KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Citing a lack of returning upperclassmen, officials at Osawatomie High School announced Thursday it is canceling its varsity football team this fall.
News of the announcement was circulated on the high school’s Facebook page.
Officials said player safety was the priority of their decision, which forced the school to choose between either a varsity or junior varsity team but not both.
“After several meetings within the district (including high school administrators, coaches, the superintendent and two members of the Board of Education) and a meeting with the Pioneer League, it has been determined that for the 2024-2025 season, Osawatomie High School Football will play a JV/C-Team only schedule and will forfeit all varsity games this year,” the school said in the Facebook post.
Five junior varsity games have been scheduled so far, though none of them will come against Pioneer League teams. The league features high schools from teams south of the Kansas City area, including Burlington, Carbondale-Sante Fe Trail, Garnett-Anderson County, Iola, LaCygne-Prairie View, Wellsville and Osawatomie.
“We know this was not a popular decision,” district officials said. “Please know that this decision was not made lightly and that hours of discussion went into it.”
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