MHSAA: School Sports to Go On as Scheduled - For Now

The Michigan High School Athletic Association outlined its plan for having high school sports return to action.

School sports have been sidelined since March, when the coronavirus pandemic struck Michigan and stopped the winter sports season during the state tournaments. Spring sports were canceled when in-class instruction did not resume.

The MHSAA, in a press release issued Friday, said it was moving forward with a plan that calls for fall sports to move forward and be played as scheduled. Football practice is slated to begin Aug. 10 and other sports are set to begin Aug. 12.

The MHSAA is making contingency plans. The start of practices and competition could be delayed if the virus doesn't recede. It's possible that some sports may begin on time while other, higher-risk sports be postponed until later in the year. If all fall sports are suspended, they will be rescheduled with a reconfigured calendar that has winter sports beginning in November and spring sports extending into July.

“Our student-athletes just want to play, and we’ve gone far too long without them playing. But doing so safely, of course, remains the priority,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. “Our plan moving forward is Fall in the Fall, starting on time. We’re excited to continue moving forward to bring back sports safely. It’s important for keeping students in our schools and keeping students in our sports programs."

The plan was released after a July 15 meeting of the MHSAA's 19-member Representative Council, which meets again July 29 for further discussion. The council considered a plan that would have swapped football, volleyball, girls swim and dive and boys soccer to the spring. All sports are considered moderate-to-high risk because of the close physical contact or because they are played in doors. The council determined that plan was not feasible. Some spring sports, like lacrosse and girls soccer, carry similar risks. Moving some of the low-risk sports to fall was determined unsound because it would force students to choose between sports they've previously played.

The plans are reliant on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's MI Safe Start Plan. Just two of Michigan's regions have advanced to Phase 5, which allows limited indoor activity.

The MHSAA staff is building COVID-related policies for all Fall sports and will make those guidelines and precautions available to member schools as the season approaches. Those policies will follow up what was presented to schools for summer offseason training, which began June 1 across the state and has seen thousands of student-athletes participate.

The MHSAA is a private, not-for-profit corporation of voluntary membership by more than 1,500 public and private senior high schools and junior high/middle schools which exists to develop common rules for athletic eligibility and competition. No government funds or tax dollars support the MHSAA, which was the first such association nationally to not accept membership dues or tournament entry fees from schools. Member schools which enforce these rules are permitted to participate in MHSAA tournaments, which attract more than 1.4 million spectators each year.

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