Mississippi junior colleges decide to step out on their own and play football this fall
If the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges has its way, there will be junior college football played in the Magnolia State this fall.
The MACC voted on Friday to delay the start of the football season until Oct. 1 with teams playing a six-game schedule that will only consist of division games. The season will conclude with a playoff.
“The MACC will continue to evaluate COVID-19 and its impact on our student-athletes,” the MACC said in a statement.
The National Junior College Athletic Association voted earlier this month to move most of its fall sports, including football, to the spring.
Region 23, which represents Mississippi and Louisiana, abstained from that vote to give Mississippi officials more time to make their own decision on whether to play games this fall.
The Mississippi junior college league is widely considered the best in the nation, often producing some of the nation’s top junior college prospects.
It may have been difficult for some Mississippi programs to compete in the spring considering many of their top players sign with four-year programs in December and enroll in classes at their new schools in January.
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College claimed its fifth national championship last year in a 24-13 win over Lackawanna College from Pennsylvania in 2019, finishing with a 12-0 record.
Originally on July 2, the league voted to move the start of the season from Aug. 27 to Sept. 10 and reduce the regular season from nine games to eight.
