Cal-Mum/Byron-Bergen Football Merger: The Details

Posted By on Nov 25, 2015 | 0 comments


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Wednesday, November 25, 2015 | BataviasBest.org

 

After attending the Cal-Mum Administration’s informational meeting last night, here are some details concerning the Cal-Mum/Byron-Bergen Football Merger – which has been agreed upon in principle and is currently awaiting final approval.

Proactive

The Cal-Mum Administration has made the decision to be ‘proactive not reactive’ in an attempt to stem the tide of a numbers decrease across their football program – at all levels. In doing so, they mulled over several different options, and eventually settled upon the merger with Byron-Bergen – who recently ended their past agreement with Elba, which had lasted 7 years.

Numbers

In total from this year’s roster, Cal-Mum is set to return just 17 players who will be either a senior or junior in 2016. Meaning, if they were to not to seek a potential merger with another school, the Red Raiders would have to rely on at least 10 underclassmen in order to fill their roster next year.

And if you look ahead, things don’t appear to be trending in a positive direction at Cal-Mum.

As of right now, from 7th grade through 12th grade at Cal-Mum, there are an average of 35 boys per grade level, of which roughly 25% play football. From Pre-K through 6th grade at C-M, there are an average of 24 boys per grade level, 25% of which play football according to the Administration’s estimation. If you put those numbers together, in grades 7-12 about 9 boys per grade level play football, and from Pre K – 6 about 6 boys per grade level play football.

Meaning, if Cal-Mum were to not merge with another school, according to the numbers, their Varsity football team would likely consist of under 20 upperclassmen next season, and in seasons to come – which would make it very difficult for the Red Raiders to compete with other teams in the Livingston County League and beyond.

In comes Byron-Bergen.

This past season, during their final season as a combined program with Elba, Byron-Bergen student athletes made up a majority of the Lancers roster. I cannot remember the exact figure that I was told months ago, but if my memory serves me correctly of the 27 rostered players for the Lancers this past season, about 20 of which (give or take a couple) were Byron-Bergen student athletes.

Going forward, with the merger between B-B and Cal-Mum, the Red Raiders program will now have the opportunity to fill an upperclassmen-laden roster, filled with experienced football players – which will likely allow them to compete much more effectively with the top teams in the Livingston County League.

Also, with Cal-Mum’s decision to pursue the merger with Byron-Bergen as opposed to another school, comes the benefit of retaining the steep tradition that has been built at C-M over the years.

Tradition

With Byron-Bergen having been a part of the Elba program for the past seven years, and not having had a program of their own prior to that, going forward the Red Raiders will likely be able to continue playing football ‘the way that they know’. That’s not to say B-B won’t bring an added flavor into the mix, but with tradition being so important to those involved with Cal-Mum football, I believe this marriage is a perfect fit.

Once merged together, the team will continue to compete as the Red Raiders, they will remain in the Livingston County League, and they will also continue to play at Cal-Mum’s home field.

Despite a lack of their own football tradition at B-B, though, they do bring a level of experience which is valuable to this process.

Experience

To put it plainly, Byron-Bergen has been through this before. Having their prior agreement with Elba for the past 7 seasons, they’ve been able to learn what goes into producing a successful relationship with another school – which will be extremely valuable to this particular process.

Cal-Mum has little prior experience with a merger of this magnitude, and with all of the logistical obstacles, as well as financial obstacles that will surely be addressed, having a partner who knows what to expect is certainly a plus.

However, although it seems as if this could be a match made in heaven, both sides have decided to play it safe at the beginning of this relationship.

Short-Term Agreement

Despite talk that Byron-Bergen is believed to have wanted a three-year agreement put in place to begin the merger between themselves and Cal-Mum, the two schools have decided upon a two-year pact which will extend through next season, and the following season – with the agreement being up for renewal at the conclusion of the 2017 season.

The decision to hold it to two years to start was made in order to play things safe, and to allow each side to collect themselves after two seasons in order to decide on the appropriate course of action moving forward, at that time.

What Happens Now?

Each side will now await the go-ahead from the League and Section V before finalizing the deal which has been agreed upon in principle.

As of now, this is a portion of what has been proposed:

  • The proposed team will participate in the Livingston County League, and Class C, and will compete under the name Red Raiders. It is also my impression that they will wear Cal-Mum uniforms (this part about the jerseys may not be wholly accurate, but they will at least maintain the basic concept of the C-M uni. That much is certain.)
  • Practices will continue to be held at 3:10 pm at Cal-Mum
  • Byron-Bergen will provide separate and appropriate insurance coverage for B-B student athletes
  • Unforeseen expenses will be shared equally between the two schools
  • The commitment is for 2-years, along with an opt-out clause which must be initiated within 30 days of the conclusion of a season (This is what Byron-Bergen used to get out of their deal with Elba)
  • If either school is closed on a given day, no practices or games will be played
  • B-B student athletes will adhere to the C-M Athletic Code of Conduct during their time on the football team
  • It has been estimated that Byron-Bergen will contribute a total of 31 players from modified-varsity in 2016
  • The influx of B-B players will allow C-M to field 3 teams: modified, junior varsity, and varsity

In the end, this seems to be the best possible course of action for Cal-Mum Football going forward. Also, with Byron-Bergen recently ending their agreement with Elba, the situation seems to be perfect for them as well.

Now, there are certainly going to be those (mostly parents and past players) who will feel that their tradition is being taken away. However, in contrast to how it may appear, I believe their tradition is actually being persevered as a result of this move.

With the way things looked on Cal-Mum’s side of things in terms of the numbers, the Administration’s hands were tied. They had two choices:

  1. Either let the program slowly wither away and eventually die out years down the road due to an expected steep numbers decline
  2. Or instead take proactive steps to work towards reversing the frightening trend which is on the horizon

Thankfully for Cal-Mum Football fans, the Administration decided on the latter and now have provided a positive outlook that may allow this program to thrive for years to come.

But hey, it doesn’t matter what I think.

What do you think?

 

Other articles you may like:

CONFIRMED: Cal-Mum/Byron-Bergen football merger has been agreed upon in principle

Cal-Mum head football coach John Walther stepped down last week

Sources: Elba/Oakfield & Cal-Mum/Byron-Bergen set to agree on HS Football mergers

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