It was called one of the most important meetings in the 100-year history of the Florida High School Athletic Association. And on Friday its 16-member board of directors decided on a vote of 11-5 to start the fall season on Aug. 24 with an option to opt out the state series by Sept. 18.
The board chose Option 1 of the agenda, which allows schools to begin practice on Aug. 24, putting the first week of football games to Sept. 4. That's a week earlier than initially proposed during the last FHSAA meeting on July 23. Teams can decide by Sept. 18 if they plan on competing in a state playoff series.
Friday's decision came after public backlash to a pair of meetings that were live streamed in late July. On July 20, the board voted 10-5 to keep the regular calendar intact, going against the recommendations of its own task force and a Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC).
The outcry from that decision ignited an emergency meeting three days later in which it voted 11-4 to push back the calendar and start fall practices on Aug. 24. The board stipulated to meet on Friday and have various options ready to vote upon.
It came down to three options and after a three-hour meeting Friday and the FHSAA board decided on Option 1. .
Florida is one of 35 states that has stayed committed to playing football in the fall, though at least six have pushed back the season by more than a month.
Texas divided its football season, moving its largest classifications (5A and 6A) back five weeks to begin Sept. 24-26 and its state championships into January.
California is one of 14 states to postpone the football season to 2021, which is also what college football's Big Ten and Pac-12 plan to do.
The high school football season kicked off
Thursday in Utah, where 50 more games are scheduled to be played tonight. One Utah game was already canceled because of three Bingham (South Jordan) players
testing positive this week for the coronavirus.
Florida is annually considered one of the biggest hotbeds for high school football talent in the country, this year boasting seven of the top 30 ranked seniors in the nation led by Alabama-bound tackle
JC Latham of
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), the No. 1 ranked team in the country.
Miami rivals Carol City and Central battle during a tough 2019 contest.
Photo by Daniel Galarza
