It remains unknown whether American Legion baseball will be played this summer on fields in Nebraska.
What is clear: There will be no regional tournaments or World Series.
The American Legion's national department announced the cancellation of those events Tuesday morning. The World Series, which draws teams and fans from all parts of the country, was originally set for Aug. 13-18 in Shelby, North Carolina.
There are eight regional tournaments. The Nebraska qualifiers would have competed in the Mid-South Region, which includes teams from Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas and Missouri.Â
Seven states have canceled Legion baseball seasons all together, including North Dakota. The other states, including Nebraska, are holding out hope that they'll see some activity on diamonds in June and July.
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Players and coaches who lost their high school seasons see Legion ball as a chance to compete before fall sports.
The governor's edict Wednesday night effectively sealed the fate of the season, which brings emotional and logistical issues to the table.Â
"We will continue to monitor the situation, and based off of local and state government guidelines, we'll make a determination on our season as they announce new guidelines," said Brent Hagel-Pitt, the Nebraska Legion baseball program coordinator.
For American Legion departments, the critical piece of it all is having enough time for tournaments to be organized and teams to line up sponsors if needed.
Asked if the cancellation of the regional tournaments creates some flexibility for Nebraska to push back the schedules, including area (district) and state tournaments, Hagel-Pitt noted it's possible, but there's a lot to consider.
"We've got local communities that foot the bill for concessions, baseballs, fixing their diamonds up, finding volunteers to work tournaments," he said. "So if we're going to push this back as far as we possibly can to host these tournaments, these tournament directors that volunteer to run these tournaments for us, they need to know several weeks out or they're not going to be able to get sponsors, they're not going to be able to order the six dozen baseballs that it takes to run a weeklong tournament.
"In addition to that, you're looking at teams that held off on purchasing brand new jerseys, all these things that teams expense, they've been holding off on that."
The American Legion also would need to work with the Nebraska School Activities Association on relaxing the NSAA's bylaws on allowing Legion ball to be played into August, though schools with teams playing in regional tournaments typically get waivers without issue.
A lot of teams, including the Lincoln High boys soccer group, had some lofty goals. None will have the opportunity this spring.Â
The 2020 district tournaments are currently slated for the middle of July. The Class A state junior and senior tournaments are scheduled for July 25-29. The Class B and C junior state tournaments are set for July 18-22, and the B and C senior state events are set for Aug. 1-5.
Hagel-Pitt said the summer Legion slate includes 52 tournaments across the state. Like everyone else, they're playing wait-and-see. Obviously, an extension of current state guidelines on social distancing would prevent teams from playing or practicing. Legion baseball typically starts after the high school season is complete in mid-May, though starting on schedule is obviously in jeopardy.
"There's a lot to discuss in the next few weeks before the season starts for the nine-man committee as to if they really want to push the envelope on these expenses for the communities or if we want to make a decision for everybody," Hagel-Pitt said.