HOW SURROUNDING STATES are making plans for high school sports.

■ What states surrounding Arkansas are doing concerning high school sports in the fall semester:

TEXAS

THE PLAN The University Interscholastic League announced Tuesday that volleyball and football for Class 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A will begin practice on Aug. 3, with the first day for competition for volleyball Aug. 10 and football Aug. 27. For Class 6A and 5A, the first day of practices will be Sept. 7, and the first date of competition for volleyball is Sept. 14 and football is Sept. 24. Team tennis and cross country will follow similar date guidelines, based on the school’s classification.

WHAT THIS MEANS UIL schools in Class 4A and under will see few changes in regard to dates of district certifications, playoffs and state championships being held. For schools in Class 6A and 5A, the team tennis and cross country seasons will be shortened, as the district certification and state meets are on the same dates as Class 4A-1A. For 6A and 5A volleyball, the regular season will end by Nov. 17 and state tournament held Dec. 11-12. The 6A and 5A football regular season will end by Dec. 5 and the state finals will be in January 2011. The date for the 6A and 5A state championships have yet to be set.

OKLAHOMA

THE PLAN The Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association has made little changes to its athletic calendar with practices already underway since July 15 for volleyball, fall baseball and fast-pitch softball (also a fall sport). The first day of competition either Aug. 10 or the first day of school. Football will begin practices Aug. 10, start games the last weekend of August and play 10 games during the regular season. WHAT THIS MEANS OSSAA has set dates for all sports for the calendar year, with winter sports beginning practices Oct. 1 and spring sports starting training Dec. 1. Should public schools open on time and without a suspension of school or activities due to covid-19, Oklahoma student-athletes will have a normal calendar year.

LOUISIANA

THE PLAN The Louisiana High School Athletic Association has made clear that it does not want to cancel fall sports for 2020, but the association has not made an announcement on its plan to move forward with the athletics calendar it has laid out – beginning with football and volleyball workouts in early August.

WHAT THIS MEANS The LHSAA is awaiting word from the governor and state health departments on public school campuses reopening for the 2020-21 school year, and as such Louisiana high school athletics remain in limbo for the time being.

MISSOURI

THE PLAN The Missouri State High School Activities Association has not suspended or delayed the start of the fall season.

WHAT THIS MEANS Fall sports teams can begin practicing Aug. 10 and fall sporting events can begin Aug. 28. How practices will be conducted are up to each school. Last week, the MSHSAA laid out guidelines for the return of fall sports for its member schools. Schools that choose to offer only virtual or online classes cannot offer sports during that time period.

MISSISSIPPI

THE PLAN The Mississippi High School Activities Association voted last week to delay the fall sports calendar for two weeks.

WHAT THIS MEANS Teams for cross country, volleyball and swimming can begin practices on Aug. 10 and their seasons can start Aug. 24. Football practices can begin Aug. 17 and the regular season can start Sept. 4. Games that were originally scheduled for the first two weeks of the season will not be made up. Postseason games are expected to start as originally planned with state championship football games scheduled for Dec. 4-5.

TENNESSEE

THE PLAN The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association announced Wednesday that it approved regulations for football and soccer to be played in the fall in 2020, pending Gov. Bill Lee’s state of emergency order being lifted after Aug. 29.

WHAT THIS MEANS Based on the TSSAA regulations, if the state of emergency order is lifted after Aug. 29, practices could begin Aug. 30 with the first regular-season games for football to start Sept. 18. All regular-season football schedules would be replaced with an eightweek region schedule. The regular season would end after Week 12 and the first round of the playoffs would be eliminated (only regional champions and runner-ups would qualify). Teams that do not qualify for the playoffs would be able to play an additional two games after the regular season.