ATHENS, P.A. (WENY) - The Athens School Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to deny Sayre's request to co-op for football.

The Athens Board read a written opinion from Athletic Director, J.B Sullivan, along with members of the community expressing their opinions and concerns including Athens student-athletes having to sacrifice two years of an opportunity to compete in District Playoffs, as well as playing time.  

It was stated at Tuesday's board meeting that Sayre had 28 student-athletes signed up to play JV and varsity football, while Athens is expected to have 45-50 players. If the board would've voted for a co-op, Athens would be moved up from Class AAA to AAAA and would face a two-year postseason ban by the PIAA.

Last week, an email was sent out to parents of Sayre High School football players from Athletic Director, Barry Claypool notifying them that the school would only field junior varsity and junior high football teams in the fall. This was due to lower numbers and inexperience at the varsity level for many players. Sayre Head Coach, Kevin Gorman, and several parents expressed concerns to the Sayre School Board last Monday, saying fielding a team was unrealistic and unsafe for players.

On Thursday, the Sayre School Board passed a motion to propose a football co-op with Athens. With Athens voting against the co-op, Sayre will now revert back to fielding just a Junior Varsity team, which they voted for and approved as a backup plan.

According to Pat McDonald, Executive Sports Editor of the Morning Times, Sayre Superintendent Dr. Jill Daloisio says they have permission from District IV for upperclassmen to play on the JV team.

After Tuesday night's vote, Athens Superintendent, Craig Stage made a recommendation to the board for the future.

"I would request that the Athens School Board Members put on our agenda to make a formal request of the Sayre Area School District to commit to a full co-op of all sports in the right timeline that doesn't penalize anyone. So that would mean submit numbers to the PIAA prior to October 1st, 2023 with an expectation of starting those co-ops in the fall of 2024" said Stage.

This will be on the Athens School Board meeting agenda on August 16th. Stick with WENY on air and online for any further developments.

The full Athens School Board meeting from Tuesday, August 9th can be found here.