COLUMBUS, Ohio — Due to recent advisories and curfews enacted at the local and state levels, college and high school athletics are making changes to upcoming events.

Ohio State University’s athletic department announced Wednesday family members of players and coaching staffs will no longer be allowed to attend games at the university. The decision is immediate — meaning no fans will be in Ohio Stadium on Saturday when No. 3 Ohio State hosts No. 9 Indiana at noon.

A limited number of media members will be able to cover the game from the press box and it will be televised.

According to a news release by the university, the decision by the department to not allow any fans aligns with the Columbus Department of Health’s stay-at-home advisory, which was issued Wednesday. The advisory starts at 6 p.m. Friday and will remain in place for the next 28 days.

The university said the decision on football games will be reevaluated prior to Ohio State’s final home football game against the University of Michigan on Dec. 12. The decision not to allow families will, however, stay in place for all Ohio State men’s and women’s basketball and hockey home games that are either scheduled, or in the process of being scheduled, through the remainder of 2020.

“The health and safety of student-athletes, coaches, spectators and event staff is our top priority,” Ohio State Director of Athletics Gene Smith said. “We had hoped to continue to allow family members of our student-athletes and coaching staffs to be able to attend games, but circumstances around this pandemic are prompting us to adjust, just as it has throughout the past eight months. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and we will continue to do what is in the best interests of everyone involved.”

The Ohio High School Athletic Association also made changes to its football state tournament finals schedule in response to the statewide curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., which is set to begin Thursday.

The OHSAA announced the games will now kick off at 1:15 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, instead of 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. as previously announced. In addition, the games on Sunday will have kickoff at 12:15 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. so that all six games have a consistent pregame timing format.

While teams and fans may still travel home after 10 p.m., the OHSAA’s goal is that the stadium be closed by 10 p.m.

“We want to support the governor’s curfew order,” said OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute. “Kicking off earlier will help ensure that everyone has left the stadium by 10 Friday and Saturday night. We’ll need a sense of urgency to leave the facility after those games, but we don’t want to take away from the postgame experience. We are so excited to host the football state championship games this weekend and complete the fall season, so we want to help with the curfew order to leave the stadium by 10.”

The OHSAA is aware that the Franklin County Department of Health has also issued an advisory beginning Friday at 6 p.m. asking residents to stay at home due to the rapid rise of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the city and county. At this time, that advisory does not affect the status of the football state championship games.

The football state tournament schedule at Fortress Obetz is:

Division VII

Friday, Nov. 20, 1:15 p.m. - New Bremen (9-2) vs. Warren John F. Kennedy (9-2)

Division II

Friday, Nov. 20, 6:15 p.m. - Massillon Washington (10-1) vs. Akron Archbishop Hoban (10-0)

Division V

Saturday, Nov. 21, 1:15 p.m. - Kirtland (10-0) vs. Ironton (11-0)

Division III

Saturday, Nov. 21, 6:15 p.m. - Columbus St. Francis DeSales (9-1) vs. Chardon (11-0)

Division IV

Sunday, Nov. 22, 12:15 p.m. - Van Wert (10-1) vs. Mentor Lake Catholic (8-2)

Division VI

Sunday, Nov. 22, 5:15 p.m. - New Middletown Springfield (11-0) vs. Coldwater (11-0)

Spectrum News 1 will televise the football state championship game live, with streaming available for the games here. Streaming is free for Spectrum subscribers and $9.99 per game for non-Spectrum subscribers.