MHSAA Nearly Bankrupted In 2008 For Discriminating Against Female Athletes
A contested transgender eligibility case at Ann Arbor Skyline echoes prior debates over how MHSAA policies shape opportunities in girls’ sports.
The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) is at the center of a controversy over a trans-identified male competing on the Ann Arbor Skyline girls' volleyball team. Skyline fell to Byron Center in the MHSAA Division 1 quarterfinals, but the loss is not the only storyline. Questions about a player’s eligibility remain, and the MHSAA has been reluctant to answer them.
This is not the first time the MHSAA has faced criticism for how its policies affect female athletes.
A contested eligibility case at Ann Arbor Skyline echoes prior debates over how MHSAA policies shape opportunities in girls’ sports. When Title IX passed in 1972, Michigan was one of several states that scheduled girls' sports in non-traditional seasons to avoid conflicts over facilities. Boys' sports ran in the traditional seasons. For example, while boys' basketball took place in winter, girls' basketball was played in the fall.
The MHSAA argued that limited gym space made this arrangement practical. In its view, girls had better access to facilities in fall, and staggering seasons increased participation because more referees and coaches were available outside boys' seasons.
An eligibility dispute in Michigan high school volleyball involving a trans-identified male player revives long-running Title IX concerns as MHSAA faces scrutiny over policies affecting girls’ sports.
(Getty Images & Imagn Images)
This setup created real problems for girls athletes in Michigan. Because most states held girls' sports during traditional seasons, Michigan athletes had a harder time earning national accolades such as All-American honors. They also struggled to attend national competitions and clinics that were scheduled when Michigan teams weren't in season.
Recruiting suffered as well. Michigan girls competed during a period when college coaches were not recruiting, which made it more difficult to be seen and evaluated.
In 1998, a group filed a class-action lawsuit against the MHSAA. In 2001, a judge ruled that the association had placed the burden of resource allocation on girls' programs, including facility access, officials’ time, and coaches’ time. The court found the scheduling model favored convenience for boys' programs over opportunities for girls programs.
MHSAA Avoids Dissolution But Not Consequences
The MHSAA spent six years appealing the decision but ultimately found itself on the hook for $7.4 million in attorneys’ fees and interest. Some expected the case to lead to the end of the MHSAA, but the association continued and still governs high school sports across Michigan.
The broader pattern has not gone away. Elsewhere, female athletes have filed lawsuits challenging policies that allow trans-identified males to compete in girls' sports. Some states have also entered legal disputes with the U.S. Department of Education over how Title IX applies in these cases.
Michigan is not part of those state challenges at this time, and the MHSAA is not currently facing legal action over its policy. That could change. The unresolved eligibility questions in the Ann Arbor Skyline matter echo a familiar history: when policies designed as logistical fixes shift costs onto girls' athletes. What to watch now is straightforward: whether the MHSAA issues a clear eligibility ruling, whether any formal complaints are filed, and whether the association updates its policy to address these conflicts.