New York is moving its football season to spring and Colorado is staying put with its spring football plan, as well.
The New York State Public High School Athletic Association announced Wednesday night that the fall seasons for football, volleyball and competitive cheer will be postponed until March 1.
In a press release, the NYSPHSAA said its decision was made to “to address membership concerns associated with high-risk fall sports.” Low- and moderate-risk fall sports, meanwhile, are still authorized to begin practices Sept. 21, as previously announced.
“We’ve spent two days speaking with nearly 500 athletic directors across the state and it’s clear that administering high-risk fall sports during the COVID-19 pandemic presents a significant challenge for our member schools,” NYSPHSAA executive director said Robert Zayas said.
“These are unprecedented times and unfortunately, difficult decisions will have to be made to address this ongoing crisis. We continue to stay committed to providing support to our member schools and quality participation experiences for the students we serve.”
It's official. This was sent to ADs.
Football, volleyball, and cheer moved to the spring (March 1, 2021) and the spring season start date has been moved to April 19, 2021.@lohudinsider @lohudsports @hoopsmbd @KDJmedia1 pic.twitter.com/RLeYLCG4xJ
— Eugene Rapay (@erapay5) September 9, 2020
The revised season for football, volleyball and fall competitive cheer will be known as “Fall Sports Season II” and may officially begin practices on March 1.
As a result of fall high-risk sports being moved, the start date for the New York spring sports season has been adjusted to April 19, 2021. The first official practice for spring sports will now be April 19, 2021 (the original start date was March 15).
Much like Michigan last week, Colorado High School Activities Association was considering moving its football season back to the fall after Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday announced the state would allow such a decision.
But on Wednesday, the CHSAA board of directors unanimously voted not to alter its original plan, despite the governor’s support. Colorado’s football season is scheduled to begin Feb. 22. Colorado field hockey, gymnastics, boys soccer and girls volleyball are scheduled to begin March 1.
Statement from the Board of Directors about the 2020-21 activities calendar: https://t.co/rM3im3UFRT #copreps
— CHSAA (@CHSAA) September 9, 2020
“We are focused on getting school started and running smoothly, as well as handling all the issues of running a school district and trying to have that be as normal as possible. We do not want to travel,” CHSAA board member Richard Hargrove said in a news release. “The biggest thing for me in the end is that we have continued to move the goalposts, and every time we turned around, we had something else we had to adjust to.
“The discussion last night amplified that there was another potential goalpost movement. We have already developed a calendar that addresses the concerns of health officials, and gives all students a season and a chance to participate. We need to move forward with that plan.”
With New York’s move and Colorado staying put, 19 state association have either moved football to the spring or, in the case of Vermont and Connecticut, prohibited 11 on 11 football altogether.
Rhode Island became the latest state to punt on football until spring. Protests have erupted over Connecticut’s move spurring state legislators to bring pressure on Gov. Ned Lamont to intervene, or at least allow a spring option.
Beginning with Utah on Aug. 13, 23 states have kicked off high school football seasons. Georgia and Florida — two of the states most severely impacted by the summer COVID-19 outbreaks — began their seasons last week. Another nine are expected to kick off at some point this year.
Reporting from the Times-Union of Albany contributed to this story.
