The Pac-12’s primary talent pool is shrinking as high school football participation in California fell 8.8 percent in the past five years, the Mercury News reported.
Just 94,286 Californian students participated in 11-on-11 high school football in 2017 — down from 103,474 in 2013, according to data collected by the National Federation of State High School Association. Data from the 2018 season is not yet available.
Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith described California as the “lifeblood of the Pac-12.”
By comparison, other states like Texas (164,544 to 164,664), Florida (40,606 to 41,852) and Georgia (32,979 to 33,027) saw their participation numbers increase in that span, helping feed conferences like the SEC, ACC, Big 12 and Big Ten. Ohio is the only other state listed in the article in which participation declined (by 4 percent.)
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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