What our neighbors to the north might be doing

As we all sit back and speculate what might be in store for high school athletics in the coming weeks, then months, all we can do is just guess as it seems to change on a daily basis.

As the case numbers continue to climb, especially in rural areas throughout Kentucky like our own south-central region, school officials are beginning to lean more toward canceling fall sports altogether.

With word still out, as of this writing, as to any new decisions the KHSAA might make during a special meeting said to be slated for Tuesday, thoughts turn to what other associations are looking at.

College programs have already made that move to some extent, and even some complete major conferences have made the same move, such as the MAC and the Big 10. We’re still waiting to see what the SEC will do in the next few days, and from everything I’ve heard, the powers that be in that conference will likely wait until the last minute to make a decision, or at least to announce that decision.

But what about high schools? In Kentucky, as of this writing, plans are still in place to move forward with fall sports, but I’m not going to be surprised, as I’ve stated here before, if we are without fall sports for the 2020 season.

I spent some time this weekend reading an article that appeared in the Courier Journal regarding what is planned for our neighbors to the north for its high school seasons in Indiana.

Normally, I care very little about what goes on in the high school sports scene in Indiana, but in this summer without any sports to cover, I’ve pretty much absorbed every tid-bit I can scratch up.

With a new Commissioner, Paul Neidig, the Indiana High School Athletic Association is currently planning on a fall system that pretty much looks like what Kentucky is currently having – fall sports are on – for now.

In his first week as the new commissioner (wow, did he pick a bad year for a new job), Neidig said that more would be decided in the coming weeks as to attendance at games and matches, and like Kentucky, it’s a wait and see what case numbers do.

Also to the north, in Illinois, football, volleyball and soccer have been moved to the spring, and that state’s athletic association is still hoping to keep golf, tennis, cross country and its other fall sports on a fall schedule.

One big difference that Illinois has already decided is definitely a biggie – it will NOT sanction any state championship with this design. They might offer to hold a first round, or what we would call a regional tournament, but that would end it.