| Missouri State High School Activities Association | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | MSHSAA |
| Formation | 1926 |
| Type | Volunteer; NPO |
| Legal status | Association |
| Purpose/focus | Athletic/Educational |
| Headquarters | 1 North Keene St. Columbia, MO 65205 |
| Region served | Missouri |
| Membership | 580 schools (approximately) |
| Official languages | English |
| Executive Director | Dr. Kerwin Urhahn |
| Affiliations | National Federation of State High School Associations |
| Staff | 26 |
| Website | mshsaa.org |
| Remarks | (573) 875-4880 |
The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) is the governing body for high school activities throughout the state of Missouri. Approximately 580 high schools are members of MSHSAA.
The MSHSAA conducts championship-level activities in 23 activities—girls and boys golf, girls softball, girls and boys tennis, girls volleyball, girls and boys cross country, 8-man football, 11-man football, girls and boys swimming & diving, wrestling, girls and boys basketball, girls and boys track & field, baseball, scholar bowl, speech, debate & theater, and music. At least 50 member high schools must sponsor a sport for an official championship series to be conducted. Sports such as boys volleyball, field hockey, girls lacrosse, boys softball, and water polo are considered "emerging sports" by MSHSAA, but an official postseason series does not exist with less than 50 schools involved in those activities. MSHSAA also administers sideline cheerleading and dance team activities.
Contents |
The organization was formed in 1926 by a number of schools, both public and private, to oversee championship tournaments. Its first final was in boys' basketball, held that year at Washington University in St. Louis. MSHSAA removed the color barrier in 1952, allowing schools from the MNIAA (Missouri Negro Interscholastic Athletic Association) to join. In the late 1960s, the group unified football tournaments (previously only held locally) to form the Show-Me Bowl we know today.
MSHSAA's member schools are organized into groups based on enrollment, with Class 1 being the smallest. In 11-man football the largest is Class 6, comprising the largest 32 schools based on enrollment. Schools wishing to play 8-man football must have an enrollment smaller than 200 total students. Boys and Girls Basketball has five classifications. Class 5 schools are those with 1,175 students and above; while Class 1 schools are those with 119 students and below.[1]. Prior to 2003, the classes were divided into four classes from "A" to "AAAA" (popularly referred to as "1A" to "4A").
However, the number of classes varies by the number of schools that participate in a sport: for example, swimming & diving, along with speech, debate and theater only have one class, while girls softball and girls volleyball use four classes.
Schools in Missouri are able to form their own conferences and play whichever teams they wish in regular season competition. For example, the Ozark Conference, in the southwest portion of the state, has teams from two classes competing against one another.
Schools are assigned into districts for playoff competition only; districts vary depending on sport, size and geographic location. Also unlike other states, there is no "regional" championship designation; during playoff competition schools are generally organized into brackets that are close in geographic proximity.
Wrestling and track districts, for instance, usually have 10 or more teams due to the nature of competition, while football districts have anywhere from four to five. Beginning with the 2012 football season, districts will comprise eight schools. In other sports, district competition is set up like a more traditional tournament bracket at the end of the regular season. The winner of the district tournament advances in the championship series.
Redistricting and regrouping occurs every two years.
Class 5 and Class 4 schools generally come from the state's major metro areas: St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Joplin, and Columbia/ Jefferson City, although there are exceptions. Class 3, 2 and 1 schools are generally rural, although some small private city schools are grouped here as well.
MSHSAA is headquartered in Columbia. 580 schools, both public and private, are members. Its current Executive Director is Dr. Kerwin Urhahn.
MSHSAA is governed by a 10-member Board of Directors whose members are elected to four-year terms by school representatives in eight geographic regions of the state. Two at-large positions to the Board of Directors were added in 2005 to ensure racial and gender diversity.
Potential changes to MSHSAA's By-Laws, such as eligibility standards and activity regulations, are voted on each April, or in special elections, by the Associations's 760 member schools. A process that includes input from more than 30 standing advisory committees, area meetings conducted throughout the state, and an annual questionnaire to the membership help identify issues to be voted on in the annual ballot process and identify issues for further study or modification. Member schools may also request specific changes to the Association's by-laws and constitution through a petition process that places the item directly on the annual ballot.
The Association's by-laws fall into the following general categories: Bona Fide Student, Citizenship, Academics, Residence Requirements, Transferring Schools, Participation Limits, Entering School, Amateur & Awards Standards, Age Limits, Playing Under a False Name, Graduated Students, Nonschool Competition, College Auditions & Tryouts, All-Star Games, Recruiting of Athletes, Transfer for Athletic Reasons, Sports Camps & Clinics, Sportsmanship, and Foreign Student Eligibility. A three-level appeals process is in place for students not meeting the essential eligibility standards due to unusual, unforeseen or unexpected circumstances.
Each of the state's eight geographic regions not only elects members to the Board of Directors and Appeals Committee, but also nominates representatives to the aforementioned advisory committees and elects three members to serve on each region's investigative committee. The investigative committees were formed to investigate formal complaints filed regarding suspected by-law violations committed by member schools.
The Association publishes a quarterly magazine, MSHSAA Journal, and sponsors one of the nation's largest annual sportsmanship and student leadership events each August. In addition, MSHSAA has a number of recognition programs, including the Distinguished Service Awards program, Officials Recognition program, Scholastic Achievement Awards program, Student Advisory Committee, MSHSAA Leadership School program, Sportsmanship/Integrity/Leadership program, the 5-Star School program and Traditions reunion program.
The MSHSAA trains and registers more than 5,000 sports officials and adjudicators each year to arbitrate various athletic events and evaluative music festivals.
|
|||||