The Iowa High School Athletic Association announced Friday several changes to the 2020 football season in an effort to better mitigate the spread of COVID-19, and to avoid punishing teams for missing games due to the virus.

Practice will still start on August 10th, and the first games are still scheduled for August 28th, and the semifinals and championship dates will still be played at the UNI Dome in mid-November.

The major changes include eliminating two games entirely and an additional two “required” non-district games from each team’s schedule if they play 11-man football. In Class A through 3A, all schools will play their previously scheduled district games starting on Week 3. All schools have the option of playing five to seven games, and all teams will qualify for the postseason in each class — so if a school misses games due to COVID-19 in the regular season, they won’t lose out on the chance to play for a state championship, with the playoffs beginning on October 16th. There will be no forfeits in the regular season due to COVID-19, and all teams are allowed to find replacements in their schedule if an opponent should enter into a “no contest” and cancel.

All Class 4A schools will have to make entirely new schedules, as group format and success model will not be implemented in 2020. Also, RPI will not be calculated since all teams qualify.

Read all of the changes at the IHSAA website. Additional guidance on health and safety procedures will be released next week.