Sept. 28 update: How each state is handling high school football this fall
The map showing where states stand in playing high school football this fall got a significantly greener this past week.
Texas and South Carolina opened up the season more in full, while Wisconsin and New Hampshire played their first games of the fall this past week.
Arizona and New Jersey are expected to open play this week.
So here’s where the map stands on Sept. 28. We’ve broken states up into three basic categories: Green (28 states), Yellow (6 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 (two states) are playing football in most of the state, but significant pockets of the state still have not started or is being postponed week-to-week. And light green (two states) are states where football is widely divided in play, with at least 20 percent of the state not playing this 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.
Now, it is important to note that even in the “deep green” states, there have been COVID-related game postponements. They just haven’t been widespread.
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 Oct. 1.
ARKANSAS: Season has started.
CALIFORNIA: Delayed to 2021.
CONNECTICUT: Delayed to 2021.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Delayed to 2021.
FLORIDA: Season has started..
GEORGIA: Season has 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: Season has started
KENTUCKY: Season has started.
LOUISIANA: Start of season delayed six weeks to Oct. 8.
MAINE: Delayed to 2021.
MARYLAND: Delayed to 2021.
MASSACHUSETTS: Delayed to 2021.
MICHIGAN: Season has started.
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: Season started 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: Season has started.
SOUTH DAKOTA: Season has started.
TENNESSEE: Season has started.
TEXAS: Season has started.
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 16 games have been scrubbed.
WISCONSIN: Season started on Sept. 25 for some. 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.
