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Football, boys soccer and girls volleyball have shifted from normal fall schedules and now are slated to compete in a spring season that begins with practices February 15 and runs through May 1. Games can begin March 1 for boys soccer and girls volleyball; the first football games can be played March 5.

The IHSA's other fall sports are scheduled to remain in the fall — boys and girls golf, girls tennis, boys and girls cross country and girls swimming and diving. Practices are scheduled to begin August 10 for those sports and the seasons will finish October 17.

Football teams will have seven regular-season games and a regional postseason at minimum, according to an IHSA news release.

The winter season will include boys and girls basketball, boys and girls wrestling, boys swimming and diving, boys and girls bowling, competitive cheerleading, competitive dance and girls gymnastics.

Traditional spring sports will move into a “summer� season that is scheduled to run from May 3 until June 26. Baseball, softball, boys and girls track and field, girls soccer, boys and girls lacrosse, boys tennis and boys volleyball will shift to the new season.

The objective of these changes were to give as many student-athletes as possible the opportunity to participate. IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said there was some discussion during Wednesday’s IHSA board of directors meeting about shifting lower-risk sports to the fall season but that ultimately was abandoned.

“There could be some other low-risk sports in other seasons we could have brought into the fall, but generally the board and our staff was hoping to permit all of our students across the state to have opportunities to participate in the sports they ordinarily would within a certain time schedule,� Anderson said. “Three-sport athletes in the 2020-21 school year will have the opportunity to play all three sports.�

News of the changes were greeted with open arms by Mascoutah boys and girls cross country coach Darren Latham.

“My kids have worked hard all summer and it was hard to keep looking them in eyes when I didn't know if we were going to be able to compete. We're very excited,� Latham said. “It was very rough (in the spring). They lost their track season and we expected to have a good track season last year. To come back and to try and motivate the kids to keep working in the summer for something we weren't sure about, they handled it really well.�

The addition of the summer season means multisport coaches won’t have to pick and choose which team they stick with.

It’s not uncommon for soccer coaches to lead boys and girls programs. Had their seasons been combined, it would have presented a new set of challenges for those coaches who lead multiple programs.

Jamey Bridges is the head coach of Columbia's girls soccer team and assistant coach for the boys soccer team. Bridges said he won't have to worry about deciding on where he'd have to coach as the boys will play in the spring while the girls play in the summer. He’ll also have the chance to coach his son, Karson, who is a senior midfielder for the Eagles.

“I think it's great that the kids will get to play,� Bridges said. “It feels good that I will get to watch my son finish and not have to make any sort of choice. The situation isn't ideal, but at least everyone will get the chance to play. That's the important thing.�

How long those sports will compete remains up in the air.

Anderson emphasized the new-look schedule is the IHSA’s best attempt to map out what the future could look like. Nothing is set in stone and everything is subject to change pending restrictions issued by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office and the Illinois Department of Public Health.

“The dates we’ve created here are really our first attempt to project or predict what possibly could happen for us in getting those medium- and high-risk sports some opportunities for competition,� Anderson said. “If it remains an unknown we simply see how this progresses. We thought this timeline made sense to hopefully be in a position to begin.�

Whether spectators will be allowed at games will be determined by guidelines set forth by the IDPH.

Anderson said unless something changes, it does not look promising to have fans at games.

“We want to see kids practice, we want to see kids compete, those are our primary obligations to our membership. The spectator piece would come last,� Anderson said. “We’re prepped and ready to conduct a number of these things with no spectators.�

The father of a three-sport athlete himself, Anderson said he understands the frustrations families would have should spectators not be allowed at games.

Among the unknowns going forward are the state championship series in every sport. Anderson said the revised schedule does not match up with previous dates set and the IHSA would have to work with host sites to iron out any kinks should state championships receive the green light to compete at some point.

“We’re not for sure what the state series looks like in all our sports and activities,� Anderson said. “We’re checking on the feasibility.�

The IHSA is leaning on Gov. Pritzker’s office and Deputy Gov. Jesse Ruiz, in particular, as a go-between with the IDPH. Hours before the IHSA released its plan, Gov. Pritzker announced restrictions for youth sports. The plan, issued on the state’s coronavirus website, breaks up sports and activities into tiers of high, medium and lower risk. Included in the high-risk category are football, hockey, wrestling, competitive cheering, competitive dance, lacrosse and rugby.

The medium-risk tier includes flag football, 7-on-7 football, soccer, volleyball, basketball and fencing.

The lower-risk tier includes baseball (with social distancing in place in the dugout and surrounding areas), cross country, golf, softball, track and field and bowling.

The amount of practices and competitions allowed for each level of activities is based on the current public health conditions.

Level 1 is the most restrictive with non-contact practices and just training. Level 2 allows for intrasquad scrimmages but no competition against other programs. Level 3 allows for conference games and lower risk sports to compete for state championships. Level 4 is the all-clear indicator and would allow for all sports to play out of conference, out of state and compete for state championships.

The guidelines state current conditions allow for lower-risk sports to compete between Levels 1 and 3. Medium-risk sports are holding at Levels 1 and 2. High-risk sports are currently restricted to Level 1.

Anderson said the IHSA does not have access to the information that is being used to determine the levels and what criteria must be met for those levels to change.

“We’re leaning on their (IDPH) expertise,� Anderson said. “When they tell us we can move we’ll make the move.�

The IHSA addressed eligibility of virtual students in its press release about the changes to the schedule.

“The Board also verified that IHSA by-laws do not prevent schools who are conducting remote learning from participating in IHSA sports and activities,� the release said. “Participation will remain a local school and district decision, regardless of the learning plan a high school is utilizing.�

The changes in Illinois will affect schedules for football, boys soccer and girls volleyball teams in Missouri, many of which have contests and tournaments against Illinois teams.

The Missouri State High School Activities Association has not announced any COVID-related changes to its 2020-21 sports seasons.

MSHSAA, however, did release guidelines earlier this month that any school district that does not offer an in-person schooling option cannot compete in extracurricular activities and won’t be allowed to begin fall practices Aug. 10.

A growing number of St. Louis County school districts fall into the ineligible group as they announce a virtual-only start to the school year. Those include: Affton, Ferguson-Florissant, Hazelwood, Kirkwood, Maplewood-Richmond Heights, Parkway, Pattonville, Ritenour, Webster Groves.

Jim Faasen and Paul Halfacre contributed to this report.