The Iowa High School Athletic Association has announced a revised schedule for the 2020 football season.
The plan allows for member school adjustments due to COVID-19 and was approved by the Board of Control on Friday. The IHSAA plans to release further fall season and sport-specific guidance next week.
Under the revised plan, a seven-week regular season will be played. Teams will have the option of scheduling five, six or seven games.
Week 1 and Week 2 will be optional game dates. Opponents, locations and participation may be determined by member schools in 11-player football.
All teams in all classes will qualify for the postseason. The IHSAA will determine postseason pairings with geography, quality and team availability as primary considerations.
The previously announced group format and success model will not be implemented in 2020. The IHSAA encourages conferences to collaborate in creating their schedules.
Due to the potential of positive COVID-19 cases forcing players and teams to miss games in the 2020 regular season, the revised plan does not penalize teams with a loss or forfeit due to state, county, or local health department determinations. A missed game due to COVID-19 will be considered a “no contest” and will not be made up. Teams may work with the IHSAA and new possible opponents should they have open dates due to scheduled opponents missing games.
The first practice (Aug. 10) and first competition (Aug. 27) dates are currently unchanged in this revision, as are the weeks for state semifinals (Nov. 13-15) and finals (Nov. 20-21).