IHSA and IESA Sports still on hold

By JEFF LAMPE
For The Prairie News

The guessing game continues for school sports in Illinois. While a vaccine is being distributed and some parts of the state appear to be headed for less strict COVID-19 mitigations today, there is still much uncertainty about when and if seasons will start.

At present, all IHSA and IESA sports are on a holding pattern. And though both of the sanctioning bodies met with top officials from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and Gov. JB Pritzker’s staff on Jan. 6, it is uncertain whether sports can resume any time soon.

“We don’t necessarily know that all parts of the state can start at the same time and play at the same time, and we don’t have clarification of if we can start, what can start,” said Matt Troha, an assistant executive director of the IHSA. “It’s like with most of this, we don’t have any good answers.”

The IHSA Board of Directors was to meet Wednesday, Jan. 13, and may have to start ruling out some sports, since time is running short.

“Our Board of Directors is going to have difficult decisions to make regarding the seasons’ for medium- and high-risk sports very soon,” said Craig Anderson, IHSA Executive Director. “With no specific IDPH timeline or statistical benchmarks established for the return of sports and the calendar shrinking, putting together a puzzle that allows for all sports to be played becomes increasingly improbable.”

Last year when sports were first postponed, the IHSA had talked about basketball season running through Feb. 13, football and volleyball happening Feb. 15 to May 1 and spring sports opening May 3 through June 26.

Delays have made those dates look improbable, though several officials say volleyball appears the most likely to happen.

As IESA Executive Director Steve Endsley said, “The calendar always wins.”

While nobody has said it openly, most observers doubt the IHSA can fit boys and girls high school basketball seasons into the current framework. Football and wrestling seasons also look unlikely, given the present restrictions in place for high-risk sports.

Could football be called off to allow for a basketball season? Or vice versa? Could girls basketball be sacrificed to allow for volleyball, a lower-risk sport?

All those are hard decisions the IHSA board has to face.

“I feel like we’re going to play the spring sports [baseball, softball and track and field], and maybe in the next week or two start some bowling and swimming and badminton,” Troha said. “But I’m starting to worry about if we are allowed to play football in the fall.”

Yes, he said next fall, not this spring.

The IESA had planned to start basketball practice on Jan. 4 and volleyball practice on Jan. 11. Endsley said he expects to get “bombarded” with calls if Gov. Pritzker announces a reduction in mitigations.

“But right now I have no answer,” he said.