Basketball was set to tipoff around the region on Monday.
It has now been pushed back to Jan. 4, after the Kentucky High School Athletic Association’s (KHSAA) Board of Control voted Wednesday to delay regular-season competition. It came on the same day Ohio voted to begin play on Thursday.
KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett said the decision would not be a popular one with coaches, players and parents but said it was necessary with the widespread COVID pandemic.
Following a long and mixed discussion, the board settled on an eight-week regular season which will run through the end of February.
District tournament play will begin March 1, followed by regional play one week later.
The state tournaments are set for March 17-21 for girls and March 24-28 for boys.
Another option which was on the table would have resulted in a 12-week regular season, which would have pushed the state tournaments into the last week of April and the first week of May.
They also had considered starting on Dec. 14 but opted instead for the later start date.
The decision means basketball will not overlap into spring sports.
Postseason dates for other winter sports will be announced at a later date.