PIAA to look at shorter football season
The PIAA opted to condense its 2020 football season and hold its championships during Thanksgiving week as a way of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.
Now there’s talk of making those changes permanent.
The PIAA’s football steering committee has discussed starting the season earlier and ending it sooner, and executive director Dr. Robert Lombardi said Wednesday that changes to the schedule could happen as early as 2021.
“We learned some lessons last fall, and there are some things we want to look at,” Lombardi said Wednesday following the PIAA Board of Directors meeting. “It was advantageous for everybody (to end the season earlier).”
The thought is that an earlier finish means playing championships in better weather, and allows for less overlap between the fall and winter sports seasons.
Lombardi said there’s a need for much discussion ahead, but if the idea is fast-tracked it could be in place for the coming season.
“We may start (the season) where we are right now, or we may start a week earlier,” he said. “We may reduce (the length of) the regular season. We may look at reduced playoffs. We may look at shortening (the length of) preseason practice. There are a whole lot of possibilities.”
Heat acclimatization practices are scheduled to begin Aug. 9, with two weeks of contact practice to follow and the first games to be played Aug. 27 or Aug. 28.
The championship games are scheduled for Dec. 9-11. To have them completed three weeks earlier, before Thanksgiving week, as mentioned in the steering committee report, could mean starting heat acclimatization the first week of August, a reduction of regular season games, or a reduction of the playoff fields. Or all of the above.
That would not sit well with Wilson coach Doug Dahms.
“I really have no idea why they want to move it earlier,” he said prior to the board meeting. “Basically they’re taking the summer away from the kids (if they start practice earlier). We start a week earlier than any other (fall) sport.”
Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum doesn’t favor an earlier start, either.
“I think they start too early now,” Wolfrum said. “I don’t think there’s any way we should be playing (regular season games) before Labor Day. They’re fine cutting the playoffs; I don’t think they need all the playoff teams.”
Even though schedules for many schools already are in place, Lombardi said he believes there’s plenty of time to make the changes happen for 2021. He said it’s possible it could be brought before the board for a first reading at the Feb. 17 meeting, and that all plans could be worked out by the end of the current school year.
“It has some time to percolate,” Lombardi said. “(If it’s approved by) the end of the school year, it may give people time to react (to the changes).”
Football championships traditionally have been played several weeks after those of other fall sports.
The 2021 soccer and field hockey championships are scheduled for Nov. 20.
In other news, the board passed a motion allowing basketball teams involved in district playoffs to simultaneously play other games, such as league playoffs or championships. This will help accommodate teams in completing their schedules due to the late start and frequent COVID-related shutdowns throughout the season.
The PIAA basketball championships will be played at Hershey’s Giant Center March 25-26.
Games will be played on the home court of the higher-seeded team leading to the championship games. The team on the upper line of the bracket will be considered the home team.
No date has been set for the state team wrestling championships, but the PIAA is looking at starting the week of March 20, following completion of the individual tournament.