Editor’s note: This story has been updated since it was first published.

More than 50 public and private high schools in Dallas County will not start the fall sports season on time, an unprecedented situation amid a coronavirus pandemic that has extended well into the summer.

Dallas County on Thursday ordered all schools within the county’s borders to delay in-person classes — and school-sponsored events, such as sports — until after Sept. 7.

The tentative Sept. 8 date to re-open campuses comes after the first two weeks of the UIL football season and after weeks of matches and meets for volleyball, cross country and team tennis programs.

As the UIL has remained mum on its plans for fall sports operations, but as a growing number of school districts across Texas have adopted policies similar to Dallas County’s, several questions about the viability of the fall sports season — even in condensed form — have lingered:

Will more local school districts soon follow Dallas County’s model?

If the UIL doesn’t make a universal decision, will teams under local suspension orders face on-field disadvantages?

How much time after returning to practice will teams need to re-acclimate players, further cutting into current game schedules?

Is the entire Texas high school fall sports season in jeopardy?

Coaches and officials in Dallas County didn’t have much clarity on Thursday night.

“It’s the coronavirus. I can’t be selfish like that,” said Duncanville head football coach Reginald Samples, whose team has reached consecutive state championship games. “Football’s important, but what can I do? You have to be realistic. It’s not good, but you know, I have to respect that these are unusual times. I’m afraid of what else might happen.”

Dallas County includes 15 public school districts and 55 high schools, excluding Ferris ISD, which is partially in the county lines, and a handful of private schools. The list features some of the area’s largest school districts — including Dallas ISD (22 high schools) and Garland ISD (seven).

After his press conference Thursday, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said there was no opposition to postponing athletics in conjunction with remote learning. The decision was made in consultation with nearly all the Dallas County superintendents, representatives from catholic schools, a private school association and several other heads of large private schools.

Near the end of the call, Lancaster Superintendent Elijah Granger was asked if he had any comments or concerns, and he said he didn’t want to lose another student.

“You could hear a pin drop,” Jenkins said.

The county’s decision could add pressure to the UIL to delay fall sports across the state. 

In an email to families Thursday, Frisco ISD announced school will be all virtual for the first three weeks of the year, with in-person instruction to resume Sept. 3. The 10-high school district in Collin County and Denton County will have plans for on-campus athletic fine arts activities “while awaiting further guidance from the UIL,” according to the email.

Thursday’s announcement came on the heels of 14 straight days of at least 1,000 new positive cases of COVID-19 in the county.

Local school districts in the Houston, Austin and El Paso areas have also suspended athletics while campuses are closed, disrupting several games scheduled with Dallas-area schools outside Dallas County lines.

TAPPS officials are planning to hold a webinar Friday morning to discuss the fall sports season. The Southwest Preparatory Conference announced Thursday it will delay fall sports games until at least Sept. 8, but will not regulate how individual schools practice before then.

Should the Dallas County suspension extend past Sept. 7, or should teams need several weeks to re-acclimate to in-person, full-speed play, district sports schedules, which dictate playoff berths, would be vulnerable.

Several Dallas County schools play in UIL districts with teams not under the local suspension order. Cedar Hill ISD athletic director Melanie Benjamin predicted issues with fair competition if, for example, Cedar Hill, DeSoto and Duncanville can’t play a full schedule against District 11-6A counterparts from Mansfield, Waco and Waxahachie ISDs.

“It’s the right thing to do, so everyone can still stay on a level playing field,” Garland Lakeview Centennial coach Kendall Miller said of a potential UIL fall sports delay. “I don’t want the threat of political backlash to influence the UIL’s decision. I hope legislators don’t get involved and put undue pressure on the UIL to do something that is not best for all of us. Some counties may have fewer [COVID-19] cases, but coaches want everything to be fair.”

The current UIL calendar allows football and volleyball teams to start practice Aug. 3, with volleyball matches to begin a week later. Football teams can start their first week of scrimmages Aug. 13 and games Aug. 27.

The lack of spring football and limitations during summer strength and skill workouts — which more than 215 schools across the state suspended at a point — could prompt officials to extend the timeline for conditioning and practicing in hopes of limiting injuries.

Athletes will need at least a few additional weeks of training to “get into game mode,” Dallas ISD athletic director Silvia Salinas said.

“Our first district match is slated for Sept. 11, so if we came back Sept. 8, there is no way we can just play a district match on the 11th,” Sachse volleyball coach Rikki Jones said. “Our kids would not be physically prepared to do that. It’s going to have to be a change in the calendar from UIL.”

The range of possible changes to the calendar this fall — and beyond — could be diverse.

Jones suggested the UIL push the district volleyball season back, in concert with local guidelines, and finish the playoffs in December, rather than before Thanksgiving. Then, move winter and spring seasons back to correspond with the end of fall sports.

Dallas-area coaches have said pushing volleyball, cross country and team tennis to the spring isn’t viable because of conflicts with club sports and other high school seasons.

Governing bodies in Mississippi, Washington, New Jersey and West Virginia have delayed the start of high school fall sports to later this fall. Associations in New Mexico and Washington D.C. have moved the football season to 2021.

As DeSoto football coach Claude Mathis fielded constant calls from players — upset, confused and inquisitive about the status of their season after the county’s order Thursday night — he felt the same.

The non-district football schedule for Dallas County teams is all but eliminated, Mathis said.

That district competition for UIL teams won’t start until at least Sept. 18 gave him “a little hope” that a season this fall can be salvaged.

“I’m just keeping our fingers crossed that we’re able to play in September, but at the same time, we have to be safe and be smart about this whole situation,” Mathis said. “Whatever’s dealt our way, we’re going to deal with. We’re going to keep on trucking.”

Staff writers Greg Riddle and Corbett Smith contributed to this report.

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