HARTFORD, Conn — The ball is still up in the air when it comes to high school football in the state.
Officials from the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC), the state Department of Public Health (DPH), and representatives from Governor Ned Lamont's office all met Friday morning to discuss the decision that was made to cancel the football season amid the pandemic.
The decision had caused an uproar from student-athletes, their families, and coaches around the state, sparking multiple protests and rallies.
In a press conference following the meeting, CIAC Executive Director Lungarini said that they have submitted new strategies to DPH, trying to make football safer so that students could play the season.
Lungarini said the meeting went very well, and that DPH will be looking over the strategies and will get back to the CIAC in the "near future".
The Board of Control also needs to assess the feedback from DPH.
Lungarini said throughout the whole process, DPH has been very communicative.
Details about the new strategies are limited, but Lungarini said it included the use of face shields and masks as well as having a certain number of people on the sideline.
When it comes to the CIAC's decision not to play football in the spring, Lungarini said it was due to the unpredictable nature of where the state would be with COVID-19 metrics. He said that they don't even know where they would be by October 1st. He noted that already, some schools have seen some closures due to COVID-19 cases.
Lungarini said there was no adversarial relationship with DPH over the talks and decisions surrounding football, and everyone has been on the same page in acknowledging that it was a high-risk sport to play.
Time is running out, however.
Lungarini said the window of opportunity to get teams trained up and acclimated to playing in the elements was closing, and that ideally, they would have had a definitive solution and answer to all of this two weeks ago.
Still, Lungarini said that during the meeting, their doctors met with DPH and asked direct questions to better understand the COVID-19 cloud hanging over the future of the football season.
Gov. Lamont had called for the meeting to happen after hundreds of people rallied at the state capitol earlier this week demanding a football season.
Both sides have already met several times, and have not been able to reach an agreement for full-contact, 11 v 11 football to happen this fall.
Just last week, the CIAC announced the season wouldn't be happening, saying they had exhausted all options to try and get DPH on board.
However, the CIAC has said that COVID-19 metrics likely won't be different in the spring, and since the infection rate is low now, the fall may be the only chance to play.
Athletes and coaches have argued that they have been taking all of the precautions that have been asked of them and that other sports that are allowed to play, also involve a lot of contact.
They've also pointed out that for seniors, it's either their last chance to play or a critical year for them to be able to play in college.
Governor Lamont is set to host the meeting between DPH and the CIAC this morning around 9:30 a.m. at the state capitol.