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.

There’s nothing quite like the start of another school year – and the beginning of another season of high school activity programs. Right up there with Opening Day in Major League Baseball is that first Friday night football game, which is an annual revival of spirit in communities nationwide.

At the request of its member state associations to address the nation’s fastest-growing emerging high school sport, the NFHS will be writing playing rules for flag football, effective with the 2025-26 season.

Effective with the 2025 season, races in high school track and field will be recalled in the first 50 meters when a competitor falls due to contact with another competitor.

The 41st class of the National High School Hall of Fame was inducted this month at the close of the NFHS Summer Meeting in Boston, and the storylines of the 11 individuals in the 2024 class were simply amazing.

High school softball coaches will be able to use electronic devices in the dugout for one-way communication to the catcher while the team is on defense beginning in 2025.

The NFHS has announced the release of three new courses on the online NFHS Learning Center, unveiling two sports statistics offerings titled “Collecting Statistics: Football” and “Collecting Statistics: Volleyball,” along with a third course called “The Female and Male Athlete Triad.”

At about this time three years ago, leaders in the high school sports world were concerned about the fallout from the NCAA’s decision to allow college athletes to monetize their success and profit from their own Name, Image and Likeness (NIL).

To better understand how to implement a Special Olympics Unified Sports® program at the interscholastic level, the NFHS, in partnership with Special Olympics North America, has created the “Administering Interscholastic Unified Sports” course, available now for free on the NFHS Learning Center (www.nfhslearn.com).

Unacceptable behavior at high school sporting events – it’s still happening. And much of this deplorable behavior continues to be directed at the thousands of individuals who VOLUNTEER to serve as contest officials.

A new definition and subsequent warning for faking being fouled (flopping) has been added to the NFHS Basketball Rules Book for the 2024-25 season.

Beginning with the 2024-25 season, high school wrestlers will be inbounds with only one point of contact of either wrestler inside or on the boundary line.

Language in the 2024-25 NFHS Swimming and Diving Rules Book will be changed in an effort to ensure consistent notification protocols when violations regarding swimming attire are detected.

Two years ago, our nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX, which played a significant role in opening doors for girls’ participation opportunities in sports.

In the world of high school and collegiate athletics, when the calendar turns to March, a spotlight seems to turn on with it. That spotlight, of course, shines on the sport of basketball, where the countless buzzer-beaters, monumental upsets and unlikely heroes of state and national tournament lore have provided top-flight drama for more than a century.