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# Fact brief: Is South Dakota’s high school football participation at a historic low?
- URL: https://www.sdnewswatch.org/fact-brief-is-south-dakotas-high-school-football-participation-at-a-historic-low/
- Published: 2025-11-04T11:00:36.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-04T11:00:36.000Z
- Description: A fact brief that refutes or confirms a claim with supporting information and additional evidence and context.
- Author: Michael Klinski
- Tags: Fact briefs, #feature-3

## No.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cb/ab/cbabab5e-2dc6-462c-94a0-b72956c0d224/content/images/2025/01/WhiteFACT-BRIEF--500-x-200-px--2-1-1.png)

The number of high school football players in South Dakota has rebounded after hitting a 15-year low in 2019-20\. 

More than 5,500 students signed up to play high school football in 2024-25, with 2,048 of those in nine-man and 3,512 of them in 11-man.

During the 2018 season, the number of athletes dipped below 5,000 for the only time since at least 2009\. In 2018, 4,997 competed, with 3,133 in 11-man and 1,846 in nine-man.

Despite declining participation across the country in the 2010s, numbers are starting to rise again nationally. In the 11-man game, there are about 23,000 more athletes in 2024-25 than 2018-19\. Numbers also increased in nine-man. 

The National Federation of High Schools says the increase is partly due to parents getting more comfortable with the safety of the sport after concussion protocols and new laws.

*This fact brief responds to conversations such as* [*this one.*](https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueReddit/comments/1g21exj/the%5Fchanging%5Fface%5Fof%5Famericas%5Ffavorite%5Fsport/?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

### **Sources**

NFHS, [High school participation survey archive](https://nfhs.org/resources/sports/high-school-participation-survey-archive?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

NFHS, [High school football continues to rebound from pre-pandemic decline](https://nfhs.org/stories/high-school-football-continues-to-rebound-from-pre-pandemic-decline?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

SDHSAA, [Football](https://sdhsaa.com/activity/football/?ref=sdnewswatch.org)

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*This story was produced by *South Dakota News Watch*, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at* [*sdnewswatch.org*](http://sdnewswatch.org/?ref=sdnewswatch.org) *and* [*sign up for an email*](https://www.sdnewswatch.org/email/) *to get stories when they're published. *Contact Michael Klinski* at michael.klinski@sdnewswatch.org.*