AAA cancels 8 basketball finals
What began as a postponement of the state’s high school basketball finals officially became a cancellation.
The Arkansas Activities Association decided Monday that the eight championship games that were postponed March 12 are canceled. As a result, each of the boys and girls teams that advanced to title games will be recognized as co-champions of their respective classes.
“It is with great disappointment that we announce the decision to cancel the remaining state basketball championships,” AAA Executive Director Lance Taylor said in a news release. “We certainly sympathize with these students, coaches and fans who are being impacted, but the health and safety of the students we serve is our top priority.”
Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced earlier Monday that schools would remain closed for on-site instruction through the remainder of the school year. That decision was an amendment to a previous ruling that extended school closures statewide through April 17.
The AAA also instituted a “dead period” during that time frame, which called for all athletic facilities of its
member schools to be closed. It also barred coaches from taking part in sports-related activities with students.
Monday’s decision provides closure for the 16 ballclubs that were forced to play a waiting game.
The last time teams were deemed co-champions in Arkansas was 1972 when Jonesboro and Hot Springs shared the then-Class AAA football crown because they were tied after four quarters and three
sudden-death overtimes.
There had been some optimism from coaches and players from the Class 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A representatives that the finals would occur. When reached by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Monday, Taylor mentioned there had been discussions about holding the games. Those dreams were dashed when Hutchinson issued his directive.
“We were going to communicate with the schools, and we had been,” Taylor said. “We had so many different solutions planned out, but you just don’t know how this virus is going to react. Is it going to curve down? Is it going to go up?
“We made a lot of plans for a lot of things in different situations. We were already looking to make [the title games] up. But when the decision came down, and for the safety of the kids, that’s why they canceled schools and that’s why we went ahead and canceled the state basketball finals.”
The coronavirus pandemic caused sports entities across the country to either cancel or suspend events for the foreseeable future. It was the growing concern over the spread of the virus that led to the AAA’s initial postponement of the remaining state finals games after the Class 1A and 2A finals were
completed March 12.
“This was a tough decision for us,” Taylor said. “You’re talking about student-athletes who’ve worked hard to get to this point, not to mention the coaches and their communities. But with nobody going back to school for the remainder of this year, which is at the end of May, we’ve got to put the safety of the kids first, and that’s the decision we had to come up with.”
A similar verdict may be delivered soon as it pertains to spring sports, which have been suspended since March 15. Taylor said a decision on sports such as baseball, softball and soccer has not been made.