COLUMBUS, Ohio — A day after being named the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s executive director, Doug Ute is preparing for the completion of the high school fall sports seasons and beginning of winter sports on time as planned.

Ute acknowledged Wednesday during an introductory teleconference with media around the state that it all still depends on what happens with the coronavirus pandemic, but the OHSAA is not currently delaying the start of winter sports after pushing ahead the conclusion of the football season.

“Right now, we’re full steam ahead Day 1 in the winter time,” Ute said. “We’re at the mercy of the virus. If it doesn’t spread, and the governor and department of health continue this path here, we’re ready to start winter sports from Day 1.”

The topic came up Wednesday, said Ute, who added he is asking the OHSAA staff to come up with three to four scenarios in case there is a spike in COVID-19 cases that forces the OHSAA to delay the start of winter sports, such as basketball and wrestling.

At the request of Gov. Mike DeWine’s office, the OHSAA already moved up the final day of the state football championships by two weeks to Nov. 21 with the expectation of spike during the fall and winter months.

Practices begin Oct. 23 for girls basketball with the boys slated to start a week later on Oct. 30. The first day of wrestling practices have not been officially outlined by the OHSAA, which announced last week it is indefinitely suspending the state duals team tournament but maintaining the individual tourney.

Ice hockey has a scheduled start date of Oct. 30 for coaching, but other sports, such as swimming and diving, do not have updated calendars for the 2020-21 school year.

Ute, who resigned this spring as superintendent of Newark City Schools in Central Ohio to oversee the Buckeye Association of Athletic Administrators, was named Tuesday as the OHSAA’s new executive director by the state athletic association’s board of directors. He replaces Jerry Snodgrass, who was removed from the position in early July. Bob Goldring stepped into the role on an interim basis until Ute’s hiring became official this week.

“We want to stay in communication with all of the different associations that belong to us,” Ute said. “The athletic directors, principals, superintendents and coaches associations, we want to reach out to them and unite us as a group.”

Ute addressed multiple topics during a 30-minute question-and-answer session with reporters. Here are some of those topics:

⦁ One of the first challenges this fall for the OHSAA and its districts are securing postseason venues as neutral site hosts, not only for football but each sport.

The OHSAA announced last month in its shortened football season plan that playoff games will be held at the higher seed’s home site through the regional finals. They traditionally went to neutral sites after the first round.

State championships, which had been held at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, are expected to be conducted at various sites. Ute said Canton could still be used as a state championship host.

“It’s just too early to determine,” he said. “I was just in a meeting with our sport management folks, and that’s one thing we discussed is to have those backup plans. One thing we’ve learned since March is that things can change weekly or daily.”

Ute cited Wright State’s Nutter Center, the girls volleyball state championship host, as an example.

“To us, as an organization,” Ute said, “does it make sense to rent out the Nutter Center and only put 300 family and loved ones in there? Financially, that may not make sense.”

⦁ The OHSAA previously said it had no plans to amend transfer bylaws to add considerations for student-athletes at schools that are not fielding teams during the pandemic. Ute reiterated that stance Wednesday, but said he is open to further addressing it.

“I have not had that discussion with anybody yet, but we’ll discuss anything,” he said. “My leadership style is we’ll be willing to talk about anything, but that doesn’t mean we’ll actually do it. It’s not something we’ve had much of a request to talk about right now.”

The Cleveland Metropolitan School District is currently not offering fall sports. Neither is Cleveland Central Catholic among schools in Cuyahoga County. Lorain is the only school in Lorain County opting out of the fall.

⦁ Ute believes competitive balance is still a work in progress that must be evaluated on a continual basis. The measure, which applies a multiplier to enrollment figures, began with the 2017-18 school year.

⦁ He is not in favor of separate state championship tournaments for public and private schools.

⦁ On the financial status of the OHSAA, which lost revenue from not completing the state basketball and wrestling championships with no spring sports postseasons, Ute is optimistic the organization will find a way through its current challenges.

“It is severe,” he said, “but I’m of the belief we’re always going to have the Ohio High School Athletic Association, and this association is going to provide student-athletes with an opportunity to compete. One of the things this state is proud of is we’re an organization that doesn’t charge an entry fee or a (tournament) participation fee, which we just did.”

The OHSAA informed schools last week it will be charging a $25 entry fee for numerous sports postseasons, including track and field, swimming, cross country, golf and others. It also is withholding presale ticket shares or bonuses for the 2020-21 school year and will not reimburse schools for postseason tournament expenses.

Contact sports reporter Matt Goul on Twitter (@mgoul) or email (mgoul@cleveland.com).