High school football and volleyball will shift to a new “fourth season’’ starting in March 2021 while soccer and individual fall sports can start practice on time in less than two weeks. All seasons would be shorter, with coronavirus concerns guiding possible changes along the way.
That’s what the Minnesota State High School League decided Tuesday in a virtual board meeting taking up highly anticipated measures to restart competitive sports for the first time since March.
Moving football and volleyball out of the fall season reflected concerns about virus exposure and other logistics mostly stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Minnesota becomes the ninth state to delay its high school football season.
Moving the girls’ and boys’ soccer seasons also was discussed but the board approved resuming the sport on time. Practice can start Aug. 17, with a 20% shorter season in weeks and a 30% reduction in games, limited to one or two per week. A decision on postseason play will be determined later.
Individual-based sports — cross-country, girls’ tennis, and girls’ swimming and diving — were approved to start on time by a 17-1 vote of league board members, with first practices scheduled on Aug. 17. Limits on the number of events and competing teams also were approved.
Configuring a new fourth season — between the end of the winter sports season and the start of spring sports — reflected league concerns about going head-to-head with sports such as baseball, softball and lacrosse. While no dates have been firmed up, league associate director Bob Madison said Monday, “For example, any sports moved to spring would run from March 15 to May 15. And the fourth season would go from May 15 to July 15.”
The league considered motions to play football and volleyball in the fall but both failed.
The fall football proposal, which included a six-week season and no scrimmages against other opponents, was rejected on a 12-6 vote. The board then voted to play football starting in March, with six regular season games, no scrimmages and a postseason plan to be determined.
The volleyball motion failed on a 9-9 vote. The sport has a strong offseason club component for many high school athletes. Subsequent discussion led to an 11-7 vote to move volleyball to the new fourth season starting in March, with a reduced season that includes no invitational meets.
In clearing girls’ tennis, cross-country and girls’ swimming and diving to start this month, the league limited the number of competing events to one or two per week and scrapped large invitationals. Cross-country meets cannot exceed three teams while tennis and swimming can only hold dual competitions.
Members of the league’s recently formed return-to-participation task force, which worked on the proposals leading to Tuesday’s vote, acknowledged that moving an entire season comes with drawbacks, such as the potential departure of athletes who graduate and a lack of available indoor facilities in early spring.
The high school league shut down all athletic competition in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This summer, the league has allowed for team workouts within recommended guidelines.
The league formed a return-to-participation task force on July 14 to guide the resumption of activities for the upcoming school year.
Last week, Gov. Tim Walz announced the state’s plan for the return to education, giving individual school districts the ability to set their own agenda moving forward and asking that each follow recommended guidelines.
Taking that action into account, the task force on Friday presented four potential frameworks for resuming play before narrowing them to two by Monday.
League Executive Director Erich Martens said Monday that “adaptability and flexibility continue to be constants” as the school year resumes. “We’re going to have to be ready to change if we start something and it gets set back,” he said,
Beyond the board’s announcement, much remains undecided, such as transportation and safety protocols.
The 20-member high school league board represents 500 member schools and 240,000 students participating in its 43 sanctioned sports and activities.
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, 29 states — including Iowa and Wisconsin — had delayed at least part of their fall sports schedules as of Monday.
Check back later for updates on this story.
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Minnesota high school football, volleyball move to new 'fourth season' next spring - Minneapolis Star Tribune
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