LHSAA approves plan for football
BATON ROUGE, La. (BVM) — Parents, coaches, and athletes sat quietly and watched 23 other states kick off their high school football seasons on Sept. 3. But now nearly a month later than the original start date, the high school football season in Louisiana is set to officially begin Thursday.
Jumping for joy because #LHSAA football begins their week three, game one schedules this week 🙌 pic.twitter.com/IIVteLCKLN
— LHSAA (@LHSAAsports) September 28, 2020
Before play could resume, the LHSAA had to vote to bring back contact sports. Executive director Eddie Bonine met with the Louisiana House of Representatives on Sept. 4 to discuss the possibility of playing high school football in 2020. Following that meeting, Bonine and the LHSAA Executive Committee were set to vote on Sept. 9. The committee voted 22-1 to begin contact sports.
“It’s exciting that the LHSAA can contribute to some sort of normality for the students and schools,” Bonine said in a press release.
As neighboring states like Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas played football, the LHSAA decided to follow suit. With the help of local doctors, the executive committee approved an eight-game schedule that begins Thursday and a 32-team playoff beginning Nov. 27. The 2020 Prep Classic will be held December 26-28 in New Orleans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
“The LHSAA staff has developed fall sport-specific event guidelines with help from Dr. Stewart, from the Tulane Sports and the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, for schools when conducting interscholastic competition,” the LHSAA said in the release. “Competition guidelines will be posted in the near future.”
As football revs up, the low-risk sports such as cross country, swimming, and volleyball have already begun their regular seasons. The high school winter sports season in Louisiana is set to begin on Nov. 16. The regular spring sports season will aim to start in late February.
