The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) is the governing body for high school activities throughout the state of Missouri. Approximately 580 high schools are members of MSHSAA.
The MSHSAA conducts championship-level activities in 23 activities. At least 50 member high schools must sponsor a sport for an official championship series to be conducted. Sports such as boys volleyball, field hockey, girls lacrosse, boys softball, and water polo are considered "emerging sports" by MSHSAA, but an official postseason series does not exist with less than 50 schools involved in those activities. MSHSAA also administers sideline cheerleading and dance team activities.
History
In 1925, while 46 of the states in the US already had governing bodies to regulate interscholastic activities, Missouri did not. The first meeting was held on November 13, 1925, in St. Louis where a subsequent constitutional convention was scheduled for December 12, 1925. Carl Burris was the first secretary of MSHSAA, and the following men drafted the original constitution:
W. T. Doherty, Cape Girardeau
C. C. Conrad, Charleston
Dr. H. S. Curtis, Jefferson City
T. C. Reid, Warrensburg
C. O. Williams, Jefferson City
D. W. Hopkins, St. Joseph
Uel W. Lampkin, Maryville
J. D. Deaton, Butler
H. N. McCall, Carterville
Carl Burris, Clayton
H. R. Shepherd, Kansas City
Coach G. Henry, Columbia
W. F. Byers, Carthage
O. G. Sanford, Trenton
The organization was formed in 1926 when the constitution was approved and adopted, and MSHSAA set its residence in Columbia. "By the close of the 1926-27 school year...472 schools [had] joined the association." MSHSAA's first focus was to ensure uniform eligibility requirements and "control abuses that were creeping into" Missouri athletics. In 1949, MSHSAA shifted its cause from solely athletics to include activities; the acronym stayed the same, but the name was officially changed. The organization continued to evolve, and in 1956, the board adopted a program that would aim to use high school activities to educate students in a more holistic way.
Its first final was in boys' basketball, held that year at Washington University in St. Louis. MSHSAA removed the color barrier in 1952, allowing schools from the MNIAA (Missouri Negro Interscholastic Athletic Association) to join. In the late 1960s, the group unified football tournaments (previously only held locally) to form the Show-Me Bowl that exists today.
School classification
MSHSAA's member schools are organized into groups based on enrollment, with Class 1 being the smallest. In 11-man football the largest is Class 6, comprising the largest 32 schools based on enrollment. Schools wishing to play 8-man football must have an enrollment smaller than 200 total students. Boys' and girls' basketball were expanded to six classes in 2020, and baseball was moved to six classes in 2022. Class 6 schools are those with 1,059 students and above; while Class 1 schools are those with 119 students and below. Prior to 2003, the classes were divided into four classes from "A" to "AAAA" (popularly referred to as "1A" to "4A").
However, the number of classes varies by the number of schools that participate in a sport: for example, speech, debate, and theater only have one class,swimming and diving has two classes, while girls' softball and girls' volleyball use four classes.
Schools in Missouri are able to form their own conferences and play whichever teams they wish in regular season competition. For example, the Ozark Conference, in the southwest portion of the state, has teams from two classes competing against one another.
Schools are assigned into districts for playoff competition only; districts vary depending on sport, size and geographic location. Also unlike other states, there is no "regional" championship designation; during playoff competition schools are generally organized into brackets that are close in geographic proximity.
Wrestling and track districts, for instance, usually have 10 or more teams due to the nature of competition, while football districts have anywhere from four to five. Beginning with the 2012 football season, districts comprised eight schools. In other sports, district competition is set up like a more traditional tournament bracket at the end of the regular season. The winner of the district tournament advances in the championship series.
Redistricting and regrouping occurs every two years.