Despite talk of concussion concerns, don't be fooled into thinking it's single-handedly driving down high school football participation. The number of kids playing the game has declined in recent years, but it's largely due to shifting demographics.
And the participation rate is still higher than it was as far back as 1980. Here's what the numbers show:
Since 2003, the number of schools fielding 11-man football teams has held steady, but the number of players has dropped by about 4,000, according to data from the National Federation of State High School Associations.
But this decline mirrors a similar drop in the state's high-school-age population. There are about 11,000 fewer boys ages 14-17 now than there were in 2003.
Population projections indicate there will likely be a slight increase in this age group around 2021, according to the Minnesota State Demographic Center.
In order to see if there has been a decline in participation that might be due to something other than population change, it's necessary to calculate a per capita rate. We used population estimates of boys ages 14-17 to calculate participation rates per 100 boys for football and other high school sports.
Granted, this is not a perfect analysis because the participation statistics come from surveys voluntarily submitted by schools, and it's possible some boys might be slightly younger or slightly older. (We did not count girls who participate in football. In 2015-16, the most recent year of data, there were none reported. The prior year there were five.)
With these caveats in mind, we can see that the football rate has fallen slightly since 2003, but it remains higher than it was in 1980 and 1990 when it was about 14 or 15 per 100. (Keep in mind: Football's participation rate is higher than other sports largely because the teams field more players.)
