Black Athletes in the Spotlight: HBCU Sports & Local Highlights
- Memorial Day School hopes to return to the gridiron in 2026; first season missed since 1976.
- Andrea Bagnell said suspending the program was "not a difficult decision" and emphasized athlete safety and readiness.
- The program has six state titles but only one player wanted to play; they needed 15 more for 8-man football.
- The board made the decision and delayed public notice so the Georgia Independent Athletic Association could help find opponents.
- The school bought new helmets and uniforms, hired Donald Bulloch as head coach, and will run three youth flag teams.
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Memorial Day School will not field a football team for the 2025 season, the school’s athletic director Andrea Bagnell confirmed in a phone call with WSAV.
The school hopes to return to the gridiron in 2026. The missed season marks the first time since the school started playing the sport in 1976 they will not field a team, according to records on the Georgia High School Football Historian website.
Bagnell said the decision to suspend the program was “not a difficult decision.” The program has won six state titles, but only had one player who wanted to play football this upcoming season. They needed 15 more to compete in 8-man football, according to Bagnell.
“I will not put my athletes on the field if they are not ready,” Bagnell said.
The decision was made last week at a board meeting. They waited to make the decision public to give the Georgia Independent Athletic Association (GIAA) time to help schools who were scheduled to play Memorial Day time to find new opponents, according to Bagnell.
Last year, the Matadors had nine football players. “We had players out there when they really didn’t need to be out there,” Bagnell said.
Bagnell said they did everything they could to encourage players to participate for the sport. They bought new helmets and new uniforms. They were scheduled to play their home games on Thrusday nights at Memorial Stadium. Back in January, the school announced the hiring of Donald Bulloch as the new head coach.
In hopes of turning out high participation numbers, Memorial Day will have three flag football teams for kids under the high school level.
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