National Federation of State High School Associations


The National Federation of State High School Associations is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. NFHS's headquarters are located in White River State Park in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Member and affiliate associations

image:NCAAHallofChampions 02.JPG|thumb|The federation's headquarters in Indianapolis with the NCAA Hall of Champions in the background
Over 19,500 high schools belong to associations that are members of the NFHS. Most high schools, whether public or private, belong to their state's high school association; in turn, each state association belongs to the NFHS. However, in states that have separate associations for public and non-public high schools, only the public-school bodies are full NFHS members.
For example, the Texas University Interscholastic League is a full member; the largest association governing non-public schools, the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, is an affiliate member, while other governing bodies are not NFHS members at any level. Similarly, the Virginia High School League, open only to public schools, is a full member, the state's largest association for non-public schools is an affiliate member, and other governing bodies are not members at all.
The case in Mississippi is slightly different; the body governing public schools is a full member, while the [Midsouth Association of Independent Schools|body governing private school|private schools] is an NFHS affiliate that also includes private schools from several neighboring states. In the state of Alabama, the public schools and a handful of private schools compete in the AHSAA which is a full member of the NFHS. The majority of private schools in the state are members of the AISA a non-member that uses NFHS rules. The AHSAA will not allow its members to play AISA schools but the AISA schools do compete with public and private schools outside of Alabama.
Iowa has separate governing associations for boys' and girls' sports, respectively the Iowa High School Athletic Association and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. Only the Iowa High School Athletic Association is a full member of the NFHS; the girls' governing body is an affiliate member.
The provincial associations of Canada are affiliate members of the NFHS.
The NFHS publishes rules books for each sport or activity, and most states adopt those rules wholly for state high school competition including the non member private school associations. NFHS rules occasionally differ from standard national or international rules. Several sports, notably golf and tennis, do not have an NFHS-specific rulebook and instead defer to standard rules from a national governing body with each state association free to adjust conditions of competition to suit local needs.
The NFHS offered an online Coach Education Program in January 2007. It released a course, Fundamentals of Coaching. The NFHS has announced that it will offer a National Coach Certification in September 2009. This will enable to coaches to become a Level 1 - Accredited Interscholastic Coach issued by the NFHS.

Member associations

Affiliate associations

Players by sport

PosSportTotalBoysGirls
1Track and field 1,131,348625,333506,015
2American football (11-player)1,035,6021,031,5084,094
3Basketball903,952536,668367,284
4Soccer851,378467,483383,895
5Volleyball564,38085,255479,125
6Baseball473,073471,7011,372
7Cross-country432,350239,381192,969
8Tennis353,601157,835195,766
9Softball 345,607156345,451
10Swimming and diving254,973116,799138,174
11Wrestling356,131291,87464,257
12Golf238,010155,17482,836
13Lacrosse216,205115,001101,204
14Competitive spirit186,1515,128181,023
15Track and field 151,71482,24869,466
Total 8,062,3024,638,7853,423,517

Executive Directors

  • L. W. Smith, 1920–27
  • C. W. Whitten, 1927–40
  • H. V. Porter, 1940–58
  • Cliff Fagan, 1958–77
  • Brice B. Durbin, 1977–1993
  • Robert F. Kanaby, 1993–2010
  • Robert B. Gardner, 2010–2018
  • Karissa Niehoff, 2018–present

National High School Hall of Fame

The National High School Hall of Fame is a program of the National Federation of State High School Associations that honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to high school sports or performing arts. Since 1986, the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony has been the final event of the National Federation's annual summer meeting, which is held in late June and early July and attended by board members and executives of the state high school associations.