MHSAA

The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by over 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition.

Through their boards of education, member schools voluntarily join the MHSAA each and every year, vowing by formal resolution to abide by and enforce common rules for educational athletics. Membership is optional: schools may conduct a complete program of interscholastic athletics and may participate against MHSAA member schools in regular-season competition without joining the MHSAA.

Officials

Officials on the other hand, must join MHSAA as a registered official in order to work any junior high/middle school and high school level competition that which is sanctioned by the MHSAA. No MHSAA registered assigner or member school may use non-registered officials to work their contests. As noted on page 2 under Registration Policies and Procedures section of the MHSAA Officials Guidebook, "Michigan High School Athletic Association Regulation II, Section 7 (high schools) and Regulation IV, Section 7 (junior high/middle schools) requires the use of MHSAA registered officials in all interscholastic contests involving member schools." No MHSAA registered official shall knowingly work with anyone who does not current MHSAA registration in the sport as noted on page 14, section Unregistered Officials of the MHSAA Officials Guidebook. The MHSAA Officials Guidebook can be found on the home page of the GCCOA site or go to the MHSAA.com web site under the Officials tab, DOWNLOADS section called Officials Guidebook.

Interscholastic Playing Rules

It is often a misconception the MHSAA writes and publishes a code of rules for interscholastic contests. For Football, Basketball, Baseball and Softball, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) publishes the code of rules for those sports, those rules govern MHSAA member high schools' competition without exception. Some modifications of NFHS rules are made by MHSAA and local member school conferences for junior high/middle school competitions.

MHSAA Website

When you register with the MHSAA as a first time official, you will be given an ID and password to access officials only content. For all registered officials, the Officials tab is where all of the pertinent officiating content is located. All other content provided on the site is typically for member schools such as athletic departments, coaches, and administrators. The Officials tab provides a variety of information and tools, listed below is a good summary that is offered to officials:
  • Registration - New/Renew
  • Resources & Policies
  • Officials Guidebook
  • Officials Directory
  • Schedules for Tournament Consideration
  • Online Rules Meetings & Exams
  • Officials Reports

NFHS

About the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) The NFHS, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, is the national leadership organization for high school sports. he NFHS sets direction for the future by building awareness and support, improving the participation experience, establishing consistent standards and rules for competition, and helping those who oversee high school sports and activities. The NFHS writes playing rules for 17 sports for boys and girls at the high school level. Through its 50 member state associations and the District of Columbia, the NFHS reaches more than 19,000 high schools and 12 million participants in high school activity programs, including more than 7.9 million in high school sports. As the recognized national authority on interscholastic activity programs, the NFHS conducts national meetings; sanctions interstate events; offers online publications and services for high school coaches and officials; sponsors professional organizations for high school coaches and officials adjudicators; serves as the national source for interscholastic coach training; and serves as a national information resource of interscholastic athletics and activities.

Do I Need to be a Member of NFHS?

Registerd MHSAA officials are not required to join NFHS. As an MHSAA registered official, you will receive the NFHS Rules and Casebook, typically on an annual basis, mailed out by the MHSAA prior to the season of the sport or sports registered in.

Why is NFHS Mentioned on the GCCOA Site?

As noted in the MHSAA section of this page, NFHS writes and publishes the code of rules for the sports GCCOA supports and MHSAA governs. Every year for each of the sports, NFHS announces rules changes, new rules, points of emphasis (poe), rules interpretations and comments. NFHS is a good source of information to learn in advance the changes that are coming for the sport or sports you officiate in.