With heavy snowfall expected across Illinois this weekend, the high school football state championship games scheduled for Saturday at Illinois State University were postponed, the Illinois High School Association announced.
A winter storm warning is in effect for much of the state, including the Normal area, where ISU is located. Normal is anticipated to see between 5 to 9 inches of snow Saturday, with more possible overnight, according to the National Weather Service.
ISU’s campus will be closed as a precaution during the storm, IHSA said, and the closure forced the second day of the state title football games to be postponed as they were set to take place at the school’s stadium.
“The postponement of the IHSA Football State Finals is unprecedented in the state playoffs 51-year history,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson, adding that all impacted teams were alerted. “We appreciate the patience and understanding of these schools and communities as we work to determine the best and safest solution to rescheduling these contests and crowning state champions in our four largest classes.”
The impacted games are the 5A, 6A, 7A and 8A state championship games.
The Class 5a and Class 6A football games will be held at ISU’s Hancock Stadium Tuesday, IHSA said. The 5A state title game between St. Francis High School and Providence Catholic will start at 3:00 p.m., followed by the 6A championship between East St. Louis and Fenwick.
All tickets previously purchased through the ISU ticket office will be honored at the rescheduled games.
IHSA said it is still in the process of rescheduling the Class 7A (Brother Rice vs. St. Rita) and Class 8A (Mt. Camel vs. Oswego) championship games, however, the goal is for the games to be played on either Wednesday or Thursday.
“There are still some logistical hurdles to clear in regard to the rescheduling of the Class 7A and 8A games,” said IHSA Executive Director Craig Anderson. “It is our intention to have that finalized by Saturday (Nov. 29) evening. We appreciate the patience and support of the competing schools and our partners at ISU and in Bloomington-Normal as we navigate this unprecedented situation.”
The Class 1A, 2A, 3A and 4A title games were held on Friday with no impact from the weather.
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