The Football Ad Hoc Committee of the Oregon School Activities Association has adjusted its earlier idea of eliminating 8-player football in favor of 9-player and 6-player formats. Instead, the committee will recommend Oregon high schools offer state championships in four player levels.
The committee is recommending that 2A schools (with enrollment from 75 to 145) play the 9-player game; that 1A schools (enrollment 74 to 61) play the 8-player game; and 1A schools with less than 60 students play the 6-player game. Class 3A through 6A schools will continue to play 11-player games.
The OSAA has sponsored 11-player state football championships since 1940. Oregon has held 8-man playoffs since 1960, when it replaced 6-man football after 1959.
The committee is also recommending that the OSAA State Championship Committee conduct an OSAA-sponsored state championship for 6-player teams. Six-player teams have organized a state championship in past years, just not one sponsored by the OSAA.
The committee has one more scheduled meeting on Feb. 2 after which recommendations will be forwarded to the OSAA Executive Board for review and adoption for the 2022-26 time block.
The number of 8-player schools has declined due to the continued expansion of the 6-player game over the past four years and a general decline in participation in football. The decreases in average team size over the past 10 years have been significant, according to information presented at the committee meetings.
Some Oregon schools have been utilizing the 9-player game type for more than 10 years to provide additional opportunities for kids at the sub-varsity level, according to the OSAA.
At a meeting in December, the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee recommended the end of 8-player football in Oregon, replacing it with 9-player football (and 6-player), starting next season. The proposal was met with vocal resistance from many of the state’s 1A schools.
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