Utah reaffirmed Tuesday its status as the first state scheduled to kick off the 2020 high school football season. The Utah High School Activities Association Board of Trustees discussed its unanimous July 9 vote to start the fall calendar as planned and once again backed the decision to begin the football season Aug. 13.
Currently, Utah is one of the 26 states planning to start football on time in the fall, but beats six others — Alaska, Indiana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Alabama and Arkansas — by a week for first kickoffs. In all, 37 states plan to play football this fall but five states, plus the District of Columbia, already have announced intentions to push their seasons back to sometime in 2021.
Eight other states have yet to make it official one way or the other.
The Utah board kept its kickoff date, but noted there will be a continued focus on "following established best practices from national and local governing/advisory organizations." It also encouraged schools to regularly communicate with health officials regarding policy and best practices for their school community.
With four Western states — California, Nevada, New Mexico and Washington — moving football to 2021, the UHSAA noted it has received transfer inquiries from out of state players. "Each player will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and the state transfer rules will be the same," was association's response.
Corner Canyon (Draper) is the defending Utah 6A football champion.
Photo by Kevin Lee
