Blog: From the Director

At least a half-dozen of our counterpart organizations across the US will conduct or endorse esports seasons and tournaments for high schools during 2018-19.

I’ve been at the top of the mountain; why would I ever go anywhere else?

When ... MHSAA President Scott Grimes announced the selection of Mark Uyl to be the next MHSAA executive director, he said, “It was the easiest decision of the weekend.”

It is this base of the game, not the few at the pinnacle, that is the future of a game under siege in dozens of courthouses and state houses across the U.S. ...

So, as the world of football from youth levels to the pros is eliminating kickoffs or altering rules to reduce their frequency, I write smugly, “What took you so long?”

It was poetic justice to watch one No. 1 seed clobber the other No. 1 seed in a terrible semifinal mismatch.

The MHSAA has not been my job; it’s been my purpose.

At Buchanan, attending athletic events is the thing to do – and not just boys sports or winter sports. 

All of this screams for the need for coaches education ... for every coach, every year ... no matter how experienced or revered.

All of this, and much more, is about defining and defending educational athletics ... the top task of athletic administrators from top to bottom of our exciting enterprise.

Because our standing committees have often failed us ... the MHSAA has often resorted to special task forces or work groups to help get necessary things done.

The clock is ticking on the life of school-based basketball, and only a change in emphasis – a cultural shift – may save what arguably has been the most historically important sport in our schools. 

In school sports done right, the regular season always means something, even for a team which loses every game.

I remember as clearly as if it were yesterday the first time I had to determine a student was not eligible under rules of the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

Here’s the rationale provided by the National Federation for the transfer/residency rule.

Here are the kinds of statements that should send chills down the spines of thoughtful leaders of school-based basketball:

When major college sports sneezes, high school sports usually catches a cold.

There is no single solution that can quickly reverse these negative trends in school-based basketball and other school sports.

This MIAAA might be the most powerful organization of its kind in the USA.

While we keep working on the language of the Transfer Rule, we harbor no illusions that it will become simpler to understand and enforce.