Good morning. Please read the following carefully as it impacts the IHSA Summer Schedule and will affect the 2026 Football Season next school year and beyond:
The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) has recently approved several by-law changes that will impact summer athletics and the 2026 football season. We want to communicate these updates early so families can plan accordingly.
IHSA No Contact Week – July 4th Week
Beginning next summer, the IHSA has established a mandatory statewide “No Contact Week” that will occur annually during the Fourth of July week. For 2026, this week will be June 29 – July 5.
During this week, schools are not permitted to hold practices, competitions, open gyms, conditioning, or weight training. As part of this change, the previous IHSA no-contact week that occurred in early August has been eliminated.
Impact on August Football Activities
With the August dead week no longer in place, football-related activities will more than likely begin during that first week of August. Your football coaches will put out more on this at a later time.
For now, when planning summer vacations and family commitments, we ask families to plan with the expectation that the first week of August will be used for football activities and know that the new "no contact" week will be June 29-July 5. This will be the new "no contact" week every summer moving forward with those corresponding dates for future years.
Not only is the "Dead Week" for Summer activities changed, but the IHSA has made some changes to the scheduling, as well.
The IHSA has expanded the football playoffs by 16 schools per class (1A-8A). Week 1 of the Regular Season will be played 1 week earlier than normal, which was Week 0 which usually was our Meet the Rebels Scrimmage Week. And because of this, football practice will begin 1 week earlier taking the place of the old "Dead Week"
We wanted to put these changes out to the public as soon as possible so families are aware of these newly enacted changes for the IHSA for Summer Contact Days and to the IHSA Football Season Schedule beginning next season 2026-2027 School Year and families can plan accordingly.
Thank You.