Contact: John Johnson or Geoff Kimmerly
517.332.5046 or [email protected]
EAST LANSING, Mich. – March 26 – Classifications for Michigan High School Athletic Association elections and postseason tournaments in traditionally classified sports (A, B, C, D) for the 2012-13 school year have been announced, as well as the enrollment breaks for postseason tournaments set up by divisions.
Classifications for the upcoming school year are based on a second semester count date, which for MHSAA purposes was February 8. The enrollment figure submitted for athletic classification purposes may be different from the count submitted for school aid purposes, as it does not include students ineligible for athletic competition because they reached their 19th birthday prior to September 1 of the current school year and will not include alternative education students if none are allowed athletic eligibility by the local school district.
After all the counts are submitted, tournament-qualified member schools are ranked according to enrollment, and then split as closely into quarters as possible. For 2012-13, there are 760 tournament-qualified member schools and 190 schools in each class.
Effective with the 2012-13 school year, schools with 911 or more students are in Class A in MHSAA post-season tournament competition. The enrollment limits for Class B are 449 to 910; Class C is 217 to 448; and schools with enrollments of 216 and fewer are Class D. The breaks decreased 41 students between Classes A and B and 17 between Classes B and C, and increased one between Classes C and D.
The new classification breaks will see 29 schools move up in class for 2012-13, while 24 schools will move down.
Schools were recently notified of their classification. MHSAA Executive Director John E. "Jack" Roberts said that schools may not subsequently lower their enrollment figure. However, if revised enrollment figures should be higher and indicate that a school should be playing in a higher class, that school would be moved up.
Schools have the option to play at any higher classification for a minimum of two years, but must exercise the option by April 15 for fall sports, August 15 for winter sports, and October 15 for spring sports.
MHSAA tournament sports conducted in traditional classifications for 2012-13 are Basketball and Girls Volleyball. Football will use traditional classifications to determine playoff points.
Sports which will compete in nearly equal divisions are: Baseball, Bowling, Girls Competitive Cheer, Lower Peninsula Cross Country, Lower Peninsula Golf, Ice Hockey, Lacrosse, Lower Peninsula Soccer, Skiing, Softball, Lower Peninsula Swimming and Diving, Lower Peninsula Tennis, Lower Peninsula Track and Field, and Wrestling.
Visit the respective sports pages on the MHSAA Website to review the divisional alignments.
The divisions and qualifiers for the MHSAA Football Playoffs will be announced on Selection Sunday, Oct. 21, 2012.
A complete list of school enrollments used to determine classifications for the 2012-13 school year can be found on the Enrollment & Classification page of the MHSAA Website. (Here is a direct link to the page – http://www.mhsaa.com/portals/0/documents/AD%20Forms/1213enroll.pdf).
Here is a complete list of schools changing classification for 2012-13 (Note: This list does not include schools opting up in class/division for tournaments, which can be found on the Administrators page of the MHSAA Website):
Moving Up From Class B to Class A
St. Joseph
East Grand Rapids
Hamtramck
Riverview Community
Sault Ste. Marie – Sault Area
Grand Rapids Christian
Fowlerville
Fruitport
Linden
Coldwater
Moving Down From Class A to Class B
Warren Fitzgerald
Warren Regina
Flint Northwestern
Flint Northern
St. Clair
Grand Rapids Creston
Trenton
Detroit Central
Detroit Pershing
Moving Up From Class C to Class B
River Rouge
Farwell Area
Kentwood Grand River Preparatory
Leslie
Clare
Detroit Henry Ford Academy: School for Creative Studies
Kalkaska
Napoleon
Southfield Bradford Academy
Moving Down From Class B to Class C
Dearborn Advanced Technology Academy
Detroit Westside Academy
Harper Woods
Hemlock
Highland Park Community
Muskegon Heights
Detroit Frederick Douglass
Moving Up From Class D to Class C
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep
Grand Rapids Wellspring Preparatory
Detroit DEPSA Early College of Excellence
Wixom St. Catherine of Siena Academy
Detroit Jalen Rose Leadership Academy (* see below)
Three Oaks River Valley
Detroit Collegiate Prep
Harper Woods HEART Academy
Saginaw Michigan Lutheran Seminary
West Bloomfield Frankel Jewish Academy
Moving Down From Class C to Class D
Mendon
Mt. Pleasant Beal City
Fife Lake Forest Area
Suttons Bay
St. Ignace La Salle
Mesick
Rudyard
Saginaw Buena Vista
New Post-Season Eligible Tournament Schools in 2012-13
Detroit Aisha Shule/W.E.B. DuBois Preparatory Academy (Class D)
Walker West Michigan Academy of Environmental Sciences (Class D)
Grand Rapids Wellspring Preparatory (Class C)
Muskegon Way Point (Class D)
Ypsilanti Arbor Prep (Class C)
Swartz Creek Genesee Academy (Class D)
Pinckney Livingston Christian (Class D)
*Detroit Jalen Rose Leadership Academy and Kalamazoo Lakeside Academy are not tournament eligible until 2013-14.
Enrollment Breaks by Classes – 2012-13
(Number of schools in parenthesis)
Class A: 911 and above (190 schools)
Class B: 449 – 910 (190)
Class C: 217 – 448 (190)
Class D: 216 and below (190)
The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,600 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract approximately 1.6 million spectators each year.
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