Newman Catholic moves to 8-man football
WAUSAU - Newman Catholic is making the move from 11-man to 8-man high school football for 2017 due to concerns over program numbers and player safety.
Newman Catholic approved the move during a school officials meeting Tuesday night and sent in paperwork Wednesday to the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association which formalized the decision.
"It's the reality of the situation we are in," Newman Catholic football coach and athletic director Paul Michlig said Wednesday morning. "The numbers in our school dictated why this happened. It's not like we were seeking to go this direction. We have taken it as a positive and I think it is going to be a positive. I'm excited about it.
"We have the opportunity to still go out and play football," Michlig said. "(The players) still tackle, they still block, they still run. It's an exciting game and gives our kids who are athletic a chance to play in space a little more."
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Newman Catholic has an enrollment of 124 students and the Cardinals fielded a varsity football roster of 23 players this past season. The Cardinals, who finished with a 1-9 record this season, also did not field a junior varsity team this year for the first time since the early 2000s.
The low numbers create a concern when trying to get through a football season, especially when injuries lead to attrition during the schedule. Michlig said there were six or seven underclassmen reserve players on the team this year that he felt would have played just at the junior varsity level to get more seasoning.
"I was worried about (injuries) every week," Michlig said. "This isn't a decision from something that we looked at last Tuesday and thought, 'Hey, we have to do something.' We have looked at this over the past year.
"We're not jumping to 8-man to win football games. That's not what we're doing this for," Michlig said. "We are doing it for the safety of our students and because of the numbers that we have."
Newman Catholic looked into the possibility of forming a co-op with Wisconsin Valley Lutheran and Northland Lutheran and also had some preliminary discussions with Pacelli. Michlig said in the end, 8-man made the most sense for the program.
Michlig said the move to 8-man football is a two-year commitment and did not forecast the program's participation numbers to show much growth during that time period.
"We can re-evaluate in two years where we are at, but the odds are we're going to be in 22 to 23 kid range," Michlig said.
The Cardinals are the second Cloverwood Conference program to opt for 8-man football since the end of the season. The move comes less than a month after McDonell Central made the same decision, leaving the Cloverwood with eight teams.
Newman Catholic and McDonell Central are also among the seven teams that will make the move to 8-man next fall. The group also includes Alma Center Lincoln, Gillett, Wausaukee, Clayton and New Auburn.
The Cardinals do not have a schedule set for next season but might pursue an opportunity to join an 8-man conference — the Great 8-North Conference — which currently consists of Lena/St.Thomas, Bowler/Gresham, Green Bay NEW Lutheran, Gilbraltar, Menominee Indian, Oneida Nation and Sevastopol.
Gillett and Wausaukee have applied to join the conference as well.
There were 20 high school programs playing 8-man football in the state this fall in one of three conferences or running an independent schedule. Menominee Indian had the largest student enrollment at 254 with Valley Christian being the smallest at 62.
The top eight teams from the northern and southern areas of the state, based on records, are paired for a season-ending 8-man Jamboree at Stiehm Stadium. Schools also have to have a three-year enrollment average of 200 or fewer students to be eligible for the jamboree.
The WIAA plans to hold a eight-team tournament for 8-man programs in 2018. The playoff field would expand 16 teams the following year, provided at least 30 programs in the state are involved in 8-man football.
"The way things are going in this direction (with 8-man), tell me what kids are missing differently than playing 11-man?," Michlig said. "There's a chance to be all-conference, in two years there will be a chance to win a state trophy and (players) can be all-state and that stuff. (Eight-man) has their own All-Star Game now, so there's that. I don't really see any opportunities that they are missing."
Tim Johnson: 715-845-0731, or timothy.johnson@gannettwisconsin.com; on Twitter @timmyjo11