5 Years Later, A Look At The MHSAA Having To Switch Girls Sports Seasons

Argus-Press (Mich.), Ryan Weiss

http://argus-press.com/sports/article_03c9234a-d274-11e1-a2f7-0019bb2963f4.html

Five years ago, the Michigan High School Athletic Association lost a lawsuit that would change girls high school athletics in the state dramatically.

The case was whether the MHSAA was discriminating against girls by having certain sports — namely volleyball and basketball — in opposite seasons than most of the country.

The MHSAA fought the case, which was brought on by the Grand Rapids-based group Communities for Equity in 1998, to the bitter end. Ultimately the MHSAA lost on the steps of the Supreme Court of the United States, which refused to hear an appeal on the matter.

The ruling ended the nine-year battle and forced six sports to swap seasons starting in the fall of 2007. Volleyball moved from winter to fall and girls basketball slid into the winter slot to align with boys basketball. Girls golf moved to the fall and the boys moved to the spring. Girls tennis and boys tennis swapped to their current alignment in the spring and fall, respectively.

MHSAA Communications Director John Johnson said the MHSAA fought the case so vigorously because of feedback from its member schools.

“Schools were very comfortable with the seasons they had chosen,” Johnson said, adding the old format maximized attendance, media coverage, participation and scholarship opportunities. “The schools felt so strongly about the decisions they had made.”

Johnson said that the MHSAA was prepared for a loss in the court system.

“We had spent a lot of time with the membership discussing what the season would look like,” Johnson said. “(Switching) basketball and volleyball were a given.”

Basketball prefers old system

Five years later, there are still those who wonder if the right ruling was made.

“I don’t know that I was in favor of it,” said Laingsburg girls basketball coach Brandon Woodworth, who took over the Wolfpack the first year girls played in the winter. “We’re still kind of in the debate.”

Morrice girls basketball coach Kris Smith was much more blunt with his opinion.

“I hate the season switch,” Smith said. “It’s had a negative impact on girls basketball.”

Under the old format, the main challenger on campus to girls basketball was football, which plays varsity games on Friday nights once per week. In certain conferences, girls basketball now competes directly with boys basketball on the same night multiple times a week.

“Football’s only one night a week,” Woodworth said. “(Girls basketball was) kind of in the spotlight in the fall. I thought it was tough on the girls.”

Smith said the season is longer now and participation and fan attendance has dropped.

“I can remember real large crowds,” Smith said of pre-switch attendance. “(Now) you’re asking your average fan to come to the gym four nights a week. I’m not sure how that’s equal.”

Johnson said that the MHSSA anticipated a decline in attendance, participation and scholarship opportunities.

“The predictable things all happened,” Johnson said. “There’s nothing that can be tweaked unless it’s in the court.”

Woodworth added it’s been a nightmare for facilities use with basketball. Sometimes his squad is relegated to practicing at the elementary school.

“It’s almost impossible,” Woodworth said. “For bigger schools it’s not a big deal. For us that was a huge issue.”

Chesaning girls basketball coach Wayne Scanlon said he didn’t mind changing seasons, but added that it has wreaked havoc on practice scheduling. His team is limited to 45-minute practices on occasion.

“It definitely screwed things up as far as practice,” Scanlon said. “Now you’re sharing the gym with six teams.”

Former Morrice basketball and volleyball player Hannah (Rothney) Perry said she liked playing basketball in the fall better but eventually got accustomed to the change.

“I didn’t know that it was going to change while I was still playing,” said Perry, a 2009 graduate who played two seasons in each alignment. “I guess it didn’t really matter. I got used to it.”

Pros and cons for volleyball

Durand volleyball coach Brent Maynor said that it’s had positive and negative effects on his sport.

“At the time I was indifferent,” Maynor said. “As far as gym space, I love it. I think there’s some positives and negatives.”

In addition to not competing with the basketball teams for gym space, Maynor said he’s also been able to send a couple players to four-year colleges.

“In the past I’ve only had girls go to community college,” Maynor said. “That’s a positive.”

The switch also had its downside for Maynor’s Railroaders. Though he no longer competes with boys basketball in the winter for fans, Maynor said Durand’s participation rates have dropped significantly as he now competes with sports such as cross country for players. Though Durand doesn’t field girls golf or swim teams, other volleyball teams in the area are duking it out for participants with those squads.

“We have not had a freshman team — this is probably our fourth or fifth year in a row,” Maynor said. “That’s a huge negative. I’m competing with more sports.”

New Lothrop volleyball coach Sheri Warner  was neutral on the subject, saying it didn’t matter what seasons were.

“It really did not matter. I really kind of stayed neutral,” Warner said. “I think that more affected the club (team) season. If you’re going to play college volleyball you’re going to get noticed.”

Recruiting didn’t get easier

The change was supposed to help recruiting and scholarship opportunities, but Smith said recruiting in high school basketball was already down before the season change. He said players who participate on a club or AAU team are going to get more attention.

“There’s very limited recruiting in high school basketball anymore. The scope is way less than it was 10 years ago,” Smith said. “I don’t think the season change had anything to do with that. If (colleges) are interested they see them through their club team.”

Scanlon added it was easier for college coaches to recruit under the old system when college teams were not in season.

“It was actually easier to have college coaches come watch in the fall,” Scanlon said.

Former Durand volleyball and basketball player Meghan Drobish agreed.

“I liked it how it was,” said Drobish, who graduated in 2011 and now plays volleyball at Mott Community College. “My coaches at Mott had to miss practices to scout.”

Refs, scheduling a challenge

Owosso athletic director Dallas Lintner said one of the most challenging tasks has been getting enough referees.

“It really depends on who you’re talking to. Some things have been more difficult,” Lintner said. “Sometimes it’s been more difficult to get officials for twice as many games. When you have multiple sports someone’s going to get short-changed.”

Another issue that has come up is which basketball team should get the so-called “prime-time slot” when both girls and boys play on the same night. Lintner said the Capital Area Activities Conference, of which Owosso is a member, switches from year-to-year which team gets the late game.

“Each year we flip-flop which gender gets primetime,” Lintner said. “I don’t know that we can do things more equally than we’ve been doing.”

Woodworth said the court system needs to dictate what a fair schedule should look like so all schools are on the same page. In the Central Michigan Athletic Conference, which Laingsburg plays, Friday night games are reserved for the boys.

“For all the conferences to be doing it different, I can’t imagine how it is for you guys as the media,” Woodworth said. “They should just come through the court system…on when everyone should play. Somebody has to come out with a decision on days of the week, time of the day.”