The PIAA isn’t ready yet to cancel spring sports, or the rest of the basketball playoffs, or the Class 2A swim championships.
The PIAA board of directors held a meeting Monday morning by way of video conference, but there was no discussion on whether spring sports would be called off or the basketball playoffs canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.
This was a board meeting that was postponed two weeks ago. The board meets a handful of times every year to vote and discuss proposed by-laws, rules and other items that are on an agenda.
Before the meeting started Monday, PIAA president Jim Zack said, “We will not be discussing items outside the agenda, no what-if scenarios.”
After the meeting, PIAA executive director Bob Lombardi said the board is taking a wait-and-see approach, communicating with the Governor’s office and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
“We’re not taking this any different than the government approach,” Lombardi said. “The board is taking a measured approach, taking one day at a time and making the best decision on the information we have.”
So, the PIAA is still holding out hope that the basketball championships can be played at some point, and spring sports will have some kind of season. On March 12, the PIAA postponed the boys and girls basketball playoffs. The tournaments were in the quarterfinal round. Also that day, the PIAA postponed the Class 2A boys and girls swimming and diving championships that were scheduled for March 13-14 at Bucknell University.
Spring sports were also shut down earlier this month after Gov. Tom Wolf closed all schools in Pennsylvania through April 6. But on Sunday, President Donald Trump extended restrictive social distancing guidelines through the end of April, and Wolf announced Monday that all Pennsylvania schools are closed indefinitely.
Despite the school closure announcement, the PIAA is not making a move yet on halting winter sports playoffs or spring sports. Lombardi said the PIAA does not have a deadline date to make a decision. When asked if the PIAA would consider starting the basketball playoffs again as late as June, Lombardi said, “I can’t answer that. It’s a fluid situation. I don’t want to get into ‘what ifs.’ What ifs can cause so many problems. You put something out there that is hypothetical, and it takes off everywhere around the state.
“I think (NBA commissioner) Adam Silver might have said it best. His comment was something to the effect that, ‘We will try to assist a return to normalcy if we can.’ I think we are a part of that. If we can assist a return to normalcy, that’s one thing. But we’re not going to do it at the expense of the health and safety of everybody in the community.”
During the PIAA board meeting Monday, PIAA associate executive director Melissa Mertz gave a report to the board on the swimming championships. It was the only time during the meeting that the postponement or cancellation of any sports were touched on. “We’re taking a wait-and-see approach (with the Class 2A championships), as we have with everything,” Mertz told the board.
If spring sports in Pennsylvania were halted, more than 100,000 athletes will lose an entire season. According to the National Federation of High School Association, the 2018-19 school year saw 111,204 athletes in Pennsylvania compete in the high school sports of baseball, softball, boys and girls lacrosse, boys tennis, boys and girls track and field, and boys volleyball.
The PIAA is not alone in waiting to make a decision on basketball playoffs or spring sports. Some other states postponed their basketball tournaments and have not made a decision yet whether to resume them, or start spring sports. However, other states canceled their basketball championships in mid-March. A few others, including Ohio and Indiana, originally suspended their basketball tournaments, but canceled them a few weeks later. Ohio last week canceled all of their winter championships, but did not cancel spring sports.
“This issue is not about whether or not to play a game, but it’s about keeping citizens safe,” Lombardi said. “I think our board needs to be applauded for trying to do a measured approach, with systematic action, based on the information we have. Priority No. 1 is to keep people safe. If we can keep people safe and work around parameters, we’ll do that. ... We’re just trying to take care of the lane we’re in and serve our membership as well.”
The PIAA’s decision to wait on making a decision was welcomed by some coaches and athletes.
Bob Amalia, a highly successful longtime baseball coach at Blackhawk High School said, “I think it’s OK to wait because you just don’t know what might happen. Maybe they say we can eventually play for part of May and June. If we were allowed to play at some point, I think we would all just want a few days to practice and we’d be ready to roll. The only thing you have to do is be careful of the pitchers.”
In basketball, 48 boys teams and 48 girls teams around the state are in the quarterfinals and still hoping that their seasons might not be over.
The Chartiers Valley girls team has a 57-game winning streak and was hoping to win a second consecutive PIAA title with a perfect record. The team is 27-0 this year after going 30-0 last season.
“Last week, all of us were getting flashbacks to last year when it was the state championship. It was really sad,” said Aislin Malcolm, Chartiers Valley’s leading scorer. “I think it’s good (the PIAA is) waiting because you don’t know what could happen. We would definitely play in June if we had to.”
Other players from WPIAL teams still in the PIAA basketball echoed Malcolm’s sentiments. Butler’s Ethan Morton, a Purdue recruit, said he believes all players would be willing to finish the playoffs in the summer.
“I’m supposed to go to Purdue in June, but I think they or any college would be willing to let you leave campus for a few days to finish state championships,” Morton said.
If anything, the PIAA’s decision to hold off on a decision gives high school athletes a shred of hope for a little while.
“I’m happy the way (the PIAA) has handled it,” Morton said. “It’s a stretch to think we might play, but you never know. Everyone will do what they can do to try and stay in shape. But these are unprecedented situations and maybe you have to go through some unprecedented measures.”
Mike White: mwhite@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mwhiteburgh
First Published: March 30, 2020, 2:59 p.m.
