Here’s when 2020-21 high school sports, including football, will begin in NC
The N.C. High School Athletic Association announced Wednesday that it was again pushing back the start of the 2020-21 high school sports season and moving football into 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The association announced Wednesday that high school football practice will start Feb. 8 with the first playing date being Feb. 26. Football teams will play a condensed schedule of seven conference games.
Gov. Roy Cooper, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Public Instruction and State Board of Education were all involved in the decision.
“We want our young people to be able to play, but for sure we want them to be able to play in a manner that is safe and healthy,” said Que Tucker, commissioner of the NCHSAA.
Here’s what is changing:
▪ The sports calendar begins Nov. 4, when cross country and volleyball can start.
▪ All seasons will be shortened with fewer games allowed (seven football games, 14 in most other sports)
▪ Cross country and volleyball will run Nov. 4 through Jan. 8. First matches will be Nov. 16.
▪ Swimming will run from Nov. 23 through Jan. 30. First meets will be Dec. 7.
▪ Basketball will go from Dec 7. through Feb. 19, First games will be Jan. 4.
▪ Men’s soccer and boys and girls lacrosse will run from Jan. 11 through March 12. First games will be Jan. 25.
▪ Football will be played from Feb. 8 through April 9. Season limited to seven games. Tucker said there are no plans to adjust the football calendar for the fall of 2021, though some modifications might be made to the summer workout and conditioning plans, which usually begin in early to mid June.
▪ Golf, boys tennis, girls soccer and softball from March 1 through April 30. Games and matches will begin March 15.
▪ Baseball, girls tennis, track and wrestling will run from April 12 through June 11. First games, meets and matches will begin April 26.
▪ Indoor track has been canceled for the 2020-21 school year.
Playoff plans to be worked out
Tucker said the NCHSAA was planning to have a postseason for all sports, but they would likely be shorter than in most years.
“We know there is that overlapping of seasons,” Tucker said. “There will be probably be some limitation, particularly in the number of teams. Let’s use cross-country as an example, we’ve had unlimited numbers of individuals who can go to a regional. We’ll have to look at those, particularly as we get closer to the playoffs. ... We’re hopeful that we can provide a meaningful and special postseason play for any of the individuals who qualify for our postseason competition.”
Can fans attend games?
Tucker said Cooper’s plans for reopening the state will determine whether fans can attend games. Under Phase Two of the Cooper’s plan, outdoor gatherings are limited to 25 people and indoor gatherings are limited to 10.
Tucker said by pushing back the start of large spectator sports like football and basketball, NCHSAA schools might be able to have fans at events if the state allows it.
“We would like to think that in North Carolina we’re at a point (then) where the Governor has raised limitations on outdoor gatherings so we could have a lot of spectators,” Tucker said. “We believe it gives us the best chance to have more people in the stands by playing later in the calendar year.”
High school sports dead period
The dead period will be the first days of the school year and will begin next week. After that, skill development can begin under Phase Two guidelines with an exception: Access to locker rooms and weight rooms will be governed by each local education agency.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools spokesperson Brian Hacker said the district will “communicate relevant information after we have had a chance to review what (the) NCHSAA has announced.”
CMS Superintendent Earnest Winston said last week the district had not made a decision as to whether it would allow its students to participate in athletics under remote learning.
Wake County athletics director Deran Coe said the district will review Wednesday’s announcement before making any decisions regarding students in the district participating in sports.
Star players have to decide between high school and college
Some elite high school football players were planning to graduate early and go to college in December.
▪ Vance High linebacker Power Echols told the Observer he will graduate early and will not return for his senior season. Echols is a two-time Associated Press and Charlotte Observer high school defensive player of the year. Echols has committed to North Carolina.
▪ Kings Mountain’s Kobe Paysour, a top 20 N.C. recruit at wide receiver, had said he would transfer to South Carolina if North Carolina did not have football this fall. Paysour said Wednesday he will remain at Kings Mountain, graduate in December and enroll early at UNC.
▪ Harding High’s Tylon Dunlap, a freshman on the Rams’ 2017 N.C. 4A state championship team, will graduate early and enroll at Georgia State.
▪ Hough High running back Evan Pryor, a top 5 N.C. recruit, will head to Ohio State after graduating early in December. He will not play his senior season in February.
▪ Hough High running back Evan Pryor, a top five N.C. recruit, headed to Ohio State, said he and his family are going to discuss whether to stay or leave. He said a decision could come as soon as Thursday.
▪ Mountain Island Charter star Gabriel Stephens said he will sign with North Carolina in December but won’t enroll early. He’ll return for his senior high school season.
▪ James Shipley, the father of Weddington High back and Clemson commit Will Shipley, said the family will discuss a potential decision with Tigers coach Dabo Swinney.
“It will be a tough decision,” James Shipley said.
▪ Myers Park quarterback and UNC commit Drake Maye, however, could be staying in high school.
Maye had previously said he would play in the spring and had hoped to play football and basketball. But after seeing the timeline, Maye has decided that, no matter what he decides, he won’t be playing basketball as a senior.
High school basketball will begin practice Dec. 7 and have games Jan. 4-Feb. 19 with playoffs to follow. Football starts practice Feb. 8 with first games Feb. 26.
“I just hope we get to practice,” said Maye, a top 25 national recruit committed to North Carolina. “If we get to practice at the start of September, that would be awesome and would give us time as a team to get some chemistry back. Basketball-wise, I don’t think I’d play because if I played, football would overlap too much and it’s a big deal to be out there, especially when you’re the quarterback. So I wish I could play basketball, but I don’t think it’s a real possibility.”
Maye said he was excited to finally get a calendar, however. He said he won’t make a final decision about going to college early until he evaluates everything with his parents and UNC coach Mack Brown.
“Man, I’m excited, some of the guys are really excited,” he said, “and hopefully everybody on the Myers Park squad stays, and college guys like Tahj El (defensive back committed to Old Dominion) and Jordan Bly (wide receiver committed to Old Dominion) are staying and that leads me to want to stay. We’ll see for sure.”
NC prep sports halted due to the coronavirus
Practices for fall sports, including football, were set to begin Aug. 1, but the NCHSAA pushed the start date back to Sept. 1 last month. Cooper announced on Aug. 5 that the state will remain in Phase Two of its reopening plans until at least Sept. 11, causing the NCHSAA to make adjustments to its sports calendar.
The NCHSAA canceled spring sports and the basketball championships in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The association allowed teams to begin workouts on June 15, although many school systems, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Wake County, did not.
Neither district, the state’s two largest, has allowed teams to participate in off-season workouts.
By moving the start of sports, North Carolina follows a similar plan being used by Virginia, which will begin the 2020-21 sports season with winter sports like basketball and wrestling Dec. 14.
Football and other fall sports are set to begin in Virginia Feb. 15, followed by spring sports like baseball starting on April 12.
South Carolina is pushing forward with plans for high school sports this fall, as are North Carolina’s private schools, some of which began practices this week.
High school football practice for private schools has not yet begun and no date has been set. The first football games would be no earlier than Sept. 11. Fall sports games will begin the week of Sept. 8. The N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association has said its plans are subject to change.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the NC DHHS had reported 139,061 cases, 2,249 deaths and 1,062 coronavirus hospitalizations in the state.
This story was originally published August 12, 2020 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Here’s when 2020-21 high school sports, including football, will begin in NC."
