Masters has never had an American Football team. Considering the 96-acre campus and numerous sports facilities along with the fact that many of the schools that Masters competes against have football teams, this is surprising. 

Pamela Clarke, the head of school at Masters when the school went co-ed, and for whom Clarke Field is named, was a key figure in the decision to not adopt a football team in 1996.

“When we went coed, we knew that we would get younger boys first and that it would take some time to get the robust number of boys needed for a football team. In other schools I have run, football squads need 40+ kids and several coaches –  the expense is huge, and one needs a lot of boys to create a football squad,” she said.

According to Clarke, the school chose to adopt soccer instead of football because of the field space available at Masters, the number of boys that the school had, the money a team would’ve cost, and the fact that soccer was more popular in the Rivertowns at the time. 

The big debate around youth football teams nowadays is the danger the sport brings to young kids. “There was some fear about injuries—the concussion stuff was just beginning to boil…But the decision didn’t really get to that level-  the expense and other obstacles made it a pretty easy decision,” Clarke said.

Logan Condon, the current athletic director of the Masters School, reiterated Clarke’s note on the finances of football. A football program requires a football-specific field, multiple coaches and trainers, upwards of 50 players, and much more. “The conversations we have athletically is how to become stronger within the programs that we have versus adding more. It’s how we can raise the status of the current teams we have,” Condon said.

Since Masters has never had a football program, the school hasn’t historically had athletes looking to play contact sports. Senior Cameron Lovett,therefore, is an anomaly. Lovett, a track star for Masters has garnered interest from college football programs and has been forced to navigate the recruiting process without a school team to promote his talents. 

The senior has had to find other ways to play football as he looks to continue his collegiate career in college.

When asked how he helps students looking to play football in college, Condon pointed to Lovett as a perfect example. 

“He has a club that he plays football with as well as steering him towards the sports that we do offer that will aid in his development as a football player such as track,” Condon said.

While the school has done what they can to help Lovett, he admits that the best thing possible would be to have a football team at the school.