BLOOMINGTON –– With the official scheduled start of the high school basketball season in Illinois upon us, there is still no official decision on when or if the season will be able to be played.

Following weeks of back and forth with the Illinois Department of Public Health and Gov. JB Pritzker reclassifying basketball as a “high-risk” sport and suggesting it be moved into the spring of 2021 and the Illinois High School Association saying they were going to move ahead with their season as planned despite the recommendations of state officials, followed by threats of pulling state funds and potential lawsuits and liability issues, a clear direction on if and when basketball can be played has not been cleared.

In a special meeting Wednesday afternoon (Nov. 11), the IHSA Board of Directors discussed recent developments, as well as reviewed a survey sent to member schools to find out who intended to play as scheduled and who was not.

Following the meeting, the board announced that they are formally inviting representatives from Gov. Pritzker’s office and the IDPH to attend the IHSA’s regular board meeting on Nov. 19. Additionally, the IHSA will also seek representation at the meeting from the Illinois Principals Association (IPA), the Illinois Association of School Administrators (IASA), the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) and a coalition of nearly 200 school superintendents who recently contacted the Governor regarding school sports during the 2020-21 school year.

“The Board hopes to create a dialogue and build a more collaborative relationship with all the entities involved with developing sports policy in our state as everyone tries to navigate the myriad issues caused by the pandemic,” IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson said in a press release. “The Board’s decision to move forward with the IHSA basketball season was not meant to be adversarial. It was rooted in a desire to receive more direct communication and data from our state partners. They hope all the groups will see the mutual benefit of increased discourse and be represented at the meeting on Nov. 19.”

As it stands now, basketball is classified as a “high-risk” sport according to the IDPH’s “All Sports Policy” and allows only for non-contact practices and training only for sports put in that category. Along with that edict, Gov. Pritzker suggested basketball be moved to the spring. The problem with that is currently football and girls volleyball is slated to be played in the spring according to the IHSA’s revised schedule, creating potential conflicts for multi-sport athletes, especially in the smaller communities throughout the state.

The IHSA fired back, saying their Sports Medicine Advisory Committee approved a plan that would allow basketball to be played safely in Illinois this winter. That response was met with threats that schools electing to play and disregarding the governor’s recommendations could be met with a loss of state funding, while also potentially opening the schools up for lawsuits and liability issues should an issue arise.

With obvious differences of opinion, pleas for a resolution have been made by the IHSA, parents and student-athletes across the state, but so far it appears to have fallen on deaf ears. The board is hopeful this will be a step in the right direction.

In the meantime, the board also announced that schools who plan to begin basketball practice on Nov. 16 should adhere to the Level 1 mitigations from the IDPH All Sports Policy until at least Nov. 19. The board cited rising COVID-19 cases in the state and a recent membership survey for this recommendation. The board plans to provide more direction on basketball practice and games following the meeting on Nov. 19. 

Also, the board released results on a recent survey sent to member schools asking whether or not they intended to play basketball according to the IHSA schedule. The results revealed that among the 546 schools who responded to the survey out of 813 member schools, nearly 300 do not plan to start basketball on Nov. 16 and another 212 schools remain unsure of their status.

“The Board recognizes the difficult decisions they have placed on member schools regarding basketball,” Anderson said. “With a limited number of schools set to begin their season on Nov. 16, they believe it is prudent to adhere to IDPH guidance as they work with state officials to gain greater clarity on the metrics and mitigations required to conduct certain high school sports throughout the remainder of the 2020-21 school year.”