After just 26 players showed up for Riverton (Ill.) High School's summer football workouts, school officials decided they would need to discontinue Riverton's varsity football program.
Activities director Katie Nichols said in a press release that the decision comes "after low participation numbers and for the safety of our student-athletes."
According to WAND, most of those players who did show up for summer workouts were underclassmen, with just two seniors showing up. Nichols noted that the school would need between 30-40 players to dress for a varsity roster, and the seniors will still be able to play in JV games.
"Our team is our team whether you call it varsity or JV, that's the kids that we have. Thinking about a 14-year-old incoming freshman going against an 18-year-old senior — that's very daunting and not a safe situation for those kids. We could end up losing more kids by doing that," Nichols said. "So we are hoping by taking a step back, we will keep the kids we have engaged. We will potentially have more kids come out and play and grow the program and come back in 2025."
The school still plans to continue with the JV season to build the program and return with varsity football in 2025.
All schools in the Sangamon Conference and the IHSA have been notified and are supportive of this decision.
