St. Cloud Schools Merge Tech And Apollo Football Programs Starting 2027

The St. Cloud School District 742 board approved the proposal Wednesday night of the combination of Tech and Apollo football starting in 2027.  Tech and Apollo High School Activities Directors Hillary Johnson (Tech) and Karl Heine (Apollo) joined me on WJON.

How This Happened

Heine says he and Hillary along with administration meet each year to discuss their sports programs and participation rates.  He says they consider how they should handle each sport on whether they should combine, stand alone or separate back to Apollo and Tech stand alone programs.

Photo - Jacky Ford for TSM

Numbers In Decline

Heine says football participation has diminished in the St. Cloud School District and nationally in recent years.  He says they evaluate student safety, participation and what level they should compete at.  Johnson says there has been a decline in participation at Tech in football since she's been there for the past 2 years.  She says the number of students participating in practice is different than the number of students registered for the sport.  Johnson says they have 62 students registered for football this year at Tech but only about 52 are competing.  There are many factors that keep students from competing which can include injuries, health, transportation and academic eligibility.  Heine says Apollo has 55 students registered with approximately 45 participating.

Sarah Mueller, WJON

Feeder Programs

Junior Highs that feed Tech and Apollo include North, South and Kennedy Community School.  Johnson says 8th grade numbers at these schools were lower than in past years which helped lead to this decision.  She says financial reasons were not in consideration in why they combined the two programs.  Johnson says a decision has not been made about where their home games would be played and who would consist of the coaching staff.

Participation Level

The combined enrollments of Tech and Apollo would move their St. Cloud Crush football program to a Class 5A school in 2027.  Tech is competing at the Class 4A level this season while Apollo is playing at the 3A level.  Heine and Johnson submitted a proposal to the Minnesota State High School League today to allow next year's St. Cloud Crush football team to play at the Class 4A level.  They will await a decision from MSHSL.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Hillary and Karl, click below.