Sept. 10 update: How each state is handling high school football this fall
We’ve adjusted our map on the different stages of high school football across the country.
We’ve broken states up into three basic categories: Green (23 states), Yellow (10 states) and Red (18 states, plus the District of Columbia).
Green indicates that the high school football season has started in some section of that state. Deep green (15 states) indicates most, if not all, of the state has begun playing, although some states (Ohio, Kansas, Iowa) have abbreviated or altered their seasons from normal). Medium green states (three states) are playing football in most of the state, but a significant chunk of the state still has not started. And light green (five states) are states where football has started mostly for rural and/or small schools, but larger schools in larger cities have not started.
Yellow states indicate that football has not started, but there is still a plan for fall prep football.
And red states mean there will be no fall tackle football. Vermont will replace tackle football with 7-on-7 touch this fall. Rhode Island won’t play tackle football, with no plan for a season in the spring. The remainder have a plan to play football in 2021.
Here’s a breakdown about how each of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, are handling the high school football season, as updated on Sept. 8. We will update this every week.
ALABAMA: Season has started.
ALASKA: Most of the state has opened the season. But Anchorage schools, which represent about about 40 percent of the state’s total population, just started practice Sept. 4. First games are expected to begin Sept. 18.
ARIZONA: Scheduled to open season on Sept. 30.
ARKANSAS: Season has started.
CALIFORNIA: Delayed to 2021.
COLORADO: Delayed to 2021 (Gov. Jared Polis gave green light to football Tuesday (9/8), but later that day CHSAA board voted to keep football in spring.)
CONNECTICUT: Delayed to 2021.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Delayed to 2021.
FLORIDA: Parts of the state, mostly smaller schools in rural areas, started on Sept. 4. Other parts of the state in more populated areas are starting on Sept. 18 or 25.
GEORGIA: About 70 percent of the state’s 425 teams started the season on Sept. 4. Another 70 schools have delayed or postponed the fall football season.
HAWAII: Delayed to 2021.
IDAHO: Most of the state has opened season. But several schools in the southern end of the state around Boise delayed start of the season until at least Sept. 11.
ILLINOIS: Delayed to 2021
INDIANA: Season has started
IOWA: Season has started, but will be shortened to seven-game regular season.
KANSAS: State opened fall football season on Sept. 4, but offers an alternate season in the spring should conditions warrant play to halt this fall. Kansas City schools won’t play fall sports.
KENTUCKY: Most of the state will open season on Sept. 11, but some schools won’t begin play until Sept. 18.
LOUISIANA: Start of season delayed six weeks to Oct. 8.
MAINE: Delayed to 2021.
MARYLAND: Delayed to 2021.
MASSACHUSETTS: Delayed to 2021
MICHIGAN: Fall football reinstated. Practices begin on Sept. 18.
MINNESOTA: Delayed to 2021.
MISSISSIPPI: Season has started.
MISSOURI: Season has started, but schools in and around St. Louis have not yet started.
MONTANA: Season has started for small schools. Most large schools will open season Sept. 11.
NEBRASKA: Season has started.
NEVADA: Delayed to 2021.
NEW HAMPSHIRE: Start of season delayed three weeks to Sept. 25.
NEW JERSEY: Start of season delayed four weeks to Oct. 1.
NEW MEXICO: Delayed to 2021.
NEW YORK: Delayed to 2021.
NORTH CAROLINA: Delayed to 2021.
NORTH DAKOTA: Season has started.
OHIO: Season has started, but state will play a condensed schedule that would start postseason on Oct. 9.
OKLAHOMA: Season has started.
OREGON: Delayed to 2021.
PENNSYLVANIA: State is widely divided. Some parts of the state will begin Sept. 11. Others parts will open Oct. 2. About 15 percent of the state has decided to delay to spring.
RHODE ISLAND: No fall football. Could be moved to 2021.
SOUTH CAROLINA: The start of the season has been delayed three weeks to Sept. 25, season abbreviated to seven games.
SOUTH DAKOTA: Season has started.
TENNESSEE: Season has started.
TEXAS: Season has started for state’s smaller schools. State’s two largest classifications will delay start of their seasons five weeks to Sept. 24.
UTAH: Season has started.
VERMONT: Opted to cancel fall tackle football season and replace it with 7-on-7 touch football,. Teams will play twice a week between Sept. 25 and Oct. 24.
VIRGINIA: Delayed until 2021.
WASHINGTON: Delayed until 2021.
WEST VIRGINIA: Season started Sept. 4, but schools in nine of the state’s 55 counties will not be allowed to play in Week 2 because of COVID hotspots. Other teams canceled games in Week 1 because they had not met minimum number of practices.
WISCONSIN: Delayed the start of the season three weeks to Sept. 25, and shortened season to seven weeks. Also provided an alternate seven-week football season in the spring, if games could not be played in fall.
WYOMING: Season has started.
