Graham cancels varsity football season over participation concerns

Graham High School will not field a varsity football team this fall due to low participation.

Kenroy Wallace, the athletic director at Graham, confirmed the news to Varsity NC on Thursday, noting that the school will compete at the junior varsity level instead.

The Red Devils are coming off an 0-10 season last fall in which they were shut out six times. The school hopes that by focusing on developing junior varsity players, they can build a competitive roster of athletes who want to compete in football.

Graham is not the first school to cancel its varsity football season this fall. Earlier this summer, West Caldwell announced it would not field a varsity football team. Southern Guilford recently canceled its junior varsity season. And in eastern North Carolina, Spring Creek has canceled its non-conference schedule in hopes of fielding a team in time for conference play.

Participation Tool

Football participation numbers have long been a concern in high school sports. In 2013, North Carolina had more than 36,000 high school football players, but that number sank as low as 25,000 in 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Numbers have rebounded since the pandemic, but still lag behind the all-time highs. In 2024, more than 28,000 high school athletes were playing football. Participation numbers for 2025 have not yet been released.