OSAA

The future of 8-man football in Oregon is currently up in the air.

The Oregon School Activities Association Football Ad Hoc Committee released its first proposal for the 2022-2026 football time block on Dec. 20, which suggested doing away with 8-man football among 2A and 1A schools. The public meeting on Dec. 20 proposed divisions of 9-man and 6-man leagues.

“It’s a bummer they’d be getting rid of 8-man,” Powder Valley head coach Josh Cobb said. “People are really starting to get behind this.”

At the meeting, the OSAA ad hoc committee met virtually and conducted a work session to begin the initial stages of reclassification. The committee also took into consideration the Oregon Athletic Coaches Association’s small-school survey, which took place in the fall and collected trends from the last five years of 11-man, 8-man and 6-man football.

After reviewing the information on hand, the committee came away in support of three divisions between 2A and 1A schools. Based on school enrollment, two potential sections of 9-man and one division of 6-man teams were drafted.

“Eight-man just feels right,” he said. “I see 6-man as a good thing for schools that truly don’t have the student body.”

Teams that qualify for the new divisions could choose to opt into a higher or lower division; there is no current deadline for teams to make that decision, but the deadline will be determined at the next OSAA meeting in January.

OSAA emphasized in the proposal that participation in football was a key issue. The proposal noted that a transition to 9-man would allow easier scheduling between 9-man and 11-man nonleague opponents, while the junior varsity levels could likely avoid cancellations if the roster size is smaller.

“The decreases in average team size over the last 10 years have been significant,” the statement read.

The proposals are still in the works but could be a looming issue for coaches and supporters of 8-man football.

The next OSAA Ad Hoc Football Advisory Committee meeting is set for 9 a.m. on Jan. 5 in Wilsonville. The meeting’s purpose is to gather public input on the proposed changes to 2A and 1A football.

“High school sports are all about opportunities for young adults. Six-man football takes two to three kids off the field per team — just don’t see how that is beneficial,” Cobb said. “Creating opportunities for kids to compete, promoting the desire to improve as a team and individually is the concept of high school sports.”

“High school sports are all about opportunities for young adults. Six-man football takes two to three kids off the field per team — just don’t see how that is beneficial.”

— Josh Cobb, Powder Valley football coach in North Powder