High school basketball in Illinois can begin ASAP, but not in the metro-east

Illinois high school boys and girls basketball games could begin as early as next week, the Illinois High School Association announced Wednesday.

But not in the metro-east, because the region does not meet the statistical metrics state health officials have determined create lower risk for exposure to COVID-19.

The Illinois Department of Public Health had postponed the start of the season in November since basketball was determined to be of higher risk of spreading COVID-19. On Friday, IDPH announced that athletes in regions meeting the metrics for Phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan will be allowed to compete.

Not all regions have been cleared for competition for higher-risk sports like basketball. Teams must have seven practice dates before playing games, but the IHSA said practices can begin as soon as possible.

The season for basketball and other winter sports will be abbreviated, with a March 13 end date for basketball, boys swimming and diving, bowling, girls gymnastics and competitive dance and cheerleading. There will be no state tournament series for any of these sports except for dance and cheerleading, which will be held virtually.

And safety mitigations will be enforced. Masks must be worn during practice and competition and there will be a cap at 50 spectators. Individual schools could decide to further limit the number of spectators.

Five of the 11 regions in Illinois were in Phase 4 as of Wednesday. The other six regions that are still under additional safety mitigations are clustered around the Chicago and St. Louis metro areas.

Region 4, which includes the metro-east, is the last region in the state to be moved to Tier 2 mitigations.

Regions move to lower mitigation tiers based on meeting benchmarks for certain COVID-19 data, including lower test positivity rates and higher hospital and ICU bed available.

If a region isn’t able to conduct a season, IHSA said it is open to considering “other participation opportunities.”

“It’ll be a case by case basis, of course,” Executive Director Craig Anderson said in a press briefing. “ ... We don’t have any timeline for that. At this point, we’re waiting to see how these other regions move into Phase 4, obviously that’s the best case scenario.”

IHSA’s announcement will affect only districts in regions meeting the criteria. The metro-east is not included.

Illinois is one of the last states in the country to greenlight a high school basketball season this year. In Michigan — now the lone Midwestern state without a set start date — a group of parents, athletes and coaches organized as a group called Let Them Play Michigan and is threatening to file a lawsuit against the state if high school sports aren’t allowed to start, according to MLive.com.

Many high school athletes have joined club teams that travel out of state to compete. Basketball players will need to cease non-school team participation within seven days of their first high school game.

Andy Horras coaches the Collinsville Hawks, a club team that has traveled out of state for league games and tournaments this year. While he’s not affiliated with Collinsville Schools, he said it was good news for the kids.

“I think this is the best possible outcome,” he said.

The Hawks are still playing and practicing, but Horras said that if Region 4 meets the criteria — he said he’s confident it’ll happen — the team will stop.

“We do things in absence of [school] activities,” he said.

This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 4:07 PM.