Participation in High School Sports Tops Eight Million for First Time in 2023-24

More than eight million participants competed in high school sports in the 2023-24 school year – an all-time record and the first time ever that total participation has exceeded the eight-million mark. 

The NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey indicated that 8,062,302 participants were involved in high school sports in 2023-24, which is up 210,469 from the previous year and tops the previous record of 7,980,886 set in 2017-18. The total includes 4,638,785 boys and 3,423,517 girls – both record highs – according to figures obtained from the 51 NFHS member state associations, which includes the District of Columbia.

The 2023-24 total marked the second consecutive increase after numbers tumbled during the pandemic. Since the initial survey after the pandemic, participation in high school sports has increased 444,248 in two years and represents a turnaround from the decline that started the year before the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 “We are thrilled to learn that participation in high school sports has exceeded eight million for the first time,” said Dr. Karissa Niehoff, CEO of the NFHS. “The comeback from the pause of school sports during the pandemic has been so gratifying and certainly indicates the staying power of education-based sports in our nation’s schools. We salute coaches, athletic directors and other school administrators for making these experiences happen for student-athletes.”

Two of the biggest storylines are the increases in all forms of high school football – boys and girls – and the continued rise in both girls and boys wrestling. Eleven-player football remained the most popular boys sport and registered an increase for the second consecutive year from 1,028,761 to 1,031,508. There also was an increase in 8-player football participation from 23,812 to 26,420.

The biggest gains in football, however, came on the girls side, particularly with the emerging sport of flag football. The number of participants in girls flag football more than doubled from 2022-23 to 2023-24. A total of 42,955 girls participated in flag football in 2023-24 compared to 20,875 the previous year – a 105 percent increase. And from the 15,716 participants in 2021-22, there has been an increase of 173 percent. There also was an increase in the number of girls competing on 11-player football teams from 3,654 to 4,094.

Including boys and girls competitors in 6-, 8-, 9- and 11-player football, and girls and boys participants in flag football, the overall football total for 2023-24 was 1,118,705 – an increase of 28,825 from 2022-23.

Another highlight is the sizeable jump in wrestling – boys and girls – for the second consecutive year. An additional 32,443 boys were involved in wrestling last year, jumping from 259,431 to 291,874. Since the 2021-22 season, there has been a gain of 60,000 in boys wrestling – an amazing 25 percent increase. And participation on girls teams has continued its historic rise as well with 64,257 participants last year – an increase of 102 percent from the 31,654 in 2021-22.

Outdoor track and field, volleyball and soccer all registered increases and remained the top three participatory sports for girls. Track and field increased four percent to 506,015, followed by volleyball at 479,125 and soccer at 383,895. Although the number of participants was down about 6,000, basketball (367,284) remained in the No. 4 spot followed by fast-pitch softball (345,451), tennis (195,766), cross country (192,989), competitive spirit (181,023 – up 20 percent), swimming and diving (138,174) and lacrosse (101,204).   

Outdoor track and field, and soccer had significant gains on the boys side as well. After 11-player football and outdoor track and field (625,333), the rest of the boys top 10 includes basketball (536,668), baseball (471,701), soccer (467,483), wrestling (291,874), cross country (239,381), tennis (157,835), golf (155,174) and swimming and diving (116,799).

The number of participants in Esports and Unified Sports also registered increases in 2023-24. A total of 27,051 students participated in Esports last year, which included 23,041 boys and 4,010 girls – an increase of 3,129 participants from the previous year. The survey indicated a total of 51,502 participants in the 15 Unified Sports, up from 42,010 in 2022-23.

Texas (859,301) and California (834,103) remained atop the list of state participation. New York (341,454) remained in third, followed by Pennsylvania (336,946), Ohio (323,117), Illinois (320,603), Florida (299,398), Michigan (289,740), New Jersey (280,798) and Minnesota (224,179).

The NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey was started in 1971 and was compiled in its current form through the 2018-19 school year, resuming annually with the 2021-22 survey. The complete 2023-24 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey will be available soon on the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org.

Pre-Scrimmage Interview With Aces Football Coach Michael Brewer

Mt. Carmel vs Edwards County

August 23, 2024

Preseason Scrimmage Agenda


6:00 pm Gates Open

6:00 pm Mt. Carmel warm up-north end

Edwards Co. warm up-south end

6:30 pm (:25) Clock countdown to kick-off begins

6:55 pm (:05) National Anthem

7:00 pm (:00) Scrimmage Begins


Scrimmage Script - Ball starts on own 35 yard line

Varsity

12 Plays - Edwards County on Offense

12 Plays - Mt. Carmel on Offense

12 Plays - Edwards County on Offense

12 Plays - Mt. Carmel on Offense

JV

6 Plays - Edwards County on Offense

6 Plays - Mt. Carmel on Offense


Mt. Carmel Fresh/Soph Scrimmage

Totals # of plays - TBD


Cousin joins WVC Coaching staff

After two seasons on the University of Georgia staff, Justin Cousin joins Coach McGee as his assistant coach. Cousin also served as an assistant on the Radford staff during the 2021-22 season, which is his alma mater. During his second year at Georgia, he helped the Bulldogs reach 20 wins for the first time since the 2015-16 season. The twenty win season was enough for Georgia to get into the National Invitational Tournament and to reach the NIT Final Four.

Cousin played collegiately at Radford from 2013-2018, where he was a four-year letterwinner. During his career at Radford, Cousin played in 127 games, which landed him seventh in program history for games played. He was a valuabale piece in the 2018 season, where the Radford Highlanders won the Big South Championship and helped the team clinch their first ever NCAA Tournament victory. His best season was his junior season, where he started all 32 games, while averaging 11 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2 assists a game.

Justin graduated from Radford in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in Business Management, but took his talents overseas to play for the Taranaki Airs in New Plymouth, New Zealand during the 2018-19 season. Cousin averaged 11.3 points and was named Team Man of the Year. While in New Zealand, he also served as a volunteer youth coach at Stratford Primary School.

Cousin returned to his hometown of Burlington, N.C., to work as a counselor for at-risk youths in the area. He also served as a 5th grade teacher and middle school basketball coach at Positive Day School. Cousin earned a master's degree in Nonprofit Management and Leadership at the University of Georgia.

Coach McGee had this to say about Cousin. 

"Coach Cousin will be a tremendous addition to our program. His passion for the game, attention to detail, personality and leadership is going to help develop our young men to be ready for the next level. The positive impact that he's had on his past programs, he's on track to becoming a rising star in this business".

Kelsey & Kanipe Lead Aces

From Coach Abbey Carpenter:

Better day for the Aces last night!

Co-Medalist Honors go to
Kollin Kelsey and Hatcher Kanipe with an even par round of 36

We were 4 shots shy of the 1st place team honors behind Massac County with a 157 and us with 161.

We will see them again this weekend at their turf when we go to their home tournament Saturday.

Also, congratulations to the Lady Aces with a great win over the Castle Knights last night. Go Aces.

Aces Win Their Own Invite To Open Season

From Coach Abbey Carpenter:

What a great day to be an Ace. The boys and girl golf teams came away with a win tonight in their home invitational.

The boy had 3 in the top 10 with

Hatcher Kanipe in 8th

Zane Wilcox in 3rd

Kollin Kelsey in 1st. (with a 1 under par)

Individual Results

Kollin Kelsey 70 (1 under Par)

Hatcher Kanipe 79

Zane Wilcox 72

Landon Johnson 83

Jake Pettyjohn 82

Brayden Rayborn 87

Drake Stevenson 95

Joel Schneider 102

Alex Baker 85

Brock Schilb 95

The lowest 4 scores make up our winning team score of 303!

Way to go boys! Let’s keep it rolling for Mondays tournament in Robinson.

50 For 50: IHSA To Recognize Top Girls Volleyball & Football Programs To Celebrate 50th Anniversary of State Finals

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is proud to celebrate the 50th editions of both its Girls Volleyball State Finals and Football State Championship games in November of 2024.

Both milestone events will occur on the campus of Illinois State University (ISU) in Normal, as ISU’s CEFCU Arena will host the 2024 IHSA Girls Volleyball State Finals on November 15-16, and the eight state championship football games will unfold at Hancock Stadium on Thanksgiving weekend (November 29-30).

To help commemorate the past 50 years, the IHSA will release the Top 50 Volleyball Programs and Top 50 Football Programs from the State Series era (1974-2024) for both sports throughout the fall. A group of current and former high school coaches, administrators, and media members from around the state served on the committees to select the Top 50 programs in each sport.

“Releasing the Top 50 Programs is a celebration of the rich history and tradition of high school girls volleyball and football in the state of Illinois,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “It will be a fun way to remember many of the great teams, players, and coaches who have helped make high school sports in Illinois so special.”

Prior to the passage of Title IX in 1972, high school sports for girls in Illinois were conducted by the Illinois League of High School Girls Athletic Associations (commonly referred to as the GAA). Most GAA competitions were non-traditional in comparison to current IHSA formats, as they generally consisted of “festivals” where multiple area schools would gather to play contests in several sports.

“So much has changed since 1974,” said NFHS Hall of Fame Coach Peg Kopec, who won more matches (1,248) and state titles (12) than any other coach in state history during her 42-year tenure as head coach at St. Francis High School in Wheaton. “But what hasn’t changed is the amazing high school volleyball being played in Illinois. Just look at the all the players from Illinois on the USA Women’s Volleyball National team.”

High school football games in the state date all the way back to 1885, but despite the IHSA conducting postseason tournaments in sports like boys basketball since 1908, the IHSA football playoffs did not debut until 1974.

“I remember there being a lot of excitement about the playoffs among the coaches throughout the 1974 season,” said Ken Leonard, who was a college student helping coach at Chenoa High School in 1974 and later went on to win an IHSA-record 419 combined games at Gridley High School and Sacred Heart-Griffin High School, including six state titles at the latter. “Football was already big at the time, but the playoffs and state championship games boosted it to another level. It helped the growth of the game.”

Committee members were provided historical data on approximately 200 programs in each sport, which they voted on to whittle it down to the Top 50 list.

“The raw numbers don’t always tell the true story in Illinois high school sports,” said IHSA Assistant Executive Director Matt Troha. “We could have used a formula to name the Top 50 programs, where state championships are worth a certain number of points and postseason wins are worth a certain number of points, but I really don’t think that would have truly reflected the history of IHSA girls volleyball and football. Given the geographical format of IHSA tournaments, there are many programs who never won a state title, likely because they continually ran into another program on our Top 50 list in their geographic area. On the flip side, other programs certainly benefitted from class expansion, winning multiple state titles in short periods of time. There are always going to be programs that have garnered the utmost respect of opposing coaches, regardless of what the numbers say. We asked our committee members to use their lived experiences to tell us what programs belonged on the lists.”

Bragging rights aren’t the only spoils available for those that helped contribute to a Top 50 program, as IHSA partner Minerva Promotions has announced exclusive merchandise opportunities for the 50 respective girls volleyball and football programs who will be recognized. Learn more about Minerva’s Top 50 Football Program merchandise here and Minerva’s Top 50 Girls Volleyball merchandise here.

“It is amazing to see how the game has grown over 50 years and I am so happy for the opportunities that the young women who play and coach the sport have today,” said Nancy (Wichgers) Pedersen, who won nine state titles while coaching at Mother McAuley High School in Chicago from 1983 to 2004. “I am thankful I got to participate in that growth and contribute to what it has become today. I encourage all of the players today to give back to the sport however they can and never take these opportunities for granted.”

Mt. Carmel Athletic Hall of Fame Announces 2024 Class

MT. CARMEL) The Mt. Carmel High School Athletic Hall of Fame Committee of the Mt. Carmel Sports Boosters is proud to announce its 2024 Induction Class. Highlighting the class are the first three female athletes to enter the Hall of Fame and the first Friend of Athletics to be enshrined. An additional player and one team will complete the 2024 class.

The first female athletes to enter the Hall of Fame are girls high jump state champion Jessica Bayne-Snow, the state of Illinois’ all-time leading scorer in basketball Tyra Buss-Davison, and Olympic equestrian Lauren Kieffer-Nicholson.

Also being enshrined is legendary Golden Aces football quarterback Sharon Miller, the first Friend of Athletics is longtime timekeeper Tim Wachs, and the team being inducted is the 1974 state finalist Golden Aces football team.

The 2024 Induction Class of the MCHS Athletic Hall of Fame will be recognized prior to the Aces home football game on October 4th vs. Olney. A reception, hosted by the Sports Boosters, will follow the game at Stymie’s Rest at West Berwick Golf Course.

