2026-27 Annual Membership Update

MSHSAA Annual Membership Update: Transfer Exceptions, Coaching Requirements, Championship Factor & 2027–28 District ChangesThis episode explains MSHSAA’s annual membership updates required for member-school principals and activities administrators, held in early September across eight board districts, and previews key topics for the new school year. It covers by-law changes including new transfer exceptions (military, nonresident parent employee, and refugee/asylum with I-94), expanded preseason non-school competition allowances across all sports, expanded cooperative sponsorship participation beyond the regular season, and sport-specific updates (team tennis jamborees, speech/debate contest and start-time changes, Scholar Bowl competition-date limits, and dance contest increases). It also outlines revised coach/director minimum requirements with a five-year NFHS-based training progression, board policy updates to the championship factor using a depreciating point system and removing the two-class cap, a new sending-school response-time policy for transfers, postseason streaming and media credential updates, a pilot point-based district seeding system for 2026–27 leading to implementation in 2027–28, district host-site selection changes beginning 2027–28, officials reminders, girls flag football reaching provisionally interscholastic status for a 2027 vote, enrollment type reviews, and a possible special ballot to expand the board from 10 to 11 members and increase at-large positions.