Park High School in Livingston has announced its intention to withdraw from the Eastern A conference football schedule in 2023.
The proposal to opt-out of the Eastern A conference football schedule in 2023 was suggested by Activities Director Nate Parseghian at a board meeting on Tuesday, and it was met without any objections.
As reported by the Livingston Enterprise, the plan allows the Rangers to organize games on their own independent schedule. In 2019 and 2020, Park played a junior varsity schedule before returning to varsity in 2021, but since then, they haven’t won a game and have often faced defeats by wide margins.
“We’re having to put kids in the field that aren’t ready to play physically. That becomes a cycle of playing athletes in a game that aren’t ready for varsity competition at the level that Eastern A is,” Parseghian said.
Park High School Drops Out of Eastern A Conference Football Schedule in 2023
As a result, the Rangers will be considered a junior varsity team and ineligible for postseason play, as per MHSA rules. However, Activities Director Nate Parseghian clarified that they will still play varsity football in the upcoming season, and the shift to independent scheduling will enhance the student-athlete experience while they rebuild the football program.
Parseghian revealed that all other programs at Park High School will still compete in Class A, despite their football team opting out. The school had reportedly proposed moving to Class B with the MHSA, but the request was declined. By pivoting to an independent schedule, Park High School hopes to provide better opportunities for their athletes to compete on the gridiron.
“We really can almost pick and choose who we play and so we have varsity football games, that’s the other thing I want to make sure is understood, we will play varsity football games if this all goes through which is what we’re planning on going through with. We will play varsity football games. We can schedule Big Timber in a varsity football game, Ronan in a varsity football game, Browning. Those will be much better matchups for us,” he said.