--- title: "Report: Football Making a Comeback With High Schoolers" id: "24757" type: "post" slug: "report-football-making-a-comeback-with-high-schoolers" published_at: "2014-08-22T19:20:18+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T18:22:56+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/08/22/report-football-making-a-comeback-with-high-schoolers/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/08/22/report-football-making-a-comeback-with-high-schoolers.md" excerpt: "According to a new report from the National Federation of State High School Associations, football saw its first increase in participation in five years among high school boys—helping to validate the association’s recent efforts in fighting the threat of concussions." taxonomy_category: - "Advocacy" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "athletic participation" - "Business" - "concussion" - "high school sports" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" taxonomy_persona: - "Executive Leadership" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Report: Football Making a Comeback With High Schoolers It wasn’t a surprise when the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) revealed that, for the 25th year in a row, [participation in high school sports increased during the 2013-2014 school year (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nfhs.org/articles/high-school-participation-increases-for-25th-consecutive-year/) . Considering population trends, that was basically a given. What *was* a surprise, however, was that football saw an increase of 6,607 participants during the school year, despite the sport taking some hard knocks over the risk of concussions. The gridiron, which draws more than a million student athletes yearly, is no slouch in the participation category; nonetheless, the increase was the first NFHS had reported for the sport in the past five years among boys. That success may be partly the result of NFHS’s own actions. During the prior school year, the federation, which sets standards and rules for high school athletics, [had boosted its efforts to fight concussions](http://associationsnow.com/2013/09/high-school-sports-group-tackles-concussion-crisis/) through a series of new rules, education initiatives, and legislative activity. The association has also [relied on a data-collection tool (opens in a new tab)](http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/PublicHealth/research/ResearchProjects/piper/projects/RIO/Pages/default.aspx) to gather information on injuries and risks that high school athletes may face. NFHS Executive Director Bob Gardner said the growth in football participation was a validation of those efforts. “With the precautions that are in place nationwide to address concussions in all high school sports, including football, we have maintained that the risk of injury is as low as it ever has been,” he said in a statement. “Certainly, this rise in football numbers is a confirmation of those beliefs and indicates the strong continued interest nationwide in high school football.” While football bounced back this year, it’s not the fastest-growing sport. That honor goes to lacrosse, which gained 9,744 new players on boys and girls teams. Close behind was girls volleyball, which drew 9,426 new participants. The fastest-growing boys sport, meanwhile, was baseball, with 7,838 new participants—relegating football to second place. Overall, participation among all sports for both girls and boys reached an all-time peak of 7,795,658 during the 2013-2014 school year, a jump of 82,081 from the previous year. (iStock/Thinkstock) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#athletic participation](https://associationsnow.com/tag/athletic-participation/) [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#concussion](https://associationsnow.com/tag/concussion/) [#high school sports](https://associationsnow.com/tag/high-school-sports/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) - [VideoUrban Land Institute- Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles After the January 2025 WildfiresSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/urban-land-institute-project-recovery-rebuilding-los-angeles-after-the-january-2025-wildfires/) - [VideoNCRA: Safeguarding Cancer Surveillance: An Advocacy Response to FY26 Budget ThreatsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/ncra-safeguarding-cancer-surveillance-an-advocacy-response-to-fy26-budget-threats/) - [VideoASAE Legislative Summit 2026March 26, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/03/26/asae-legislative-summit-2026/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2014%2F08%2F22%2Freport-football-making-a-comeback-with-high-schoolers%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !