DEVELOPING
BOURBONNAIS – The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is moving forward with Spring Football and is set to begin the season with the first game scheduled for March 19th.
The season is set to conclude on April 24th with no state series scheduled, overlapping with basketball, which is set to begin immediately.
“We understood the high level of anticipation surrounding today’s announcement, along with the scrutiny that will accompany it,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “Ultimately, the Board adhered to its stated goals throughout the pandemic: providing an opportunity for every IHSA student-athlete to compete safely this year and maximizing opportunities for traditional IHSA spring sports after they lost their entire season a year ago. I recognize that many schools and coaches could likely offer a tweak here or there that would have, in their opinion, made it ‘better’ for their school or sport.”
Illinois is one of only six states to have a spring high school football season, joining California, Washington, Virginia, New Mexico, Nevada and the District of Columbia. Last fall, 38 states played football, including all five boarding Illinois.
“The Board wants to do everything in their power to prevent spring sports from going two consecutive years with no postseason IHSA play,” said Anderson. “There are obviously no guarantees, as risk levels by sport and local region mitigation statuses will factor significantly.”
IHSA Board approved the following schedule for the remainder of the school year:
| Sport | IDPH Risk | Practices Start | Practice Dates Before Games | State Series | End Date |
| Boys/Girls Basketball | Higher | ASAP | 7 dates | No State Series | March 13 |
| Boys Swimming & Diving | Lower | ASAP | 7 dates | No State Series | March 13 |
| Dance | Lower | ASAP | 7 dates | Virtual (2/27 & 3/6) | March 13 |
| Cheerleading | Lower | ASAP | 7 dates | Virtual (3/6 & 3/12) | March 13 |
| Boys/Girls Bowling | Lower | ASAP | 7 dates | No State Series | March 13 |
| Girls Gymnastics | Lower | ASAP | 7 dates | No State Series | March 13 |
| Badminton | Lower | ASAP | 7 dates | TBD | April 3 |
| Boys Soccer | Moderate | March 1 | 7 dates | No State Series | April 17 |
| Football | Higher | March 3 | 1st Game March 19 | No State Series | April 24 |
| Girls Volleyball | Moderate | March 8 | 7 dates | No State Series | April 24 |
| Boys Gymnastics | Lower | March 15 | 7 dates | TBD | May 22 |
| Boys/Girls Water Polo | Moderate | March 15 | 7 dates | TBD | May 29 |
| Baseball | Lower | April 5 | 7 dates | TBD | June 19 |
| Boys/Girls Lacrosse | Higher | April 5 | 7 dates | TBD | June 19 |
| Girls Soccer | Moderate | April 5 | 7 dates | TBD | June 19 |
| Softball | Lower | April 5 | 7 dates | TBD | June 19 |
| Boys Tennis | Lower | April 5 | 7 dates | TBD | June 19 |
| Boys/Girls Track & Field | Lower | April 5 | 7 dates | TBD | June 19 |
| Boys Volleyball | Moderate | April 5 | 7 dates | TBD | June 19 |
| Wrestling | Higher | April 19 | 7 dates | No State Series | June 12 |
