Video: New Philadelphia vs Akron East highlights
Watch the Quakers, coached by OHSFCA president Matt Dennison, beat East in a D-III regional semifinal last week.
The Ohio High School Football Coaches Association (OHSFCA) and several other state coach associations have joined forces to oppose the Big Ten Conference's recent decision to play football games on Friday nights beginning in 2017.
In a release distributed Thursday, OHSFCA president and New Philadelphia head coach Matt Dennison said:
"We would like to express our disappointment with the Big Ten Conference's decision to play football games on Friday nights. Our association is vehemently opposed to this action as it infringes on a great American tradition of high school football, is not in the best interest of student athletes, cripples the small budgets of high school athletic departments, disrupts the relationships between high school coaches and Big Ten coaches, and hinders the recruiting process."
The OHSFCA joins organizations in Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin in opposing the decision.
"It is a complete financial decision that was made to create revenue for the Big Ten," Dennison continued. "The Big Ten's quest for money is greater than the great game of football. We would hope that they would reconsider this decision and that Ohio State would follow the lead of Michigan and Penn State in not participating in this endeavor."
The Big Ten Conference announced last week it would play six conference games on Friday nights beginning in 2017. Michigan and Penn State have alerted the conference that they will not participate in Friday night games.
In Ohio, 716 high school teams with a combined 43,000 players participate in high school football each year.
