| LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL FOR CHANGE IN NSAA RULES AND REGULATIONS | ||||
| Title: | Adjustment of 8-man Classification Number for Fall of 2026 | |||
| Author: | Amp Ferg, co-author Lee Schneider of Clarkson | |||
| School: | Pender | |||
| NSAA District: | 3 | |||
| Proposal for: | Activities Manual | |||
| Classes Affected: | Class C Class D | |||
| Activities Affected: | Football | |||
| This proposal: | WILL NOT increase costs to the school WILL NOT increase costs to the NSAA WILL NOT increase travel for participating schools WILL NOT decrease a student's or coach's instruction time | |||
| Implementation date: | 2026-08-10 | |||
| Sections affected in Activities Manual: | Page 28 | Article 2 | Section 13.2 | |
| Summary: | b. Schools playing football and having a three-grade BOY enrollment in excess of 55 are required to play 11-man football in order to be eligible for the State Football Playoffs. If such schools choose to play 8-man football, they will not be eligible for the State Football Playoffs.
d. Schools playing 8-man football that are ineligible for the State Football Playoffs due to having BOY enrollments in excess of 55, unless they are within their one classification waiver period, shall also be ineligible for competing for the District Championship. f. Schools playing football with a BOYS enrollment of 55 or fewer may play 11-man football. h. If during the immediate preceding classification period a school's BOY three-grade enrollment submitted to the Nebraska Department of Education was 55 or less and if that school has been playing 8-man football, such school may remain eligible for 8-man football for one more classification period, even though its new three-grade enrollment exceeds 55. | |||
| Rationale: | By raising the cutoff for 8-man classification number from 47 to 55, it is a proactive measure to help offset the growing issue that is low participation across the state. The enrollment number of a school is not an accurate measurement of the number of football participants a school potentially has. It also helps to keep the incentive of a school to be eligible for their respective class playoff system. With the enrollment of non-metro or non-Lincoln area schools consistently shrinking, it has started to put more pressure on schools to determine if they should stay 11 man or go to 8-man. Also, by raising the number, it helps to protect schools so they are not forced to play an 11-man schedule with an 8-man roster because they want to stay eligible. | |||
| Pros: | This allows schools to compete and remain playoff eligible. | |||
| Cons: | ||||