NSAA Will Move State Football Championships Due To COVID-19 DHM

LINCOLN–(KFOR Nov. 13)–Just hours after city and county officials announced a new directed health measure for Lincoln and Lancaster County that goes into effect on Monday, Nov. 16, the Nebraska School Activities Association on Friday night said the six state football championships will not be played at Memorial Stadium Nov. 23 and 24.

In a news release to KFOR Sports, the NSAA said championship games in Class A, B, C1, C2, D1 and D2 will be played at home sites of the higher-seeded team on Friday, Nov. 20.  Each host school will be required to follow the previously established NSAA post-season protocols in handling COVID-19.

The only other state championship to play off a school site on Nov. 20 will be the six-man championship, which will take place at Foster Field at the University of Nebraska-Kearney campus.

Late Friday afternoon, Lincoln Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and Health Director Pat Lopez announced that all youth activities, which include K-12 school athletics, will be on hiatus starting Monday, until Dec. 7, due to the widespread threat of coronavirus in Lincoln and Lancaster County and the limit on the number of people allowed at indoor and outdoor venues.

Winter sports is scheduled to start practice Monday across Nebraska, but for LPS, Pius X, Lincoln Christian, Lincoln Lutheran, Parkview Christian, Waverly, Norris, Raymond Central and Malcolm high schools, those will be pushed back and evaluated around the final day of the moratorium.

City and health officials hope to have winter sports continue, but it depends on whether case numbers and the number of hospitalizations start to see a decline in the next three weeks.

KFOR and ESPN Lincoln are still planning to cover high school basketball games, whenever the season resumes.  Scheduling will be determined at a later time.