tickets still cost $1.50 per session – although sessions were now split into the Class B game in the morning, Class D and C games in the afternoon, and a Class A session that night.
Sixty years later, prices have continued to rise incrementally – but again, while prioritizing keeping them as low as possible.
These days for boys basketball, District tickets cost $7, Regional tickets cost $9, Quarterfinals cost $10, and Semifinals and Finals tickets cost $12 per two-game session.
On its face, that’s quite a jump from the 1960s, much less the 1920s. But consider: Multiple inflation calculators say that $1.50 ticket for two games in 1955 would be worth more than $17 for two games now, meaning MHSAA Finals ticket prices have grown at a much slower rate.
Consider as well MHSAA ticket prices against Consumer Price Index data over the last 20 years. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2023 that admission costs to sporting events nationally had doubled over the previous two decades – literally going up 100 percent – yet price increases for the MHSAA Boys Basketball Tournament since 2005-06 have increased just 40 percent at the District level, where 60 percent of our boys basketball tickets are sold. Ticket prices for Regionals and Finals also have grown slower than that national rate.
And it remains tough to argue with what spectators get for their money at the MHSAA Tournament level.
For the 2024-25 school year, tickets for all District and Regional competitions – and some Quarterfinals and Semifinals – remain in the $7-$9 range. Finals tickets cost $10-$12, except for Individual Wrestling Finals ($18) and 11-Player Football Finals ($20) both at Ford Field – and one ticket for those is good to watch championships in five divisions in wrestling and four football championship games over one day, respectively.
In fact, the most recent change to ticketing has had nothing to do with the price – but instead, the move away from the paper tickets you see above. All tournament tickets are now digital, which keeps the MHSAA current with what’s done in college and pro sports and other forms of entertainment and assists in efficiency by taking cash out of the equation.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
Feb. 11: We Recognize Those Who Make Our Games Go - Read
Feb. 4: WISL Conference Continues to Inspire Aspiring Leaders - Read
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