SCOOP: The latest on where the UIL's stands with 2021 TXHSFB broadcast ban

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The UIL lifted its Friday night broadcast ban for the 2020 football season, in a supposed one-time move necessitated by the Covid-19 pandemic and the capacity restrictions that were put in place across the state.

With the offseason quickly winding down and Covid-19 restrictions being loosened across the state, many questions are being asked about the possibility of live Friday night broadcasts for the 2021 season.

As of now there is no word from the UIL regarding the status of the Friday night broadcast ban for the 2021 season, but there should be movement that comes down sometime in the summer. According to multiple sources, an informal survey among the THSCA has already been taken and the response was more than positive for the ban to be lifted.

A survey regarding the Friday night broadcast is being sent out to school superintendents in the next couple of weeks that could be quite influential towards a potential UIL Legislative Council decision.

One interesting potential plot twist to the decision-making process will be that currently UIL executive director Dr. Charles Breithaupt still has the ability to make decisions without the approval of the Legislative Council, based on the emergency measures put into place last spring at the start of the pandemic. Will that potential unilateral decision-making power be extended, or will we see a return to a more normal operating process within the UIL soon?

Another factor to consider is stricter local guidelines surrounding Covid-19; local school districts can still possibly limit attendance for the 2021 football season, which complicates matters even further. Most sources believe there’s more support for lifting the Friday night broadcast ban at the larger schools, but much less support exists for the lifting of the ban in the smaller schools.

One possible “compromise” for the 2021 football season may be treating football broadcasts on Friday night like other sports and how football broadcasts are handled for Thursday and Saturday night games, which involves the mutual agreement of both participating schools.

Expect some clarity surrounding the rule to come in June or possibly with an announcement at the 2021 THSCA Convention in San Antonio.

 

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