YORK COUNTY, Pa. — The Fairfield Area School District announced its decision on Monday to cancel the 2024 varsity football season with five games remaining on its schedule.
According to Fairfield Athletic Director Keith Bruck, the roster that started the season with 17 players, has dwindled down to 12-13 players, making it difficult for the school to safely field a team.
"Our student-athletes health and safety is our paramount priority," said Bruck in a statement sent to FOX43. "We will examine our situation in late October or early November to see what our options are for next year in order to give our student-athletes an opportunity to play football."
The decision was announced on Monday by Fairfield Area School District Superintendent Thomas J. Haupt in a letter sent to the Fairfield Area Community:
"We want to provide an important update about the remainder of our 2024-2025 football season. After careful consideration, we have made the decision to announce the forfeiture of the remainder of the football season due to our inability to safely field a team. The decision was not made lightly, and we understand the disappointment this may cause our student-athletes, coaches, and community members who have supported our football program.
Please know that the health, safety and welfare of our students remain our top priority. We commend our student-athletes and coaching staff for their grit and determination throughout the season. Their hard work and dedication to the sport have been inspiring and we are proud of the effort they have put forth this season.
The Fairfield Area School District remains committed to supporting our student-athletes. We will continue to offer conditioning with the football coaches and staff for those who choose to participate, and we encourage our student-athletes to consider pursuing other athletic interests within the district for the remainder of the Fall season and beyond. Additionally, we understand Homecoming is an important event for our community, and we will be providing additional information regarding Homecoming in a future communication from the high school principal.
We appreciate your continued support of our student-athletes and your understanding during this difficult decision. Thank you for your unwavering support."
In the school's five scheduled games so far, they have only been able to field a team three times. Fairfield's varsity football program has faced participation challenges in the past and has not posted a winning record since 2021, and just once since 2013. It is yet to be determined on the status of Fairfield's 2025 varsity football season.
