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With bated breath, high school and college football fans are waiting until the news declaring the start of the 2020 season.

For the past four months, national and local news outlets have been asking the same question: will there be a college football season this year? Same goes for the high school season.

Gov. Kay Ivey issued an extended safer-at-home order ordering residents to wear masks when they’re out in public. The order was extended to July 31.

As of this writing, a few college football conferences around the country have announced conference-only games or aren’t risking it with the pandemic still going. The Southeastern Conference, a major conference in college football, hasn’t announced its plans, yet.

In fact, the SEC is supposed to be holding a meeting with its athletic directors this week or next to determine the next course of action. We’ll know, in my opinion, by July 31 where we are going forward.

For high school football, that’s still up in the air.

Last week, I was told that the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) is considering many options for the coming season.

By my count, I heard 10 different scenarios officials are considering. They include a full conference (region) slate, pushing back the season opener and even canceling the season all together.

We sure hope and pray that the season isn’t canceled on these young athletes who are clammering to get out there and play. They want to play.

But we understand that there is a safety issue when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a highly contagious virus that can spread easily from one human to another.

We know that football players aren’t going to be socially distant on the field. This is a close, contact sport.

When the time is right, I hope the AHSAA makes the right decision they feel is in the best interests of the student athletes.