By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
The Sacred Heart football program finds itself in an interesting position ahead of the next KSHSAA reclassification cycle.
With 8-man eligibility increasing from an enrollment cap of 100 students to 110, the question of whether to remain in 1A or move to 8-man looms large over the community.
A survey conducted by Sacred Heart earlier this week sheds insight into the views of students, faculty, parents, and alumni on the issue ahead of what’s sure to be another challenging football season.
Since the 2014 season, the Knights have a combined record of 29-71, with a high watermark of 5-5 back in 2015.
In that 11-season span, Sacred Heart has utilized six different head coaches, including five in the last six seasons.
Like many other schools around the state, lowered participation has played a role in this decline and helps to make the case for making the move to 8-man football, but despite all that, it’s a move that many in Salina strongly oppose.
According to the survey conducted by Sacred Heart, 79% of parents (42 responses) and 89% of students (9 responses) oppose the move to 8-man.
This sentiment is in stark contrast to the alumni and faculty, who voiced support of the move by margins of 53% (30 responses) and 80% (10 responses) respectively.
Current players who support staying in a 1A 11-man format cited it as being the “traditional and correct form of football” and pointed out that 11-man football allows for deeper participation, more positions, and a better chance to specialize, while those opposed cited the move to 8-man as a “better fit for a small school with the potential to increase competitiveness.”
Parents who oppose the move to 8-man brought up Sacred Heart’s rich football tradition, and stated that a move like this could be construed as a weakness, while those in favor brought up issues like player safety, and highlighted that the choice to move back to 11-man in the future will always be there.
That tradition did see the Knights post a .500 or better season 16 times in the 17 years between 1992-2008, with a 10-1 finish in 1999, a 12-1 finish in 2002, and a 10-1 season in 2007.
On the other hand, the success of Ell-Saline and the improvement of Bennington during their time in 8-man have set a precedent for teams that make the move from traditional 11-man football.
Regardless of what the school and community decide, the Knights will remain in 1A 11-man and the NCAA for the upcoming 2025 season, where they will open a new campaign with Ellsworth on September 5th.