After Friday’s WIAA Board of Control decision, it is up to local officials to determine the fate of fall high school sports. The Packerland Conference will be meeting Tuesday to discuss a wide range of possibilities. Noncontact sports won’t have to wait until then, with practice beginning the day before. It appears almost certain that cross country, the only one offered by the Packerland, will happen as scheduled. Swimming and golf involve some Packerland schools, but they belong to different conferences to compete in those activities. For the rest, the future is murkier. Commissioner Mike Holtz expects a lengthy meeting with everything on the table.

One of the discussion points will be the differing COVID-19 activity levels among different counties. With additions like Clintonville and Bonduel for football, Packerland membership stretches across Marinette, Oconto, Brown, Kewaunee, and Door Counties. Some trial balloons have already been floated to have limited schedules where teams only play schools from their home county. While Door is relatively unaffected by such a proposition, many member schools could find themselves playing against teams from other conferences to meet such a stipulation. 

Another potential sticking point for Packerland schools, which tend to have smaller enrollments and rely on multisport athletes, is the overlap that happens under the approved WIAA alternate schedule should fall sports be moved to the spring. Football would conflict with baseball for at least one week of competition. Cross country would be at odds with track and field.