EAST LANSING — The Michigan High School Athletic Association approved the addition of two games onto the ice hockey schedule.
The rule, adopted by the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association during its March 21 Winter Meeting in East Lansing, allows high school hockey teams to play 27 games and one scrimmage per season.
Also coming out of the Rep Council meeting is field hockey officially becoming an MHSAA sanctioned event this fall, with first practice eligible to start Aug. 11 and first contests as early as Aug. 15. The MHSAA championship is slated for Oct. 25, with team allowed to participate in 18 games and four scrimmages. Field hockey can employ a fifth-quarter rule similar to football, basketball and soccer, where an athlete can participate in up to five quarters of play between varsity and junior varsity contests in the same day.
The postseason in constituted by only one division for now, with four seeded regionals.
To alleviate a Finals facility issue for competitive cheer, the Council approved a Competitive Cheer Committee proposal that adjusts the season calendar for the 2025-26 season only and places the MHSAA championship meets one week later. The first competitive cheer practice date will be Nov. 10, 2025, the first contest date Nov. 24, with districts now scheduled for Feb. 20-21, 2026; regionals for Feb. 28 and finals for March 6-7 at McGuirk Arena at Central Michigan University. CMU has hosted the MHSAA competitive cheer state finals the last three seasons, but is scheduled to host the 2026 Mid-American Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships during the MHSAA’s previously scheduled cheer finals dates.
Dates for the 2026-27 and future competitive cheer seasons will return to their previously-approved schedule, with finals to be held during the last Friday and Saturday in February.
The Council also voted to make permanent the “AD Connection Program” that was piloted the last two school years and matches first-year high school athletic directors with recently-retired mentors, who provide assistance to those new administrators as they transition into athletic administrator roles. The program connected 248 first-year athletic directors with mentors during its pilot period.