EAST LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – In the end, it appeared to be inevitable.
On Friday, the Michigan High School Athletic Association announced that the five winter sports tournaments that were suspended four days before Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s mandatory three week-long closing of all K-12 school buildings on March 16, as well as all of upcoming scheduled sports tournaments, have been outright cancelled. The MHSAA held out hopes that some arrangment could have been made, but those were dashed by Thursday’s gubernatorial extension of those closings, all due to the COVID 19 situation, through the end of the Academic 2020 year, necessiating the association’s executive committee to make this final move.
“We are heartbroken to not be able to provide these opportunities for Michigan’s student-athletes, and especially seniors. 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,” MHSAA Executive Director Mark Uyl said in a statement. “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.”
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. 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 (District or Regional) will continue to stand.
The MHSAA will in coming weeks provide guidelines and other information pertinent to this unusual offseason as attention is turned to preparing for Fall 2020.