Ah, Junior Varsity Football... No cheerleaders, limited concessions, bored upper classmen manning the chain gang and scoreboard, referees in mis-matched shorts, friends (maybe) and family only in the stands, assistant coaches managing the game, and every, every one the players absolutely loving every precious second of the contest. --Having the chance to wear game uniforms, hearing their name announced to the 'crowd', playing on the game field, and competing against someone, anyone, other than their upper classmen brethren while toiling on the scout squad.
Readers of a certain age (okay, mine) were amongst the last to have had the chance to play college football when a significant number of NCAA Division I and Division II programs still maintained Junior Varsity teams. Playing on the JV did wonders for the morale and experience level of participating players and provided coaches with an effective lever for managing player behavior off the field; as coaches could withhold JV playing time - which meant everything to the players, while the outcomes of the games were largely immaterial to the coaching staff - for poor performance in the classroom, or the weight room, or out in the community.
Back in the day, Junior Varsity teams most often played other JV teams (duh), Junior College teams or post-secondary prep teams. The contests between one to two and four-year schools were a boon to recruiting, as both recruited player and recruiting coaching staff had the opportunity to evaluate the other at close range. In addition to more traditional match-ups, from time to time the JV squads of Division I schools would play or scrimmage the varsity teams of NAIA or Division III schools. These games tested the maturity of talented Division I players and the talent of mature Division III players; benefiting and providing a memorable experiences for both.
Given the above, and the relatively small (for Division I programs, basically negligible) cost of JV programs - why have they gone the way of the dodo?, or at least the giant panda?
The answer lies is the limits on squad size adopted by many colleges and universities as part of their efforts to comply with Title IX. Imagine you are the Grand Vizier of a college or university football program. You have 100 roster spots, as mandated by your athletic department in order to comply with Title IX. Since you play two-platoon football, and you would never risk any of your first or second team (at a minimum) players in a JV game, 48 of those on the roster (including punters and kickers) would not play on the JV. In addition, you have approximately 20 red-shirts, who are not eligible to play in any contest, whether Varsity or Junior Varsity. That gets you up to 68 players on your 100 man roster whom you would not or could not play on the JV, leaving you with only 32 JV players. Since you need 24 just to fill out a first team, it is pretty obvious you aren't going to want to schedule too many, if any at all, JV games. And, since you are not the only Grand Vizier in your conference confronting these issues, and since many of your peers will decide to fold up their JV programs all together, you are pretty likely to decide the same.
What's the solution? (Well, don't get me started regarding two-platoon versus one-platoon stuff - that is a subject for another blog.) The simplest answer would be to allow red-shirted players to participate on JV teams. Using our parable above, that one change gets us to 52 JV-eligible players, more than enough to field a viable squad. Allowing red-shirted players to participate would also improve their focus and alleviate some of the tedium, and consequent lack of discipline, that can accompany a year of in-eligibility. Also, I cannot honestly think of one reason why red-shirts shouldn't be allowed to participate in JV-level games; so, why not?
Next time on this blog -- toward a play-off system for NCAA Division I Football.