Hope Springs Eternal: MIAA Plans for Shortened Season

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) last week announced plans for a shortened spring athletic season season in the event that Gov. Charlie Baker allows schools to go back into session on May 4.

The MIAA’s plans compress the 2020 spring season into a regular season of 8-12 games and then an abbreviated post-season that would feature only sectional playoff tournaments. There would be no state tournaments.

School presumably would play only other schools within their own conferences, a move that would necessitate a reconfiguration of the existing schedules for every school.

If schools do in fact re-open on May 4, the MIAA also established guidelines for the pre-season for each sport. The pre-season, including tryouts, would be shortened to a week for most sports. Rugby programs would be required to have a nine-day pre-season, though spring golf programs would be required to have only a three-day pre-season.

Of course, the MIAA’s plans are predicated on a big “if,” that being whether schools are allowed to reopen on May 4, which is an increasingly-unlikely scenario. 

With the COVID-19 pandemic still rampaging through the state, the chances of schools being reopened — which would expose students, teachers, coaches, and all of their families to infection — appears to be remote.

The MIAA Board of Directors met Monday to discuss further plans and options, but no announcements have been forthcoming as of press time.