MHSAA allowing 8 o'clock kickoffs this week

Aug 04, 2023

Aug. 21—High school football teams in Mississippi have the option of starting games up to an hour later than normal this weekend.

MHSAA executive director Rickey Neaves said in a video on Monday that due to this week's heat wave, teams will be allowed to start games at 8 p.m. instead of the normal 7 p.m. kickoff time. The forecast calls for high temperatures of more than 100 degrees in Northeast Mississippi both Thursday and Friday.

Three area games are scheduled for Thursday, while the majority of teams open play Friday. Tupelo's game, against Whitehaven (Tenn.), is set for 3 p.m. Saturday at Northwest Mississippi Community College. Temps are expected to reach the upper 90s that day.

The MHSAA established guidelines earlier this summer for dealing with excessive heat. Teams must use a measurement called WetBulb Globe Temperature, and a reading of higher than 92 means no outdoor activities are allowed.

As it has done for years, the MHSAA will require "heat timeouts" during each quarter. Neaves said officials may call for extra heat timeouts this weekend if needed.

Last season, games kicked off at 7:30 p.m. through the end of September in an effort to combat the heat. That rule was dropped this year after the MHSAA determined that a half-hour did not make a notable difference in game-time temperatures.

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