Michigan school sports heat policy
Michigan’s MHSAA runs on the heat index, not WBGT: its 2013 model policy is followed at MHSAA tournaments and offered to schools for the regular season. How to read these labels
- Association
- MHSAA (Michigan High School Athletic Association)
- Label
- No statewide WBGT rule
- Reading it uses
- Heat index
- Statewide table
- None
- Last checked
- September 3, 2026
What MHSAA’s document says
MHSAA’s model policy runs on heat index, not WBGT: it recommends a digital sling psychrometer, and readings are taken 30 minutes before an activity and again 60 minutes after it starts, recorded in writing and kept on file. Above a 104 heat index it stops all outside activity. MHSAA tournament managers follow it “without exception”; for the regular season it is a model your school may adopt.
We won’t show another state’s WBGT thresholds in its place: regional tables differ by several degrees. Follow the policy your school, district or league has adopted. For general heat guidance at your field, open the map.
MHSAA Model Policy for Managing Heat & Humidity (adopted March 22, 2013)This is a plain-language summary to help you plan. It is not legal advice, and it is not the association’s document. Associations revise these policies often. Confirm what currently applies with your school, district or association.
What else to know
- At a heat index above 99 up to 104, MHSAA’s model calls for “Mandatory water breaks every 30 minutes for 10 minutes in duration”, and where helmets or other protective equipment are required, it says to “suspend practice or competition immediately” until the index is 99 or below.
- Above a heat index of 104, the model also stops indoor activity in buildings without air conditioning: “stop all inside activity if air conditioning is unavailable”.
- Each school picks who takes and records the readings, usually the athletic director, head coach or athletic trainer.
- Michigan’s MHSAA (mhsaa.com) shares its initials with Mississippi’s MHSAA (misshsaa.com), and Missouri’s association is MSHSAA. Their heat policies differ, so check that a document you find comes from mhsaa.com.
How to read this
We found no WBGT limits in MHSAA’s document. It uses the heat index instead, so there is no WBGT table to show. Your school or district may also have its own heat policy.
Before you rely on this
- This page summarizes MHSAA’s document. It does not replace it. If they differ, go by the document and by the policy your school or league has adopted.
- Confirm what currently applies with your school, district or association. Many schools adopt their own version.
- Any WBGT number WetBulbTracker shows is a modeled estimate for planning, not an official reading. Where a policy calls for an on-site reading, that reading governs.
- This page does not replace an athletic trainer’s judgment.
Live heat readings in Michigan
Suggest a correction
Associations update these documents, often before the fall season. If something here is wrong or out of date, send us a link to the current document and we will re-check it.
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