Lockland High School students who want to play football this season will be able to play for some other schools besides their own under a new Ohio law.
Bob Longworth, superintendent of the Lockland Local School District, confirmed that his students would be able to play for another public school while still attending Lockland after the school canceled its 2026 football season due to low participation. Longworth addressed the issue in a written statement to local media outlets Aug. 4.
A new law signed by Gov. Mike DeWine on July 7, called the Student Athlete Mobility Act, allows Ohio public high school athletes to participate at neighboring schools if their school doesn’t offer a particular sport. It immediately takes effect for the 2026-2027 school year.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA), whose members have repeatedly rejected this option, sent out guidance on July 16 on how the new rules will work.
The new law allows students to play sports at a neighboring public school. That’s defined as a high school operated by the same board of education or a high school in a different school district that directly borders it. Private schools are not eligible options under this law.
Longworth said that under the new law, students would need to petition to the OHSAA, then he and the superintendent of the other school district would both need to sign off on it.
In the statement, Longworth said, “I can’t speak for the OHSAA or the neighboring district’s superintendents in regard to this matter, however I would never stand in the way of one of our students gaining an opportunity or experience that we are not able to provide.”
Mid-season switches are prohibited by the law, meaning any Lockland student who wishes to play for another school needs to have the petition process completed before the first game Aug. 21. The student would also have to earn a spot on the other school’s roster from the coaching staff.
School districts that might be eligible options for Lockland students include Finneytown, Norwood, Reading, St. Bernard-Elmwood Place and Wyoming.
The Lockland administration decided to cancel the season Aug. 3 following a meeting with players and the coaching staff. Longworth said fewer than 12 players attended the meeting, and about half of them didn’t want to proceed with the season due to the increased risk of injury caused by them having to play almost every snap.
“With those numbers, unfortunately it did not leave the district with any choice regarding what to do moving forward,” Longworth said in the statement. “The loss of the season is disheartening for the handful of students that did want to proceed, the coaching staff that has poured into these students, our school community, and our community at large. As a small high school with less than 200 students in grades 9-12, fielding a team for our fields and courts is a perennial challenge.”
Lockland is an OHSAA Division VII school, the smallest-school division in football, and plays in the Miami Valley Conference. The Panthers were 0-9 last season and 2-7 in 2025, scoring 38 points in nine games. They have not had a winning season since 2019 (6-4) but were 5-6 in 2023.
Lockland’s field, Roettger Stadium, has a seating capacity of more than 4,000. It was the home field for Moeller football games for several years, and has also hosted the Southwest Ohio senior all-star game.
The Panthers are in the White Division with Miami Valley Christian Academy, New Miami and St. Bernard-Elmwood Place, who now have open dates on their 2026 schedule.
Lockland was set to open the season at Finneytown Aug. 21. Other non-league opponents, in order, are Gamble Montessori, Summit Country Day, Clermont Northeastern, Fayetteville-Perry, Shroder and Belmont.
Any team with an open date can try to fill it before then, and multiple coaches told the Enquirer they will try to replace Lockland on their schedules. If they can’t, their computer points for the OHSAA playoffs will be determined on an average for the nine games they play. The teams on their schedules will have a slight adjustment to their second-level computer points to account for the open date and balance the formula.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Lockland football players can play for other schools this season
Reporting by James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By James Weber, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
