Michigan Governor Asks MHSAA To Swap Sports Seasons

UPDATED – 7-2-20 –

Update of today’s MHSFCA / MHSAA meeting.

Mich FB Coaches

(7-1-20) Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is asking the MHSAA to switch fall and spring sports seasons.

Here is Gretchen Whitmer's (@GovWhitmer) full statement on encouraging the @mhsaa to move some fall sports to the spring while moving more individualized sports (track & field, golf, tennis) to the fall. Whitmer expects the MHSAA to make a decision between July 20 and July 25 pic.twitter.com/iFKJtX7mLD

— Jonathan Deutsch (@JonathanD_TV) June 30, 2020

The idea is to move contact-heavy sports (football and boys soccer) to the spring, when the COVID-19 outbreak is being better contained.

The MHSAA’s fall season includes: boys and girls cross country, football, girls golf (Lower Peninsula), boys soccer, girls swimming and diving (Lower Peninsula), boys tennis (Lower Peninsula), girls tennis (Upper Peninsula) and girls volleyball.

The MHSAA spring season includes: baseball, boys golf, girls golf (Upper Peninsula), boys and girls lacrosse, girls soccer, softball, boys tennis (Upper Peninsula), girls tennis (Lower Peninsula) and boys and girls track and field.

Whitmer said –

“I’m also calling on the Michigan High School Athletic Association to consider postponing fall sports that have the impossibility of social distancing as a part of them, considering moving those to the spring and running some of the more individualized sports like track and field or tennis or golf to the fall. I anticipate a decision from them somewhere around July 20 to 25, is what they’ve indicated.

“The MHSAA is a private organization that regulates (high school) sports, and I think this is something they should consider.”

MHSAA media and content coordinator Geoff Kimmerly told mlive.com –

“I think you’ll start seeing information start coming from our office (July) 15th, 16th, 17th. I think you’ll start seeing the beginnings of things there. I think you’ll have stuff coming right up until the end of July. You want to give people some time to be ready, but at the same time, we don’t want to make a decision too early when things have changed quickly on this over the last four months.”

“We’re going to be really, really flexible on this. The desire is to really keep the sets of sports together — the fall sports together and the spring sports together.”