Aces fans are also reminded that nominations for future Hall of Fame induction can be made anytime. Find the nomination form and view a list of all Hall of Fame members on the Athletic Hall of Fame website at www.wabash348.com/o/mchs/page/mchs-athletics-hall-of-fame


Jessica-Bayne Snow: Jessica Bayne-Snow graduated from Mt. Carmel High School in 1999. Bayne-Snow was the individual state champion in high jump her senior year (5’7”). She was the USA Track and Field Junior Indoor and Outdoor Illinois State Champion in 1998. She was a two-time conference champion in high jump and conference champion in 300 hurdles her junior year. She set school records in high jump, 300 hurdles, 100 high hurdles, and as part of the 4x800 relay team. Academically, Bayne-Snow as an Illinois State Scholar and was a valedictorian. After MCHS, Bayne-Snow attended the University of Illinois where she was a member of the track and field team and was a three-time Academic All-Big 10 Team selection.

Jessica-Bayne Snow

Tyra Buss-Davison: Tyra Buss-Davison became the state of Illinois’ all-time leading scorer in girls’ basketball with 4,897 total points in her four-year career at Mt. Carmel ending in 2014. Buss-Davison was also recognized as the 2014 and 2013 Ms. Basketball in Illinois. Additionally, Buss-Davison continues to sit atop the IHSA record book in the categories of Most Points Scored (Career 4,897 and Season 1,466), Highest Scoring Average (Career - 38.0 & Season 45.8), Free Throws Made (Career 1,185), and sits second all-time in Career Steals (713). Buss-Davison played college basketball at Indiana University holding the IU career records in points scored (4 years – 2,364), steals (292), assists (572), free throws made (633), and points per game (17.5) At IU Buss-Davison was named All Big Ten First Team and led the team to the WNIT Championship her senior season. She has played professionally the past two years in Europe where she led the league in points and steals each season.

Tyra Buss-Davison

Lauren Kieffer-Nicholson: Lauren Kieffer-Nicholson is a 2005 graduate of MCHS. She competed for Team USA in the 2016 Olympic Games, the 2018 World Equestrian Games and was a member of the gold medal winning team at the 2015 Pan American Games where she individually placed seventh. Nicholson was named the 2019 Lady Rider of the Year by the US Eventing Association and was on the silver medal winning team at the 2022 World Eventing Championships. Individually, she won the Pinnacle Cup Trophy in 2014 and 2016 and continues to be recognized among the top riders in the U.S.

Lauren Kieffer-Nicholson

Sharon Miller: Sharon Miller was the starting Golden Aces quarterback on two conference championship teams in the pre-playoff era. In 1960, he led the Aces to an undefeated season. He was named to the Illinois All-State Team. After MCHS, Miller was the quarterback at Western Kentucky University where he started for three years. He played on WKU’s first undefeated team and was named the MVP of the Tangerine Bowl in 1963. Miller was also named to the College All American Team. He was elected to the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.

Sharon Miller:

Tim Wachs: Tim Wachs becomes the first Friend of Athletics to be enshrined in the MCHS Athletic Hall of Fame. Wachs has served as the timekeeper since his days as a student. He’s served the district as timekeeper for over 50 years. He has also served as the timekeeper for Wabash Valley College. Wachs was a longtime sixth grade math teacher in District #348 and has worked as a dispatcher for local emergency services for over 50 years. Even after retirement, Wachs has volunteered in a variety of capacities for District 348. In a 2008 newspaper article, a District 348 administrator said of Wachs “Whatever somebody needs done, he’s always there to help. He’s such an asset to the community.”

Tim Wachs

1974 Aces Football So many teams deserve credit for putting Golden Aces Football on the map – but it was the 1974 team that took the Aces program to the state finals for the first time – in the first year of the IHSA playoff system. The Aces finished in a three-way tie for the North Egypt Conference championship but were voted by the league members to represent the NEC in the playoffs. The Aces beat Mt. Zion in overtime in the opener at the Snake Pit, stopping a potential game winning Braves two-point conversion attempt. The Aces then beat Sparta at home before travelling to Quincy to take on the Catholic Boys. In that game “The Toe” Doug Peterson kicked a 32-yard field goal in overtime to send the Aces to the championship game with the “Kick Heard ‘round the World”. The Larry Davis led Golden Aces would fall to West Chicago in the championship – but set the bar for future Aces teams very high

1974 Aces FootbalL