Alternative Football Season Established By CT Sports Officials

CONNECTICUT — After weeks of discussions concerning the cancellation of high school football in Connecticut this fall due to the coronavirus pandemic, officials of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) unveiled a plan Tuesday to implement an alternative season sandwiched between the normal winter and spring sports schedules.

Members of the CIAC Board of Control reviewed the latest guidance issued by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) in establishing the plan. Start and end dates of the winter and spring seasons will be adjusted to accommodate the alternative season, with minimal impact to winter and spring sports, according to a written statement from the CIAC.

At its Sept. 3 meeting, the Board of Control had deemed full-contact, 11-versus-11 football "no longer a viable option" for fall play due to the pandemic, deeming the sport "high risk" in correlation with DPH recommendations. The board reaffirmed that position at a Sept. 16 meeting.

Under the new plan, winter sports conditioning would run from Nov. 23 to Dec. 5, with contests scheduled from Dec. 7 through Feb. 5. State tournament competition would take place Feb. 8-21.

The "second semester alternative season" would open with conditioning from Feb. 22-26, with the first practice date with full football pads on Feb. 27. Scrimmages would take place March 6 and 12 or 13, with games running from March 19 to April 17.

Conditioning for spring sports would run April 11-22 for student-athletes not playing a sport in the special season. Contests will be scheduled April 23 through June 8, with state tournament action running June 14-27.

The full plan from the CIAC may be viewed here.

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