TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) - Varsity sports at one Tuscaloosa County high school will no longer be offered after the 2025-2026 season. The Tuscaloosa County Schools System says participation rates at Holt High School have been declining for the last several years. This trend led to the decision to cut varsity sports.
Holt High School parents and students are frustrated with the decision to cancel varsity sports. While student-athletes have their own concerns, even students who aren’t on a varsity team are worried about the impacts this will have on their school.
“I’m afraid you can’t have a marching band without a football team,” said freshman band student Saya White.
"People who I play with, I wouldn’t talk to in school like I do like as a sport,” added soccer player Lupita Amaro Zanbrano.
Holt students say morale at school has already dipped with the news their sports teams will be going away.
"Our varsity sports bring Holt as a community closer," junior bowling student Benson Colburn said. "From my experience at Holt, we’re more like a family than just a school.”
According to TCSS, starting in the fall of 2026, sanctioned sports will no longer be played at Holt.
“To give those students who want to be athletes the best chance at success, depending on where they live if they’re a Holt student, they would have the opportunity to play varsity athletics at [Tuscaloosa] County High or Brookwood High School," said TCSS director of public relations Terri Brewer. "That’s just driven by the participation rates and what’s best for students, what’s best for those student-athletes who want to compete to give them the best opportunity at success.”
"If we go to a new school, how many other students are going to be there that’s also trying out for that sport?" Holt junior cheerleader Jenifer Maldonado said. "It also decreases the chance of us actually getting in and just playing something we love.”
Some Holt parents worry about the cost difference from their kids playing at another school.
"Their spirit packs at these other schools are over $1,000 some places. Could our kids even afford that? You know, if we can get them there, can they afford the equipment? Can they afford the practice gear?" Jenifer's mom Katlynne Maldonado said. "Then what kind of a sticker is that going to put on them if they make the team? They’re going to be self-conscious, they’re not going to thrive.”
Even parents of future Holt High School students are upset by the decision to dissolve sports.
"Best memories of my life going to football games and school basketball games, and I want that chance for my children. I want that for them here at Holt, not at another school," said Holt alumna Michaela Ramirez. "I want to see them with their hoodie on one day, not hating on the other schools, but not a Brookwood or a County High or a Hillcrest, but a Holt hoodie.”
However, some student-athletes are trying to look at the bigger picture.
“I feel like it’s a bad idea but at the same time, I see what they’re trying to do," freshman student-athlete Eric Brown said. "They’re trying to make the school better so, like, people can get more educated, get better jobs, go to college.”
TCSS says rumors have flown that Holt High School is being shut down altogether but says that is not the case.
"Club sports will remain, extra curriculars will remain, all the activities that make a school a school, they’re still going to have those opportunities,” Brewer said. “The teaching positions remain so, you know, coaches are teachers. And then we have tremendous amount of need across the county for coaches, so there is still lots of opportunity for coaching. So just because moving forward those varsity sports at Holt High School will go away, the need for coaches does not go away.”
TCSS will have an open conversation with parents Monday at 6 p.m. at Holt High School. This meeting will give families the chance to let their voice be heard and ask any questions about the decision.