Friday night in the gymnasium will never be the same in Michigan schools, at least not in this area. We’re not sure how other athletic conferences across the state are scheduling games now that girls’ basketball has moved from fall to winter, but in Morenci’s Tri-County Conference, it’s become...confusing, to say the least.

The effort in the TCC appears to alternate the Friday night slot weekly—boys one week, girls the next. By the end of the season, Morenci’s gymnasium will have been used only four times on a Friday night—two for the boys and two for the girls. This year the boys play on a Friday night only three times all season and the girls have just four.

Perhaps the every other week format is an impediment. Athletic directors could take a look at Fulton County where the girls have Friday night for half of the season and the boys take over for the other half. It seems to work out better overall. Fayette’s girls, for example, have five Friday games and the boys have seven. Between the two squads, seven Friday games are played at home.

Better yet, the TCC could try a more innovative arrangement that’s used in some areas around the country. Girls and boys varsity teams play a double-header on Friday night, with girls and boys JV teams both playing on an alternative night. This would bring parity between the girls and boys and would likely bring greater visibility to female athletics.

We realize the change in seasons left athletic directors scrambling to make it all work out, but we hope the current schedule is the result of a quick effort at re-grouping and that the situation will improve in the future.

There must be a better way to make it work—not just the Friday situation, but also Morenci’s boys string of seven games on the road. Perhaps athletic directors will have the opportunity to make adjustments before next year’s schedule is made final.