*This story has been updated to include additional information from the MACJC.
It looks like there will be a JUCO football season in Mississippi this fall after all.
When the NJCAA decided to push its football season to the spring, the representative from the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) chose to abstain from the vote saying that they felt it was too early to make a final decision. Now, the MACJC is has finalized a plan for a fall football season beginning in October.
The association’s presidents met today and voted to begin the 2020 football season on October 1st with teams playing a six-game, division-only schedule that will allow the MACJC’s member institutions to take the field this fall.
Commissioner Steven Martin said that they have worked with the NJCAA throughout the decision process and that they will continue to evaluate the data on a day-to-day basis to ensure their season can begin in the fall.
“We made a decision to delay the season, but we are going to consistently evaluate where were are and where we are in the state of Mississippi,” he said.
Should the NJCAA hold a season in the spring, the 14 teams in the MACJC will not be eligible for any bowl games or championships if a fall season takes place in Mississippi. After this year, Martin stated that the plan is the realign the MACJC’s schedule with the NJCAA.
This year’s season will end with a playoff ahead of Thanksgiving, according to Martin.
