California is the third state to move high school football to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The California Interscholatic Federation made the announcement Monday. As the day progresses, each of the state’s ten sections will make their own announcements about their specific sports seasons.
Read: COVID-19 and High School Football in All 50 States
The CIF’s news release (below) states that it anticipates that “most Section start dates will commence in December 2020 or January 2021.”
Under the new sports schedule, sectional playoffs would end April 10 with state championships set for April 17.
The state’s most powerful high school football section, the Southern Section, will make its announcement in a couple of hours.
We’ll be updating this story throughout the day.
California is the 13th state to push back the start of the 2020 season.
Read: Which states have pushed back the start of the 2020 season?
Below is the official news release from the CIF:
Sacramento, California – The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) has determined, in collaboration with our 10 Sections, that education-based athletics for the 2020-2021 school year will begin with a modified season of sport schedule (see below for 2020-21 sports calendar). Our calendar reflects the season for each CIF sport and the last date for Section Championships and Regional/State Championships in those sports where a Regional/State Championship is currently offered. Following this announcement, each CIF Section Office will release their own calendar to reflect regular season starting and ending dates and Section playoffs. It is anticipated that most Section start dates will commence in December 2020 or January 2021.
We are continuously monitoring the directives and guidelines released from the Governor’s Office, the California Department of Education, the California Department of Public Health, and local county health departments and agencies as these directives and guidelines are followed by our member schools/school districts with student health and safety at the forefront. As these guidelines change, CIF Sections may allow for athletic activity to potentially resume under the summer period rules of the local Section. Also, given this calendar change, the CIF has temporarily suspended Bylaws 600-605 (Outside Competition) in all sports for the 2020-21 school year (see below for more specific information related to these changes).
