The 2010-11 MHSAA Membership Resolution was being mailed this week  to all school superintendents to be included on the agenda for their board of education or governing board prior to Aug. 1, 2010.  In approving this Resolution and listing the schools that will join the MHSAA, the local board is entering into a contract with the MHSAA.

For its part of the contract, the MHSAA agrees not to change the rules during the contract year; and for their part, schools agree to adopt those rules as their own minimum standards for student eligibility and maximum limitations for individual and team competition, and they agree to enforce those rules locally.  The rules do not exist for their own sake, but to address known problems, to attempt to solve those problems in order to strive to provide the elusive product of a state high school association’s work:  competitive equity.

The expectations of member schools include:

• Educating student-athletes, staff and other involved personnel about MHSAA rules and procedures.
• Monitoring compliance year-around.
• Investigating possible violations and reporting findings.
• Administering penalties.

Schools do so to keep the program fair.  They do so to keep the program healthy for the people involved.  They do so to keep the program consistent with the mission of the sponsors:  namely, education of students by schools.