Due to the summer's extreme daytime heat, the Mississippi High School Activities Association Executive Committee ruled this week that high school varsity football games will begin at 7:30 p.m. from the start of the regular season through the end of September.
MHSAA made the decision while meeting to consider recommendations from the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee and coaches.
"This will put them in line with the heat timeout, and allows teams to warm-up later in the day when the heat index begins to drop," MHSAA noted in a statement.
Weekly kickoff of varsity football games around the state, including at Charleston and West Tallahatchie high schools, had been scheduled for 7 p.m. from the opening of the regular season on Friday, Aug. 26. The new rule pushes the start time back 30 minutes for the first six games, ending Sept. 30.
The MHSAA noted that middle school, ninth grade and junior varsity football games can still be played earlier in the day but noted that schools may also change those start times to begin later in the afternoon.
