The South Carolina High School League Executive Committee made many changes to the fall sports championship schedule last week during a meeting to discuss the effects of Hurricane Helene across the state. 

While discussing, the committee’s 14 representatives reviewed multiple options recommended by the league itself and commissioner Jerome Singleton. The group went sport by sport to determine the best course of action concerning dates for championship contests, which are quickly approaching. 

Football

The committee voted 9-4 to extend the football regular season by one week and maintain the current five-round playoff format. 

This was one of three options recommended by the high school league to the executive committee. The other two options included extending the regular season two weeks with four rounds of playoffs and extending one week with four rounds of playoffs, which would have kept the championship dates the same. 

Instead, championship football will now be played Dec. 12-14. Singleton expressed small concern South Carolina State University, the games host site, may not be able to fully staff the events. However, Singleton has since said staffing won’t be an issue. 

The executive committee rejected a plan to extend by one week and play four rounds of playoffs on an 11-3 vote before accepting the current plan. Committee members were uncomfortable with shortening the postseason and reducing the field by around 80 teams statewide. 

A one-week extension allows those who missed games to make one up and allows others to add an extra game if they wish. It does not guarantee teams who missed two games an opportunity to make both up. 

Regions that are unable to play their entire schedule will have to self-determine postseason seeding and tie-breaker scenarios. 

“That's a local decision by the region as they figure out what games they want to have counted, and how they want to go about establishing who will be their qualifiers for the playoffs,” Singleton said. “We couldn't come up with one statewide answer that was going to effectively help all of them. So, we allowed them to kind of work their way through this themselves. And to their credit, a lot of them have already started the process.”

Extending the football season did not just affect the championship games, but also forced certain all-star games to change their dates. The Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl was moved back a week and will now be played on the same day as the annual Shrine Bowl. 

While having both events on the same day is not ideal, it allows those athletes who participate in the state championship games to play in an all-star event if selected. 

Volleyball 

Volleyball also gets an extra week of competition and maintains its regular playoff format. 

There were two other options on the table. The first would’ve extended the regular season by one week with four rounds of playoffs, and the other would extend the regular season by two weeks with four rounds of playoffs. 

Singleton said that the venue should be able to accommodate the change for girls volleyball. But it is not that simple for the boys. 

“We may have to move that to a weekend, possibly at a different site, or multiple championships on the same night at different venues,” Singleton said. 

The decision to extend by one week and maintain the normal playoff format passed after a unanimous vote. 

Cross Country

Cross Country’s championship dates stayed the same but the requirements to qualify for the event changed. 

Runners now only have to have competed in one race instead of two to earn a spot in the state qualifier. Singleton said this would allow every school to have the opportunity to qualify for the postseason as every team should have competed in at least one event. 

“We think if we reduce it to one, the likelihood is most of them will have already ran in two anyway,” he said. 

The cross country decision passed on a 12-2 vote. 

Swimming

No changes were made to the swimming championship dates. Singleton explained the need to stay on a strict schedule for swim. 

“Swim is one that is a major challenge for us. We weren’t sure we’d have the venues available,” he said. “If something comes up that forces us to have to shut it down, we’re going to have to make some hard decisions about it.” 

Like cross country, changes were made that gave more athletes a chance to participate. Qualifying times were due to the league Oct. 6 but got pushed to Oct. 9.

The swim championships are set for this week, starting Tuesday and wrapping up Saturday. 

Girls Tennis

The girls tennis season was the last to be extended. Teams will have an extra week of the regular season, and the league will maintain its five-round playoff format. 

Like football and volleyball, tennis had the same three options. The committee stayed consistent and opted for a one-week extension with no shortening of the playoffs.

Singleton added that the venue can accommodate a one-week delay. 

Girls Golf

Girls golf was the only sport that had no changes to its championship dates or qualification requirements. 

Competitive Cheer

Cheer also kept its dates but changes were made to the minimum competition requirements. Instead of two events required, teams now only need to compete in one before the playoffs begin. 

“I don’t know of any school that would want to go into qualifying without at least competing in one,” Singleton said. 

Looking forward

During the meeting, the idea of a built-in bye week for football was floated around. 

While no advancement was made that day, Singleton said the league may consider adding something like that in the future. 

The built-in bye was recently implemented in Georgia and will help its schools get back on schedule. Their bye was set for in between the third and fourth rounds of the playoffs. 

Now, the state’s league could extend the regular season by a week without moving its championship games. 

“That conversation is not unique to South Carolina. That conversation has been brought up before. It just hadn't grabbed any legs as of yet,” Singleton said. “That conversation has been brought up in Georgia before and finally this year it grabbed some legs, and interestingly, they needed it the one time that they put it in. … I think it's always something that can be placed on the table. Another chance to have the conversation again will be as we work toward putting together plans for next year.”