MHSAA Makes Plans For Fall Championships In December

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan high school football championship games would be played after Christmas if the state allows fall sports to resume, officials said Wednesday.

Sports and in-person classes are on a three-week break in an effort to control the spread of the coronavirus. Football playoffs would resume Dec. 15, with championship games set for Dec. 28-29 at Ford Field in Detroit.

Eight-player football championship games would be played Dec. 21-22 at Midland Community Stadium.

Volleyball quarterfinals would be held Dec. 15, followed by the finals on Dec. 19 in Battle Creek. Swimming and diving Lower Peninsula finals would be held Dec. 22-23.

"We understand where COVID numbers were trending, and that's why we have been supportive of the order to pause," said Mark Uyl, director of the Michigan High School Athletic Association. "But these fall sports deserve closure, and this strategy provides the best opportunities without further interruptions to a normal course of training and competition."

Games in winter sports would begin Jan. 4.