Dawn Gillman was just one voice. One signature of nearly 25,000 on a petition on Change.org asking the Minnesota State High School League to reconsider and bring football and volleyball back to the fall season.
Gillman, a mother of two Dassel-Cokato football players, organizer of a Facebook movement, Let Them Play, said she represented 500 member schools, more than 26,000 football players and 14,000 volleyball athletes.
Gillman asked the 18 Board of Directors to stick to their mission statement. To provide educational opportunities and leadership and support for students through interscholastic athletics.
The directors listened Sept. 21 in a MSHSL special board meeting held remotely on Zoom.
By a 14-4 vote for volleyball, and a 15-3 vote for football, those sports will begin practice Sept. 28 with first contests available Oct. 8 for volleyball and Oct. 9 for football.
HOW IT WILL LOOK
Discussion on football centered around what a schedule might look like. While what the postseason will look like is still undecided, a six-week regular season schedule will begin Oct. 9 and extend to Nov. 13.
A two-week playoff is available for the weeks of Nov. 16 and 23. Schedules will be developed matching teams from within their districts.
“It’s about giving everyone an opportunity to participate,” said board member Dustin Bosshart of St. Clair on focusing on a longer six-week regular season versus an extended postseason.
Already in place, football and volleyball training sessions may occur Sept. 21-26.
“From Day One, our football coaches have said fall is their season and that’s when they’d like to play,” MSHSL Associate Director Bob Madison said.
Results from 394 schools that responded to a MSHSL survey last week indicated 80 percent favored football this fall. The number was 76 percent in favor of fall volleyball from across the state.
Jody Redman, MSHSL associate director, said the volleyball advisory board expressed the pros for playing this fall included less crossover with spring sports, a more traditional season, and available facilities.
Volleyball will have 10 days of practice with first matches on Oct. 8. A team may play up to 14 regular season matches — no tournaments — over a seven-week stretch.
That timeline leaves two weeks for a culminating event for post-season play.
POSTSEASONS FOR OTHER SPORTS
During a previous meeting Sept. 15, the MSHSL acknowledged it is recommending a modified post-season schedule for boys and girls soccer, girls tennis, boys and girls cross-country, and girls swimming and diving this fall.
All will host section tournaments, though tennis will be a team event only — a full consolation bracket can be used by sections. Swimming and diving will use a timed final event with no preliminaries. Pods of four teams will compete against each other with fans unable to be present in pools located inside school buildings.
It will be the same with cross-country as pods of four teams — a total of six runners per team, a maximum of 24, at the starting line.
No decision has been made on state tournaments.
