The LHSAA moves the season up one week, allowing games to begin the week of Thursday, October 1st through Saturday October 3rd.
Teams will be allowed to start hitting in practice Thursday, ramping up to the October seasons openers. The season will consists of an 8-game season, with traditional playoff brackets consisting of 16 teams in the the select school divisions, and 32 in the non-select divisions. Teams will begin in "week 3" of their original schedule.
"It's been busy and in an association and as an executive director in a career, you have defining moments and benchmarks," LHSAA Executive Director Eddie Bonine said. "I truly believe what's transpired in the last five to 10 business days are benchmarks for the association, but I think it proves that we need some normality. For our student athletes, or coaches, our teachers and our families and parents and communities which all of you live. I truly believe that sports is an important piece of that."
The playoffs will begin November 26th-28th and the state championships will be held December 26th-28th in New Orleans. The executive committee voted to allow select schools to join non-select schools at championship and tournament events in the 2020-21 school year.
The number of fans allowed in stadiums will be determined by the phase that Louisiana is in. As of Wednesday, Louisiana is in Phase 2, so stadiums will be allowed 50% capacity, though that will ultimately be determined by each school's local school board and jurisdiction.
The Executive Committee voted 22-1 to begin contact sports in LHSAA Competition Stage 1. The LHSAA cannot overturn any government order disallowing the start of contact sports in their parish.
"(We) wouldn't have went down this road if I didn't think we could pull it off," Bonine said. "I have complete trust in what's going on with our coaches, or athletic trainers. Seven out of 10 of our high schools across the state have some form of of Sports Medicine personnel with them at all times. If not, they have outside medical personnel assigned. (For) some of our rural communities it's more difficult, but they're available and they're doing it the right way."
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