Sept. 22 update: How each state is handling high school football this fall
We continue to update the ever-changing map of the different stages of high school football across the country.
We’ve broken states up into three basic categories: Green (26 states), Yellow (8 states) and Red (16 states, plus the District of Columbia).
Green indicates that the high school football season has started in some section of that state. Deep green (16 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 (seven states) are playing football in most of the state, but a significant chunk of the state still has not started or is being postponed week-to-week. And light green (three states) are states where football is widely divided in play — either rural/small schools vs. large schools, or private vs. public. Texas and South Carolina should move to heavy green in the next couple of weeks, while Pennsylvania will remain mixed through the entire fall.
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. 22. We will update this every week.
ALABAMA: Season has started.
ALASKA: Season has started.
ARIZONA: Scheduled to open season on Sept. 30.
ARKANSAS: Season has started.
CALIFORNIA: Delayed to 2021.
CONNECTICUT: Delayed to 2021.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Delayed to 2021.
FLORIDA: Season has started for most of state; some areas expected to open on Sept. 25.
GEORGIA: Season has started for most of states; pockets of the state have not yet started.
HAWAII: Delayed to 2021.
IDAHO: Season has started.
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, but offered 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 state has opened the season, but a few more will open on Sept. 25.
LOUISIANA: Start of season delayed six weeks to Oct. 8.
MAINE: Delayed to 2021.
MARYLAND: Delayed to 2021.
MASSACHUSETTS: Delayed to 2021.
MICHIGAN: Most of the state kicked off the season on Sept. 18; others expected on Sept. 25.
MINNESOTA: Previously opted to delay to 2021. MHSAA voted Monday to play football in the fall. Games will start Oct. 9.
MISSISSIPPI: Season has started.
MISSOURI: Season has started, but schools in and around St. Louis have not yet started.
MONTANA: Season has started.
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 widely divided. Parts of the state opened season on Sept. 11. Other parts will open on Oct. 2. About 15 percent of the state has decided to delay until spring.
RHODE ISLAND: No fall football. Could be moved to 2021.
SOUTH CAROLINA: Private schools opened season on Sept. 11. Rest of state will open Sept. 25 and have 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. However, COVID restrictions continues to cancel patches of game each week. This upcoming week 21 games have been scrubbed.
WISCONSIN: Start of season delayed three weeks to Sept. 25. However, one-third of the state’s teams have opted not to play in the fall and will play next spring.
WYOMING: Season has started.
