Vice president for student affairs Fr. Gerry Olinger announced the cancellation of Notre Dame’s Interhall Tackle Football (ITFB) program in a letter to students Tuesday.
Following a study of the ITFB requested by the University’s Competitive Athletics Medical Review panel, RecSports decided to discontinue the program effective this fall due to a decrease in student interest and a lack of students with prior organized tackle football experience, Olinger wrote.
In 2017, 370 students participated in the program. That number fell substantially over the next few years, with just 269 students participating last fall, according to the letter. Additionally, the study found that 44% of participants had no prior organized tackle football experience prior to playing in the ITFB.
“Given the decline in student interest and the risks associated with a competitive environment where there is a large disparity in the experience participants have with tackle football, and with the support of the Competitive Athletics Medical Review Panel, the University has made the decision to discontinue the ITFB program beginning in the Fall of 2023,” Olinger wrote.
Olinger cited a corresponding rise in involvement in the 7-on-7 Men’s Interhall Flag Football program, which began in 2019. Since its introduction, participation in men’s interhall flag football has risen by 42%.
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