School Administrators Update – April 8
To: All OHSAA Member Schools’ Superintendents, Principals and Athletic Administrators
From: Jerry Snodgrass, Executive Director Good afternoon to each of you. This communication is intended to keep you in the loop with the continually changing events affecting school activities. Please note this communication has been shared with our District Athletic Boards and our schools well in advance of it being shared with the media. It is my intent to make sure our members receive all important information directly instead of reading it on social media or in a newspaper. The media WILL receive a version of this but not until much later.
Pupil Activity Coaching PermitsWe will continue to monitor the status of spring seasons as well as summer facility availability as it relates to expiration of any Pupil Activity Coaching Permits and provide guidance if closures occur through the summer months.
Annual Award Certificates (Archie Griffin, Courageous Student Awards, NFHS Award)Last year, we made these available online to permit easier access and the ability to tailor them to your recipients by printing names on them, etc. These annual certificates are now available on each school’s myOHSAA account. The links to the award certificates can be found in the left navigation near the bottom under OHSAA Awards. Please do not hesitate to contact membershipservices@ohsaa.org if you need any assistance.
District Athletic Board ElectionsAfter much discussion and since elections for District Athletic Board members are all electronic (as well as petitions that are required to be submitted), we will go forward with the normal process. While nominating petitions are scheduled to be available beginning next week, detailed information will be provided to you prior to that time.
More Guidance for Fall Scholarship Eligibility/NCAA EligibilityA reminder from previous guidance last week that the GPA requirement is not an OHSAA mandate (many are not aware of that).While law mandates you have one, it is not used for eligibility or ineligibility in our office (violating a school’s GPA requirement does not result in forfeiture of a contest).Therefore, if you are utilizing Pass/Fail options for your students, you need not worry how that affects fall 2020 eligibility.The NFHS continues conversation with the NCAA relative to student-athlete fall semester eligibility.The NFHS expects decisions from the NCAA very soon relative to Div. I and Div. II to follow soon after as it relates to Pass/Fail grades and GPA requirements at the NCAA level.It has been asked that they have a link to easy access for news, updates and FAQ’s and the NCAA has assured this will occur.We will share that as soon as we are provided it. Since the NCAA and NFHS share the same office building in Indianapolis, the dialogue in communication continues efficiently. Much of their info can be found at:ncaa.org/COVID-19
Information Relative to Spring Sports & BeyondFirst, we continue to stay in close contact with the state’s leadership relative to stay-at-home orders. Additionally, we continue to collaborate with the OASSA to make certain we have each other’s support as it relates to a return to school and activities.A few important updates/reminders:
- If schools are closed for the remainder of the school year, spring sports will be cancelled in Ohio
- The mandatory No-Contact period remains in place until at least May 1. No practices or group workouts may occur through this date.
- No-contact does not mean ‘electronic’ communication is not permitted. In fact, we encourage coaches to maintain correspondence, provide workouts, etc. to INDIVIDUALS.
- The dates below for a spring season/tournaments are tentative. We are continuing with the Governor’s optimistic direction that schools will re-open on May 4. We will adjust accordingly. However optimistic this may be, we must PLAN for the return even if that ends up changing.
- With a current return on May 4, the following schedule has been adopted for spring sports. Specific information relative to Sectional and District Tournaments, playing dates, seeding procedures, game sites, will all be provided in communications from the respective six District Athletic Boards.
- If for any reason specific sites are shut down due to governor’s orders, ALL sites will be shut down and a tournament will not be held.
Restructured 2020 Spring Sport Dates – as of April 8
| BASEBALL | |
| Non-Interscholastic Date | May 4 |
| Acclimation Period | May 4-8 |
| Season Begins | May 9 |
| Tournament Entry/Withdrawal | May 11 |
| Tournament Entry/Withdraw w/penalty | May 12-15 |
| Tournament Draw/Coaches Meeting | May 17 |
| Sectional Tournaments* | May 23-30 |
| District Tournaments | June 1-6 |
| Regional Tournaments | June 11 & 12 |
| State Tournament | June 19-21 |
| Season Concludes | June 27 |
* Sectional competition shall NOT begin earlier than the date provided.
| SOFTBALL | |
| Non-Interscholastic Date | May 4 |
| Acclimation Period | May 4-8 |
| Season Begins | May 9 |
| Tournament Entry/Withdrawal | May 18 |
| Tournament Entry/Withdraw w/penalty | May 19-22 |
| Tournament Draw/Coaches Meeting | May 24 |
| Sectional Tournaments* | May 30-June 6 |
| District Tournaments | June 8-13 |
| Regional Tournaments | June 15-20 |
| State Tournament | June 25-27 |
| Season Concludes | July 4 |
* Sectional competition shall NOT begin earlier than the date provided.
| LACROSSE | |
| Non-Interscholastic Date | May 4 |
| Acclimation Period | May 4-8 |
| Season Begins | May 9 |
| Tournament Entry/Withdrawal | May 18 |
| Tournament Entry/Withdraw w/penalty | May 19-22 |
| Tournament Draw/Coaches Meeting | May 25 |
| Regional Qualifying | May 26-30 |
| Regional Quarterfinals | June 1-4 |
| Regionals | June 4-7 |
| State Semi-Finals | June 8-10 |
| State Finals | June 13 |
| Season Concludes | June 13 |
| TENNIS | |
| Non-Interscholastic Date | May 4 |
| Acclimation Period | May 4-8 |
| Season Begins | May 9 |
| Tournament Entry/Withdrawal | May 18 |
| Tournament Entry/Withdraw w/penalty | May 19-22 |
| Tournament Draw/Coaches Meeting | May 24 |
| Sectional Tournament* | May 30-June 6 |
| District Tournament | June 8-13 |
| State Tournament | June 18-20 |
| Season Concludes | June 27 |
* Sectional competition shall NOT begin earlier than the date provided.
| TRACK & FIELD | |
| Non-Interscholastic Date | May 4 |
| Acclimation Period | May 4-8 |
| Season Begins | May 9 |
| Tournament Entry/Withdrawal | May 25 |
| Tournament Entry/Withdraw w/penalty | May 26-29 |
| Tournament Draw/Coaches Meeting | May 31 |
| District Tournament | June 9-13 |
| Regional Tournament | June 17-20 |
| State Tournament | June 26-27 |
| Season Concludes | June 27 |
Notes for Participating Schools:
- If any type of non-interscholastic participation becomes permitted by governors’ orders and has been occurring (which is doubtful) it must be concluded by May 4.
- Although the regular season(s) will be much shorter, schools can continue scheduling contests until the end of the season.
We continue to applaud each of you for helping provide guidance and leadership to your coaches and your efforts to keep students engaged. This crisis has heightened the awareness that students WANT to be back in the classroom. Teachers want students back in the classroom. In our solid belief that school-based athletic programs are an extension of the classroom, we hold that same belief for our student-athletes and coaches. Getting kids back with coaches is much “more than winning” and we feel it a vital part of returning life to normalcy. Thank you for your support!
