Coronavirus Cancels Rest Of High School Sports Season In Michigan

MICHIGAN — The remainder of the 2019-20 Winter and Spring sports seasons have been canceled by the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) due to the new coronavirus.

The move was made Friday in compliance with Thursdays state of disaster directive from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, which closed all school buildings to face-to-face classes and moved education online for the remainder of the school year.

This will be the first school year to not see MHSAA Finals played in multiple sports since 1942-43, when World War II led to the elimination of Finals in most sports.

The MHSAA on March 12 suspended its girls and boys basketball, girls gymnastics, boys ice hockey and boys swimming and diving tournaments amid coronavirus concerns. Activity in all sports was halted March 13. Spring sports had begun practice, but not competition.

The MHSAA’s Representative Council approved during its March 27 Winter Meeting a series of concepts for completing the Winter tournaments and an abbreviated Spring season, contingent on the lifting of a statewide quarantine. The closure of school buildings into June voided those possibilities.

The MHSAA’s Executive Committee affirmed the decision Friday, to cancel the remainder of this school year’s activities.

“We are heartbroken to not be able to provide these opportunities for Michigan’s student-athletes, and especially seniors," MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said. "We continue to hear from dozens asking us to hold out hope. But safety always must come first, and Governor Whitmer is making courageous decisions to safeguard the people of our state. We understand as much as anyone how much school sports mean to athletes and their communities. We had ideas and hopes for finishing Winter and Spring and helping bring some sort of normalcy after this long break. But this is the correct decision, and we will play our part in bringing schools and communities together again when the time is right.

“For now, we cannot state strongly enough that all students, staffs and others follow the guidelines established to slow the spread of this virus – we all must do our part.”

Because the five Winter sports were not able to conclude with Finals, no champions will be awarded in those sports for 2019-20. However, championships won at earlier rounds of those tournaments, such as district or regional, will continue to stand.

The MHSAA will in coming weeks provide guidelines and other information pertinent to this unusual off-season as attention is turned to preparing for Fall 2020.