Glencliff football program back, but roster size will be monitored week-to-week, principal says

Glencliff football is alive again — at least for now.

A day after it was decided the program would fold for the remainder of the 2019 season, the program was revived.

But it is still on life support with less than 25 players on the varsity roster.

Glencliff principal Clint Wilson told the Tennessean that the school won't shut down its program after players who had left the program chose to come back to finish the season.

Wilson said players who had previously quit met with administration Wednesday morning and said they would like to come back.

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"Our kids that had quit didn't want to be the ones that went out as a quitter," said Wilson, whose father, Jim Wilson, is a former Glencliff football coach and has the school's football complex named after him. "They want to keep it going."

Glencliff is 0-6 and has been outscored 379-34. Five of Glencliff's six opponents scored 60 or more points.

A decision had been made Tuesday to shut down the program according to Metro Nashville athletic director Roosevelt Sanders. A message to Glencliff boosters confirming the decision from first-year coach Mike Passen was also obtained by The Tennessean.

According to the TSSAA's participation list on its website, Glencliff had 47 players entered to participate this season. That number has dropped during the season to 17 Tuesday, Passen said.

Passen said about half of the Colts' original roster came from STEM Prep Academy, a charter school that co-ops with Glencliff.

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Wilson said the team will have between 17-22 players available to play on Friday when the Colts host Hillwood.

TSSAA rules don't have a minimum roster size. However, both teams must have 11 players on the field when the game is kicked off. If there are less, a game cannot begin, TSSAA assistant director Richard McWhirter said.

Wilson acknowledged the team's current roster number is low to attempt to play high school football but will work with the TSSAA to speed up the game, perhaps with running clocks or fewer minutes.

"We'll have players playing both ways, but we have had that all season," said Wilson, who added that a decision will be made on a week-by-week basis if the school can play due to its low numbers.

McWhirter, who oversees football along with assistant director Mark Reeves, said if teams mutually agree the length of game can be altered. High school games have 12-minute quarters in a regulation game.

"They can mutually agree to shorten the game," McWhirter said. "They can't change rules like holding, but they can change the length of the game.

"They can run the clock or have eight-minute quarters if both coaches agree to it. That will help them a little bit."

Glencliff is scheduled to play Hillwood on Friday, at Nolensville on Oct. 10, with Hunters Lane on Oct. 17 and at Gallatin on Nov. 1.

Had Glencliff shut its football program down, McWhirter said the boys basketball program would have also been ineligible from postseason play per TSSAA policy.

"Board policy links those (two sports) together," McWhirter said. "A school would have to appeal to The Board (of Control) to say why they removed themselves out of football.

"It would have been up to the Board to decide. We would have still sent them a letter stating board policy removes them from (the) basketball (postseason)."

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.