The HS season is 9 games with 1 scrimmage before the games begin. This year they can have 9 practices before the scrimmage, 3 of which are without pads. The first practice is August 1st, the first game is August 17th,18th or 19th. There are 5 weeks of playoffs which culminate with the finals at Camp Randall the Thursday and Friday before Thanksgiving. Basketball season starts the Monday before the state finals. The only way to shorten the season would be to reduce the number of games. Based on my experiences as a coach, that's something that would be extremely unfavorable to the athletes that play football.